No. 8 Tennessee dismantled Vanderbilt on Saturday night in Knoxville to complete the regular-season sweep over their in-state rival.
The Vols took down the Commodores by a final score of 88-53 on Rocky Top behind a very balanced scoring effort.
While both Tennessee and Vanderbilt knocked down a three-pointer to start the game, that was about all of the competitiveness on the scoreboard for the game. The Vols extended the lead to 13-3 just a few minutes into the contest.
As mentioned previously, scoring was about as balanced as you’ll see from Tennessee this season: Dalton Knecht 14, Zakai Zeigler 14, Josiah-Jordan James 13, Santiago Vescovi 12, Jonas Aidoo 11, and Tobe Awaka with nine.
With Tennessee holding a 31-point lead at halftime, the game also presented a great opportunity for head coach Rick Barnes to empty the Vols’ bench in favor of some of Tennessee’s freshmen. Guard Freddie Dilione finished the game with two points and two assists in 13 minutes, guard Cameron Carr finished the game with eight points in 13 minutes, and forward Cade Phillips put up two points, three rebounds, and two assists in his 10 minutes on the court.
Tennessee was also able to share the ball extremely efficiently on Saturday night. The Vols finished the game with game with a season-high in assists (28) and a season-high in three-point makes (14) against Vanderbilt.
After Tennessee picked up their 19th win of the season and 9th win in conference play, Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes met with the media to share his thoughts on the game. The Vols also sent Cam Carr and Santiago Vescovi to the media room to break down their perspective of Tennessee’s dominant win in Knoxville.
“And really pleased with the young guys trying to play the game the right way at the end,” Barnes said. “I thought that was really important. I thought those minutes were really good for them. But they respected the game in terms of trying to play it the right way.”
More from RTI: Three Quick Takeaways As Tennessee Earns Dominant Victory Over Vanderbilt
Check out both interviews below:
Tennessee HC Rick Barnes
Tennessee G Santiago Vescovi and G Cam Carr
