Tennessee basketball opened its season with turnovers, strong inside and a 76-61 victory over Mercer. The Vols came out slow and overall played sloppily while still earning the win in drama free fashion.
Here’s three quick takeaways from the opener.
Frontcourt Sparks Tennessee’s Offense After Slow Start
Tennessee came out slow, particularly on the offensive end where they made just one of their first seven shots and started missed their first three attempts from three-point range and two attempts from the foul line.
The rough offensive start allowed Mercer to jump out to a 6-2 start in the game’s first 4:30. A number of players were responsible for the slow offensive start but it was the Vols’ frontcourt that pulled them out of it.
Tennessee’s first 12 points came from that group with JP Estrella leading the way with six points as the Vols’ took a 12-8 lead eight minutes into the game. The Vols never trailed again from that point on. They got offensive production from their wings and guards as the half went on but the front court continued to lead the way.
Through the first 20 minutes, Tennessee’s front court totaled 20 of the team’s 33 points. They finished the game with 37 of Tennessee’s 76 points.
Turnovers Costly For Tennessee
It was not an overly aspiring effort from Tennessee to open the season and the biggest issue for the Vols was turnovers. The Vols had numerous nice stretches on offense but couldn’t seem to string them together for large chunks of the game due to turnovers.
The Vols turned the ball over a resounding 11 times in the first half. It was certainly a major point of emphasis from Rick Barnes during halftime, yet Nate Ament turned the ball over on the first possession of the second half. The Vols added another turnover a two possessions later when Felix Okpara grabbed a defensive rebounded, was promptly stripped and then committed his third foul.
Tennessee committed a number of turnovers that way with big men losing the ball after grabbing a rebound. But there was no discriminating when it came to Tennessee and turnovers in the opener.
Nine different Tennessee players committed turnovers, six committed at least two turnovers while Ja’Kobi Gillespie led the way with four turnovers. The Vols finished the game with 19 total turnovers.
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Defense Looks Different But Dominant To Open Season
Tennessee’s defense was dominant but had a different look to begin the season. In contrast to the Vols’ 19 turnovers, Mercer turned it over just five times. It shouldn’t be overly shocking with Zakai Zeigler and Jahmai Mashack gone, but Tennessee just did not create many deflections or make Mercer overly uncomfortable handling the ball.
While the Vols did not force many turnovers, their field goal defense was stout. Mercer shot just 30% from the field and 21%% from three-point range. Some of that is just good luck for Tennessee but it also speaks to the length the Vols have on this team and their ability to make things difficult on opponents at the rim.
That advantage won’t be dramatic as Tennessee plays better teams over the course of the season. But it shouldn’t be completely neutralized. The Vols have elite length on this team and should have strong interior defense and rebounding.
Tennessee won the rebounding battle 54-32 against Mercer while rebounding 51.6% of its misses on the offensive side of the ball.
Final Stats
Up Next
Tennessee is back at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center on Saturday afternoon when they host Northern Kentucky. Tipoff is at 3 p.m. ET with the SEC Network+ streaming the game.
