It certainly wasn’t pretty, but Tennessee found a way to get another SEC win on Saturday afternoon.
The Vols (10-5, 2-1 SEC) defeated South Carolina (8-7, 0-2 SEC) by a score of 56-55 in front of a packed Thompson-Boling Arena. Tennessee trailed by eight in the second half but went on a 20-5 run to grab a seven-point lead with less than eight minutes to go. The Gamecocks would fight back, but they would never retake the lead, and Tennessee’s defense was able to help the Vols claw their way to victory.
Tennessee won despite their second-worst shooting performance as a team this season. The Vols made only 25.9 percent of their shots from the floor and only 19.4 percent of their threes. UT’s 14 made field goals are tied for their fewest made in a game this season, with the other instance resulting in a 60-57 loss to Florida State. The Vols also turned the ball over 19 times, their third-highest total on the year.
Yet despite all that, Tennessee was able to use some really good defensive play and got lucky with South Carolina’s inability to make free throws to pull out the victory.
After the game, Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes met with the media to discuss the Vols’ ugly win, Jordan Bowden’s poor shooting performance, Drew Pember’s extended minutes, and much more.
Here’s everything Rick Barnes had to say after the Vols’ win:
Some of Barnes’ players also spoke with the media. You can catch everything they had to say below.
Full video of junior forward John Fulkerson:
Full video of freshman guard Josiah-Jordan James:
Full video of freshman forward Drew Pember:
