Tennessee scrapped back after a rough start in the first half, grabbed a halftime lead, and they led for a large part of the second half. But No. 2 Kansas fought back, and the two teams exchanged the lead time and time again down the stretch.
But once the game hit overtime, it was all Jayhawks.
No. 5 Tennessee fell to No. 2 Kansas 87-81 in overtime in a thrilling match-up in Brooklyn. The Vols led for over 17 minutes in the game, while the Jayhawks had the lead for over 22 minutes. The game was tied seven times, and the lead exchanged hands 12 times during the contest.
The two big turning points in the game were when Udoka Azubuike fouled out for Kansas and when Grant Williams fouled out for Tennessee. Azubuike fouled out late in the second half, and it looked like Tennessee would be able to start taking advantage in the paint.
But that advantage didn’t last long.
Grant Williams picked up his fifth foul with less than two minutes to go in the second half, and the Vols’ offense suffered for it. Williams was almost unstoppable in the paint late in the second half, but UT’s offense came to a halt once he fouled out. Kansas would take control in overtime, and that’s how they triumphed.
Williams finished with 18 points, eight rebounds, and six assists (tying a career-high) in 34 minutes. Jordan Bone chipped in 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting and had six rebounds and five assists.
The Vols gave Kansas all they wanted in the game, and Tennessee had the advantage for a large portion of the game despite not shooting well for most of the contest. But in the end, Kansas was just too much for Tennessee to handle.
Here are our five biggest observations from the Vols’ first loss of the season.
No Offense After Grant
Admiral Schofield finally found some offense late in overtime, but it seemed like once Grant Williams fouled out late in the second half, UT’s offense went stagnant long enough for the Jayhawks to gain momentum.
Williams fouled out with 1:24 left in the second half, and Tennessee’s next offensive possession looked all out of sorts. Jordan Bone ended up missing a jumper, but Kansas couldn’t find a way to get points on their next possession either.
It took Tennessee 1:48 into overtime before they finally made a shot, and it was by Schofield muscling up a shot inside. That cut the Jayhawks’ lead to 74-71, but Kansas had all the momentum by that point. The Vols would never get it closer than a three-point deficit for the rest of overtime.
Limiting the Big Man
Udoka Azubuike has been a terror in the paint for Kansas to start this season, but Tennessee did a great job of attacking him on offense and getting him to pick up fouls. The seven-footer was averaging 15.8 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks a game in the Jayhawks’ first four games.
Against Tennessee, he played only 17 minutes and was held to nine points and four rebounds. He also only had one block in the game.
The Vols had a good gameplan on offense in that regard, but too often they settled for jump shots and took too many contested threes and mid-range shots rather than trying to force it inside more often. Kansas outscored Tennessee 48-40 in the paint, and the Jayhawks out-rebounded the Vols 43-40.
Kansas Goes Cold from Deep
The Jayhawks came into Friday’s game as one of the best three-point shooting teams in the country. They were hitting over 47 percent of their threes on the year before Friday, giving them the fourth-best three-point percentage in Division I basketball.
But against the Vols, they were stone cold for most of the game.
Kansas made just five of their 17 threes on the night, and many of them were missed by a large margin. Lagerald Vick was making over 62 percent of his threes on the season before tonight’s game, but he finished just 3-of-7 from deep. But Vick did hit two clutch threes late in the second half to tie the game at 56 then to give Kansas a 59-56 lead.
Tennessee’s defense limited a very potent Kansas offense for 40 minutes, but they had trouble holding up for the last five.
Admiral Starts Very Slow, Picks Up Steam Late
Tennessee needed someone to step up when Grant Williams fouled out, and Admiral Schofield did just that. But it took him a little too long to do so, and it couldn’t quite counteract the very bad start he got off to.
Schofield made only one of his five shots in the first half, and he had just three points at halftime. He was inefficient again in the second half, though he started to play a little better. Admiral totaled nine points in the second half on 4-of-11 shooting.
It wasn’t until overtime when Schofield finally found his groove.
In overtime, Schofield made four of his six field goals and played smarter on the offensive end of the floor. He finished the game with a team-high 21 points and added six rebounds and two assists, but he was inefficient in his 31 minutes. Schofield shot 40.9 percent from the floor and just 25 percent from three.
Vols Let it Slip Away
The Vols had a golden opportunity on Friday night, but they couldn’t capitalize.
Tennessee made a lot of mistakes and looked like they let the big stage get to them. To their credit, they never let the game get completely out of control and even fought back late in overtime to make it interesting. But you could tell Kansas was more used to the spotlight and the big moments, and they overcame adversity better than UT did.
Kansas had 16 turnovers and shot very poorly from three. But they scored in the paint and forced Tennessee to foul them. The Jayhawks attempted 34 free throws — compared to just 17 by the Vols — and made 22 of them. Kansas may have shot just 29.4 percent from three, but they shot 50 percent overall in the game.
The Vols couldn’t take advantage of an off night for the Jayhawks, as they turned it over 14 times and shot a paltry 25.9 percent from three. Overall, Tennessee only made 41.3 percent of their shots and committed 25 fouls.
The officiating was questionable at best, but Tennessee did enough to lose the game themselves. They also did enough to win it, but Kansas proved to just be slightly better in this one.
Still, Friday’s game is a great test for the Vols as they look to improve before March. And Tennessee will have plenty more big games remaining before it’s Tournament time.
