CHARLOTTE, N.C. — On a disastrous day for the SEC, Tennessee basketball left no doubt in a potential upset spot. The Vols jumped on Saint Peter’s early and never looked back, coasting to a 83-49 victory.
Here’s three quick takeaways as Tennessee basketball never broke a sweat in its NCAA Tournament opening victory.
Tennessee Comes Out Dialed In
Tennessee’s players made it clear after the SEC Tournament loss that they would be locked in to start games the rest of the way, especially on the defensive end.
They proved true to their word as the Vols came out dialed in, particularly on the defensive end. Dalton Knecht hit a corner triple out of an underneath out of bounds play on the game’s first possession and never trailed the rest of the way.
Saint Peter’s struggled to get any open looks throughout the first half and after a Saint Peter’s three cut Tennessee’s lead to 10-5 early, the Vols went on a massive run to take control of the game.
The Vols proceeded to reel off a 10-0 and an extended 19-2 run
that gave them a 29-12 lead 13 minutes into the game. Tennessee’s massive run took away any hope that Saint Peter’s had of pulling off the upset.
While Tennessee’s offense wasn’t bad for the games first 13 minutes, it was the Vols’ defense that allowed them to jump out to such a large lead. Saint Peter’s shot just three-of-20 from the field during that stretch and rarely had any open looks.
The Vols came out completely dialed on the defensive end and in that way opened up a 46-20 halftime lead.
More From RTI: Tennessee’s Zakai Zeigler And The Making Of A Point Guard
The Vols Big Three Comes To Play
Dalton Knecht, Zakai Zeigler and Jonas Aidoo had separated themselves as Tennessee’s best offensive players over the course of the season.
The trio showed up for Tennessee against Saint Peter’s from the jump. That actually might be underselling it. Knecht, Zeigler and Aidoo combined to score Tennessee’s first 29 points of the game.
Aidoo and Knecht did the bulk of the scoring with the junior big man scoring 13 points during the stretch and the consensus First Team All-American scoring 11.
Knecht ended up leading Tennessee in scoring with 23 points on eight-of-15 shooting from the field. He added eight rebounds. Aidoo totaled 15 points after a quiet second half but shot five-of-six from the field, grabbed six rebounds and blocked three shots.
Zeigler didn’t do as much scoring as the rest of the group but still totaled 11 points on an efficient three-of-six shooting from the field. The junior point guard made his biggest impact with the way he controlled the game like a true point guard. He totaled 1o assists for the double-double while turning it over just two times.
A Handful Of Small Positive Developments
– By earning a 34-point victory, Tennessee basketball got to rest its starters a good bit for a NCAA Tournament game. Rick Barnes slowly pulled his top guys from the game in its final six minutes and completed the substitutions at the under four timeout.
Knecht played 29 minutes, Zeigler played 31 minutes, Aidoo played 20 minutes, James played 22 minutes and Vescovi played 25 minutes. Those things aren’t the end of the world but could be helpful before Tennessee returns to the court on Saturday.
-Santiago Vescovi entered the game on a cold streak and his first shot attempt of the game was well off. But the left-handed shooting guard hit two triples the rest of the way and ended the night two-of-four from deep. Let’s see if that sparks him the rest of the way.
-This one is a good news, kind of bad news note I guess. Tobe Awaka is another guy that entered the NCAA Tournament but he played well in the first half, totaling eight points on just three shots while grabbing four rebounds.
It was just one game against a clearly overmatched front court, but Awaka getting a nice boost of confidence is a plus from the opening round win.
Final Stats
Up Next
Tennessee basketball advances to face Texas in the Round of 32 on Saturday. The tipoff time has yet to be announced.
