Tennessee basketball overcame poor performances from some of its best players to defeat North Carolina State 79-70 in San Antonio on Saturday night.
Here’s three quick takeaways on the win.
Sloppy Play Costs Tennessee
The Hall of Fame Series game used a Spalding Legacy basketball, well known as one of the worst balls used in college basketball which frequently leads to poor shooting performances.
But it wasn’t bad shooting that slowed down Tennessee’s offense against the Wolfpack. It was sloppy basketball.
Tennessee turned the ball over eight times in the first half and recorded another bad turnover on the first possession of the second half. Those careless issues were a major part of Tennessee’s issues to open up its lead and to sustain it when they finally opened it up. The Vols finished with just 11 turnovers on the night but they oft came at costly times.
Missed bunnies also cost Tennessee particularly in the first half when Aidoo and Zeigler each missed easy shots at the rim. The Vols struggled to finish at the basket all night, making just nine-of-24 shots at the rim.
If Tennessee would have taken care of the ball and made shots at the rim like they have all season they would have won going away due to a strong shooting performance.
The Vols shot a strong 12-of-27 (44%) from three-point range and had one of their better shooting performances of the season. Especially given the unfamiliar arena and disliked ball.
Zakai Zeigler Shines
Tennessee point guard Zakai Zeigler has looked better-and-better over the last two weeks after struggling early this season after making his return from the torn left ACL that ended his sophomore season.
But Zeigler was at the absolute best we’ve seen him this season against North Carolina State. It started with what Zeigler did from three-point range. He knocked down four attempts and three first half attempts on his way to totaling a season-high 20 points.
The undersized point guard doesn’t consistently score like that but he is capable. What made it a truly vintage Zeigler performance is what he did elsewhere.
Zeigler got his teammates open shots and dished out eigt assists. That outpaced the point guard’s three turnovers though the junior was a tad sloppy with the ball. Zeigler did what he almost always does on the defensive end of the court, making everything difficult for opposing point guards to run offense.
Tennessee’s starting point guard totaled four steals for the game and constantly made life difficult for North Carolina State guards.
Zeigler was also critical during the 9-0 second half run that saw Tennessee push a two point lead to 11 points. He scored four points over the stretch, stole an inbounds pass and assisted on the ensuing basket.
Tennessee’s Leading Scorers Struggle
Dalton Knecht has been Tennessee’s best offensive player by far this season and while there’s some fair debate on who the second best offensive player is, big man Jonas Aidoo entered the game as the Vols’ second leading scorer.
But as Tennessee looked to close out the Wolfpack, neither were on the court and for good reason. Both Knecht and Aidoo struggled against North Carolina, combining to score just six points on three-of-11 shooting from the field.
Knecht played his worst game of the season and was forcing the issue far too much on the offensive end of the court on top of having some more predictable defensive issues. But where Knecht struggled, Josiah-Jordan James picked him up.
James was simply brilliant for Tennessee, scoring 23 points on 60% shooting from the field and five-of-seven shooting from three-point range. The super senior added seven rebounds and three assists in the win.
Aidoo’s struggles were more fair. He missed Friday’s practice with a fever and was “probable” for the game. And Aidoo looked under the weather. North Carolina State’s DJ Burns beat him with physicality and Aidoo turned it over four times, frequently losing the ball on rebounds.
But when Aidoo struggled, sophomore big man Tobe Awaka picked up. Awaka was brilliant in 18 minutes against the Wolfpack. The sophomore slowed down Burns down the stretch, grabbed 12 rebounds and added five points including the dagger on a baby hook.
Tennessee’s top two players struggled. But counterparts at their positions stepped up.
Final Stats
Up Next
Tennessee returns to Knoxville where they’ll face Tarleton State on Thursday night. Tipoff between the Vols and Texans is at 6:30 p.m. ET. The SEC Network+ and ESPN+ are streaming the game.
