Tennessee basketball concluded non conference play with a 67-52 victory over Norfolk State on Tuesday afternoon in Knoxville.
The Vols lead grew with a slow burn behind strong interior play and a massive advantage in the turnover department. Here’s three quick takeaways as Tennessee concluded non conference play unbeaten for the fifth time in program history.
Solid Minutes From The Five-Spot
Ohio State center transfer Felix Okpara got off to a quiet start to the season and was again struggling ahead of Tennessee’s three buy game stretch to conclude non conference play. Okpara played better in each of the Vols’ last two games and turned in another solid performance to conclude the non conference slate.
Okpara totaled six points, five rebounds and a block in the win. He didn’t do anything spectacular on the offensive end but did a better job of grabbing rebounds and finishing the easy stuff around the rim.
Cade Phillips provided a bit of a bigger offensive spark, scoring 10 points on three-of-five shooting from the field. Phillips only grabbed two rebounds but was fantastic defending the rim where he totaled a career-high five blocks.
Okpara didn’t block as many shots but did a great job contesting shots at the rim and making life hard for the Spartans.
Norfolk State combined to make just eight-of-25 shots at the rim with Okpara and Phillips being a major reason why.
Turnovers A Major Difference
Tennessee shot just sixI points better than Norfolk State from the field and shot just 26% from three-point range. The Vols scoring seven more points at the foul line describes some of that difference but much of it is explained by turnovers.
Norfolk State turned the ball over 13 times and Tennessee turned it into 16 points. On the other side, the Vols turned it over only six times with the Spartans turning it into six points.
Tennessee’s ability to turn opponents over is nothing new or surprising. But the Vols struggled to take care of the basketball for a good chunk of non conference play. Tennessee has been steadily improving there over the course of the last month and concluded non conference play with its best performance yet.
The Vols six turnovers were their tied for their least of the season.
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Tennessee Slowly Pushes Its Lead Over Course Of The Game
Last week, MTSU put pressure on Tennessee and had them on upset alert into the second half before the Vols used a late run to earn an 18-point victory. The Norfolk State game was largely the opposite in a lot of ways despite finishing with a similar margin.
Tennessee never trailed and jumped out to a 13-4 lead by the first media. However, the Vols never could open up a massive lead in a game they were 30-point favorites.
The Vols were in control the entire way and the game was never in question. Norfolk State never cut the deficit to less than five points and Tennessee’s lead was never less than its seven-point halftime lead in the second half.
Tennessee just slowly and surely expanded its lead in the second half against Norfolk State. They got it to double digits the first possession of the second half, to 14 points with 14 minutes remaining and a game-high 20 points with just under three points remaining before finishing at 15 points after a late Norfolk State run.
Final Stats
Up Next
Tennessee basketball opens up SEC play on Saturday afternoon when they host John Calipari, Jonas Aidoo and Arkansas at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville. Tipoff is at 1 p.m. ET. ESPN is broadcasting the game.
