Tennessee basketball: Three takeaways from Vols’ 81-50 win vs. Florida Gulf Coast

Things got back on track for Tennessee basketball in a big way Wednesday night. The Vols, who fell from No. 11 in both polls to No. 22 in the AP Poll and No. 17 in the Coaches Poll after a shocking 78-66 upset loss to the Colorado Buffaloes in Nashville Sunday, beat the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles 81-50 back on Rocky Top.

The game was close for the first seven and a half minutes, but with the score tied at 9, the Vols went on a 14-0 run to take control. They turned that into a 37-20 halftime lead and never looked back. FGCU never got within 20 after the 16-minute mark of the second half.

Rocky Top improves to 2-1 and will next play the Butler Bulldogs next Wednesday in The Bahamas for their first game in the Battle 4 Atlantis. FGCU falls to 2-2 and will next host the  host the Gulf Coast Showcase in Estero, Fla., starting next Monday when they face the Northern Kentucky Norse. Here are three takeaways from Tennessee basketball’s win.

1. Josiah-Jordan James’ return to the starting lineup worked out.

Rick Barnes said after Sunday’s loss that Zakai Zeigler would return to coming off the bench. With Uros Plavsic hurt, Josiah-Jordan James and Tyreke Key took their places. Key had an off game with just six points. James, who has battled some injures but is healthy now, returned to the starting lineup. It worked out perfectly, as James was the biggest star on the night.

Scoring18 points to go along with two assists, James shot 4-of-6 from three. Santiago Vescovi was 2-of-3 from three with eight points and three assists, but James seemed like the Vescovi on the night. Both had six rebounds. Zeigler wasn’t efficient scoring off the bench, but he did have six points, six rebounds, an assist and a steal while holding the unit together.

2. Post players exerted their will.

After Plavsic went down the other day, Tennessee basketball seemed lost down low. They righted the ship, and Olivier Nkamhoua and Julian Phillips showed what they can do. Nkahmoua had 18 points. He even hit a three. Now, he only had one rebound and was 7-of-12 from the free throw line, so he can work on many things, but he was still good on the night.

Phillips, the freshman phenom, had 11 points thanks to going 9-of-12 from the foul line along with five rebounds. Both players had two assists, a steal and a block. Even Tobe Awaka had four points and five rebounds in seven minutes, and Jonas Aidoo had three rebounds in 11 minutes.

3. Defense returned to form

A horrendous second half against Colorado is clearly in the rearview mirror, and the Vols got back to who they are on defense. They held Florida Gulf Coast to 30.4 percent shooting and 20.8 percent from three while also forcing 17 turnovers, including nine steals.

Vescovi was the star with those three steals defensively, but Jahmai Mashack was a surprise off the bench. He had two steals, which contributed to him scoring 10 points. Tennessee basketball showed how deep it can go with guys like Mashack, and that’s a big deal. Overall, though, the defense was even more elite than the offense.