Tennessee basketball: Three takeaways from Vols’ huge revenge win vs. LSU
A pregame scuffle between players, started by the LSU Tigers, may have been all the motivation Tennessee basketball needed. The Vols roared off to a 14-0 start in an intense rematch with Will Wade’s team en route to a 64-50 win at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tenn. Saturday night. This was exactly two weeks after their loss at LSU.
Ranked No. 24 in the AP Poll and No. 25 in the Coaches Poll, UT got above .500 in the SEC for the first time all year. They never trailed in this game, even though LSU made a run at the end of the first half and cut it to one point before the Vols had to pull away again.
With the victory, the Vols improve to 13-5 and 4-3 in the SEC. They will next host the Florida Gators Wednesday. LSU, ranked No. 13 in the AP Poll and No. 16 in the Coaches Poll, falls to 15-4 and 3-4 in the SEC with a home game against the Texas A&M Aggies up next. This was their third straight loss. Here are three things we learned from Tennessee basketball’s win.
1. Clear stars emerged in the new lineup
It was the second straight game Barnes put Uros Plavsic in the starting lineup, and it was the second straight game Plavsic came away with double figures. The center had 12 points. John Fulkerson fit well in his new role coming off the bench, though, as he had eight points. This inside rotation is working well.
On the outside, Kennedy Chandler was having another off-night shooting, but Santiago Vescovi stepped up again, scoring 16 points while going 5-of-11 from three. He also passed up multiple other open shots, but his ability to stretch the floor allowed Chandler and Josiah-Jordan James other opportunities to score, as both had nine points.
2. Defense cashed in.
In their last meeting, the Vols allowed LSU to go off. They had a bit of help this time with Xavier Pinson not in the lineup and James back after being hurt Tuesday in Tennessee basketball’s win at the Vanderbilt Commodores. Either way, though, they were able to take advantage of LSU’s weaknesses that are blatant offensively.
LSU only committed 14 turnovers, but they were held to 21-of-54 from the field and 4-of-19 from the three-point line. Barnes’ focus on defense paid off, as the Vols contested every shot, and they took advantage offensively early, which is why they built such a big lead.
3. Free throw shooting could be better.
Honestly, the Vols should have won this game by more. They did benefit from LSU going just 4-of-7 from the free throw line, but they shot 10-of-18, or 55.6 percent. If the game were close, that could have been a huge issue, and it can’t continue going forward.
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James was 3-of-6 from the line, Plavsic was 2-of-4, and even Vescovi missed one of his two free throws. Chandler missed his only attempt. Tennessee basketball needs more, especially from its guards, at the stripe. That could have caused a disaster.