It’s been a long time since the Vols have won a significant title of any kind in a men’s sport. But that changed on Saturday.
Georgia exerted their toughness when these two teams first met earlier this season. The Vols were out-rebounded, out-hustled, and out-matched in Athens. And for about 30 minutes of this game, it looked like more of the same might happen.
But then No. 16 Tennessee turned a corner, and a sold out Thompson-Boling Arena got to experience something they haven’t in a decade: a regular season title.
The Vols trailed by as much as 11 points late in the first half, and Georgia led for over 31 minutes of the game. But Tennessee rallied back late in the game, turned the momentum, and grabbed a late 62-61 lead.
Then Admiral Schofield nailed a jumper to give the Vols a three-point lead, and it was game over.
Here are our three biggest takeaways from the Vols’ 66-61 victory over Georgia that clinched the SEC regular season co-championship.
Dawgs Didn’t Miss
The first half saw Georgia come out absolutely on fire. The Bulldogs just couldn’t miss from anywhere on the court.
Georgia shot 53.6 percent overall and a ridiculous 58.3 percent from three in the first half, and they held a 42-34 lead at halftime because of it. Tennessee stayed in the game in the first half because of their free throws and lack of turnovers, but Georgia dominated most of the first half.
But then the second half came, and…
Second Half, Different Story
Tennessee weathered the hot shooting storm in the fist half, and they came out with a more tenacious defense and effective offense in the second half.
The Bulldogs shot just 29.2 percent in the second half and only made one of their six threes. The Vols, meanwhile, shot 44 percent in the last half of the game and made three of their seven three-pointers. Tennessee also only turned the ball over twice, and Georgia coughed up the ball nine times in the second half.
Tennessee held Georgia to just 19 points in the second half. The Vols were a completely different team in the second half, and they finished off their comeback without Grant Williams on the floor after he fouled out with 3:33 to go in the game.
Grant and Admiral Came to Play
Speaking of Grant Williams, he put forth a fantastic effort before fouling out. In just 27 minutes, he totaled 22 points and three rebounds on 7-of-17 shooting. But he wasn’t alone on Saturday.
Admiral Schofield continued his hot shooting. He eclipsed 20 points for the third straight game, and he finished with 23 points, three rebounds, and 2 assists on 8-of-16 shooting. He and Williams were an effective one-two punch on offense for the Vols.
Kyle Alexander didn’t score much (he only had two points), but he hauled in a game-high nine rebounds and was pivotal around the rim on defense. Jordan Bowden had a team-high seven assists and scored four points, all on free throws. And Lamonte Turner contributed nine points, three boards, and two assists.
More Clutch Shots from Turner
Turner didn’t start off hot, though. He missed his first three shots of the game and was scoreless well into the second half.
But when he finally hit shots, they were huge.
Turner didn’t hit his first shot until there was 10:22 left in the game. But that three that he hit tied the game at 49. His next bucket came with 6:23 to go, and it gave the Vols a 55-53 lead.
His next shot? It pulled the Vols to within one, 61-60, with 2:31 to go. Then Jordan Bowden would hit clutch free throws a minute and a half later, and the Vols would hold on to win.
The Vols are SEC Co-Champions
For the first time since 2008, the Vols have an SEC regular season title.
Auburn defeated South Carolina earlier in the day, and that mean that Tennessee needed a win in order to get a share of the SEC regular season title. A loss would give the Tigers an outright title.
It didn’t look pretty for most of the game, but the Vols managed to pull it out. The win snapped a five-game losing streak to the Bulldogs as well.
One Response
Vols are a really good NIT team…..