Well, it was closer than many would've liked for most of the contest, but Tennessee picked up the win over LSU on Saturday night at the Food City Center. Tennessee now has won two in a row, and despite never fully pulling away today, the Vols never surrendered the lead, and had control of the game for pretty much all night.
Tennessee made it hard on LSU all night which was refreshing to see. I was really impressed with Tennessee physicality and effort. Despite having some trouble with leads, Tennessee never looked out of sorts in this game. LSU made a few runs, but every time they did Tennessee responded with an even larger haymaker.
Various Vols help lead to victory
One of the biggest takeaways tonight was how different contributors stepped up for Tennessee. Yes, Nate Ament got his, but Tennessee's other star Ja'Kobi Gillespie, was having an off night. What was great for the Vols was how backup point guard Ethan Burg stepped up and hit a few massive shots. Burg hasn't played much, if at all, since the new year, and his eight points on 3-4 from the field was a major boost.
It was also encouraging to see JP Estrella make a significant impact. Yes, Estrella is talented and has a great skill set, but at times he's struggled to finish at the rim and Barnes has harped on that often. Tonight the talented forward scored 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds shooting 7-9 from the field. Jaylen Carey pitched in too, scoring seven points down low. It was an all around effort.
If Tennessee can get this kind of production from its second unit and their secondary options in general it will make for a very fun March, as they will be very hard to beat.