Tennessee defeated South Carolina at Thompson Boling Arena 66-46 on Tuesday evening. The 20-point victory was just what the doctor ordered following a shaky start to conference play for the Vols.
The Vols (11-4, 2-2) bounced back against the traditionally rugged Gamecocks after a tough 79-67 loss to LSU over the weekend. This pushes the Gamecocks record to 10-5 overall and 1-2 in the SEC.
Tennessee has won seven of the last eight versus South Carolina, including a 93-73 drubbing when these teams last met in February of 2021.
The keys going in for Tennessee were to correct the poor shot selection and turnovers that have plagued them in the last two weeks of SEC play. As is often the case with this year’s roller coaster team, the game was a tale of two halves. There were four combined fouls in the first ninety seconds and two quick turnovers by the Volunteers that led to five points by Gamecock’s leading scorer James Reese (15 in the game). Tennessee shot only 50% at the foul line in a slow game that was 24-24 with a minute and a half left in the first. However, with a minute left, Kennedy Chandler hit a three off a huge offensive rebound following yet another missed free throw. Then, with five seconds left, the ball somehow squirted out of a multi-player scrum into the hands of Josiah Jordan James who hit a three as time expired. Those two shots gave the Volunteers a 30-24 lead at halftime.
The second half was another story. Although only backup point guard Zakai Zeigler had shown aggressiveness in the first half, the entire team was focused defensively and passing was much crisper. Leading rebounder James (12) was a machine all over the court on his way to a double double. The 5-7 assist to turnover ratio of the first half ended up being 15-15. It wasn’t ideal but the Gamecocks are a strong defensive team and the Volunteers turned the Cocks over 23 times.
The turning point came with sixteen minutes left when, after a Vols score, Santiago Vescovi snuck behind Reese, stole the ball and went the length of the court for a layup with a foul. Zeigler had an eye-popping length of the court drive moments later, showing that Chandler might not be the fastest player on the court. Vescovi got hot from the three-point line and that was the game.
Thoughts:
– Uroš Plavšić remains a project. Fifteen minutes with three rebounds and zero points. It’s obvious the other players don’t trust him when you see a seven-footer who doesn’t get a single alley-oop opportunity. Given the dropped entry passes and poor passing, it’s understandable. He simply looks lost.
– Fulkerson is the opposite. He is a physical powerhouse that belays his appearance. You must watch him up close and hear the contact to really get it. Tennessee has to get better at entry passes, however. He fights hard for a dominant post position only to watch someone jack up a wild three far too often.
– It’s amazing to watch Kennedy Chandler in warm-ups. He could be an NBA dunk contest winner. The other players clearly love and respect him. I doubt Tennessee will get him another year but he really needs another fifteen pounds, so who knows? Pro tip: everyone knows. He’s not coming back.
– This is an elite defense, but they need a consistent scorer.
– Zakai Zeigler is so fun to watch. He is tiny. I have serious doubts about his listed 5’9’ height but he is a blur with the ball in his hand, a tremendous pest on defense and absolutely fearless in the lane.
– James Reese kept South Carolina in the game. The Vols held South Carolina’s two leading scorers to zero points combined.
– Tennessee finished shooting 43% from the field and 44% from the free throw line. They aren’t beating Auburn unless those numbers improve. However, the 12 offensive rebounds, 11 steals and four blocks show their effort on the other end.
– The Volunteers finished with four players in double figures: Vescovi (14), James (11), Zeigler (11) and Fulkerson (10). James was the leading rebounder with 12 (four offensive) and Vescovi the leader in assists (with only 5).
