Tennessee basketball ended its three-game losing streak by defeating George Mason 87-66 at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center on Tuesday night.
The Vols played one of their most complete performances of the season and used a 12-3 run to open the second half to open up a lopsided lead that the Patriots were never able to recover from.
Here’s three quick takeaways on Tennessee’s win over George Mason.
Defense To Offense
George Mason entered the matchup with a strong offense and one of the A10’s best scorers in Keshawn Hall. But Tennessee played strong defense against the Patriots on the night.
The Vols did a strong job of attacking drivers in the gaps and turning George Mason over that way. Tennessee forced seven first half turnovers and six of them were steals, showing that they were the nature of strong defense more than just sloppy offense.
But those live ball turnovers allowed Tennessee to get out in transition. The Vols scored eight first half points off the seven turnovers including a Jordan Gainey layup on this gorgeous pass from Zakai Zeigler
JG runnin
ZZ findin📺 SEC Network+
📲 https://t.co/7niJ2RL8Db pic.twitter.com/aZCnv4zTcx— Tennessee Basketball (@Vol_Hoops) December 6, 2023
The second half included more strong Tennessee defense and George Mason turnovers as the Patriots ended with 14 on the night. The Vols ended the game 15 transition points while Zeigler and James each recorded multiple steals.
More From RTI: Two Vols Return From Injury Against George Mason
Tennessee Opens Things Up Around Halftime
Tennessee led by seven points with just over one minute remaining in the first half. The lead was at a predictable number as the Vols were 15-point favorites in the matchup. But at that point, Tennessee had far from already won. George Mason was still clearly in the game and had shown some tough shot making and offensive firepower.
Dalton Knecht went one-of-two at the foul line, Josiah-Jordan James hit a triple at the top of the key after some great ball movement and finally Zakai Zeigler found Jordan Gainey for a layup as the opening half ended.
The Vols’ 6-0 run to conclude the first half extended their lead to 13 points and gave Tennessee a comfortable halftime lead. But, still, the game wasn’t over.
Then Tennessee came out blazing to open the second half, making five of their first six field goals on its way to a 12-3 run in the second half’s first three minutes.
The extended 18-3 run in five minutes around the intermission gave Tennessee a 22 point lead and put the game away. George Mason never cut Tennessee’s lead to less than 18 points the rest of the way.
Jonas Aidoo’s Big Night
I wrote last week about Jonas Aidoo’s continued improvement and how it looks like he’s making a real jump early in his junior season.
Aidoo’s improvement is most illustrated by the fact he scored nine points and grabbed six rebounds in the first half and his performance didn’t even stand out all that much until I looked at the box score.
The 6-foot-11 forward dominated the Patriots’ front court in one of the most complete performances of his Tennessee career.
Aidoo was simply fantastic on Tuesday night totaling 17 points (seven-of-11 FGs), eight rebounds, four assists and a block.
Aidoo was predictably bigger than anyone on George Mason but this is a Patriots team that entered the matchup as one of the better rebounding teams in the country. The Durham, North Carolina native still controlled the glass and protected the rim at the high level we’ve grown accustomed to.
But the junior’s offense is where his improvement continues to shine through. Aidoo’s two made three-pointers headlined his offensive performance. And while Tennessee obviously is not going to get that on every night, Aidoo just looks extremely comfortable and confident on that end of the court right now.
He’s never uncertain of himself offensively this season which is definitively different from his first two collegiate seasons.
Final Stats
Up Next
Tennessee returns to Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center on Saturday when they host No. 20 Illinois. Tipoff is at noon ET. CBS is broadcasting the game.
