Tennessee basketball failed to shake the Wofford Terriers for the better part of 25 minutes on Tuesday night. But the Vols used stout defense to stretch out their lead in the second half and to earn a 82-61 victory.
Here’s three quick takeaways as Tennessee improves to 3-0 before next week’s Maui Invitational.
Wofford Stays In The Game By Controlling Offensive Glass
Tennessee was 30-plus point favorites over Wofford but the Terriers’ hung tough for 20-plus minutes at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center. They did it by dominating the offensive glass.
Through the game’s first 14 minutes, Wofford had more offensive rebounds (nine) than Tennessee had defensive rounds (seven). That led directly to seven Wofford points and allowed the Terriers to score points while bleeding the clock and turning it into a lower possession game.
It was clearly a point of emphasis for Rick Barnes and his staff at halftime. Tennessee came out and did a much better job of controlling the glass in the second half, allowing sux offensive rebounds and out-rebounding the Terriers 20-15 in the final 20 minutes.
Rebounding has been an ongoing struggle for Tennessee through two exhibition and three regular season games. Some of it is to be expected by playing smaller but it’s still been a point of emphasis from Barnes and will likely continue to be after this performance.
Tennessee can live with some rebounding issues, but to give up 15 offensive boards against a SoCon team that played only two players over six-foot-six shouldn’t happen.
Perimeter Shooting, Transfer Scoring Propels Tennessee’s Offense
Tennessee scored 80 points at Wisconsin on Friday and that was particularly impressive because the Vols didn’t hit perimeter shots at a high rate. That wasn’t the case against Wofford as three-point shooting propelled Tennessee’s offense.
The Vols shot seven-of-16 from deep in the first half while building a five-point lead. Tennessee didn’t shoot quite as well in the second half but still put together a 41% three-point shooting performance.
Jordan Gainey propelled Tennessee’s offense in the first half with 11 points and three made triples. He handed the baton to fellow transfer Dalton Knecht in the second half.
Knecht battled foul trouble and scored just four minutes in the first half but immediately sparked the Vols in the first half with six points before the first media timeout. Knecht made just one second half triples while totaling 14 second half points.
Gainey and Knecht weren’t the only Vols to get going from beyond the arc. Santiago Vescovi hit a season high three triples and Josiah-Jordan James, Cameron Carr and Zakai Zeigler each hit a three-pointer.
Tennessee Finally Opens Things Up With Defense
Tennessee used a 10-0 run early in the second half to take control of the game and while Wofford had enough punches to not let the Vols open up a massive lead, Tennessee’s defense dialed in and never let the Terriers get too close.
On the surface, Tennessee’s defense wasn’t all that better in the second half. The Terriers scored 31 first half points and 30 second half points. But that doesn’t truly tell the entire story. Wofford shot much better from the perimeter in the second half (31% compared to 24%) and the Vols weren’t allowing a number of uncontested threes.
What Tennessee did much better in the second half was turn Wofford over. And when they turned the Terriers over, they turned it into points.
Wofford turned the ball over just four times in the first half before the Vols forced 10 second half turnovers. Tennessee turned those turnovers into 12 points by getting out in transition and running.
While Wofford stayed in the game by getting offensive rebounds and lessening the game number of possessions, Tennessee extended its lead by forcing turnovers, speeding up the game and increasing the possessions. That’s another reason that the half scoring totals are a little misleading.
Final Stats
Up Next
Tennessee has six days off before a three-game barrage at the Maui Invitational. Tipoff between Tennessee and Syracuse in the Vols’ Maui Invitational opener is at 2:30 p.m. ET next Monday, Nov. 20.
