Tennessee basketball proves experience still matters in win vs. Arizona

A big reason for the hype behind Rick Barnes and Tennessee basketball this year was their second straight top five recruiting class with a unanimous five-star in Kennedy Chandler and two other guys who had five-star ratings on some services in Jonas Aidoo and Brandon Huntley-Hatfield. The other factor, though, was experience.

In their biggest win of the season so far Wednesday, they relied on their experience advantage. UT beat the Arizona Wildcats, who went into the game 11-0 and ranked No. 6 in the AP Poll and No. 5 in the Coaches Poll. They did it despite Chandler, their freshman phenom and leading scorer, being held to eight points.

What was the difference? The most experienced player on either side, sixth-year senior John Fulkerson, led everybody in scoring and rebounding with 24 and 10 respectively. Fulkerson’s double-double wasn’t the only evidence of experience, though.

Playing down low, Fulkerson scored 16 of his 24 points from the free throw line. He took 12 attempts from the stripe, smartly drawing multiple fouls from Arizona’s two elite big men, 6’11” power forward Azuolas Tubelis and 7’1″ center Christian Koloko.

Both average double figures on the year, but both got in foul trouble, with Koloko fouling out, Tubelis finishing with four fouls and the two combining for six points. That was the result of smart play by Fulkerson throughout the night.

Although he was Tennessee basketball’s best player on the court, though, Fulkerson wasn’t the only player who used his experience to his advantage. Santiago Vescovi, the Vols’ three-point specialist, was off from beyond the arc in this game, going 3-of-12. However, he still managed to score 15 points, and he had five rebounds, making up for it in other ways.

Josiah-Jordan James, meanwhile, was effective in every way. He hit two three-pointers but also scored three buckets inside the paint to get 12 points, and his elite defense once again showed with two steals and two blocks. Vescovi and James are both juniors, and they and Fulkerson, Vescovi led the way.

Now, UT still had some help from Justin Powell off the bench. The sophomore hit a three-pointer and scored 11 points, going 4-of-6 from the free throw line. He deserves credit too. However, the other three guys really led the way for Tennessee basketball.

Coming into this game, Arizona appeared to have the advantage with experience. UT’s best player was chandler, and Tubelis and Koloko are returning starters. Bennedict Mathurin, their leading scorer, is also a returning starter.

Given their experience, the Vols were going to have to rely on their veterans to win this game. That’s exactly what they did. Fulkerson got both post players in foul trouble, and James and Vescovi got Mathurin in foul trouble. Heck, even Olivier Nkamhoua, who was 1-of-5 and had four turnovers in an off-night, was effective in the paint with three blocks. He’s another junior.

Maybe Barnes finally has a team that knows when to rely on its experience and when to rely on its talent. Tennessee basketball relied on its experience Wednesday night, and in the process, the Vols, ranked No. 19 in both polls, scored their first top 10 win of the season.