Tennessee basketball came out slow but found its defensive footing and blitzed past North Florida 99-66 on Wednesday night in Knoxville. One Vol recorded a double-double and a number of others flirted with one while Rick Barnes handled his rotations a tad differently.
Here’s three quick takeaways on Tennessee’s victories.
Tennessee Uses Defense To Take Control After Slow Start
Tennessee was over 40-point favorites against North Florida, but the Vols came out slow and struggled early against the Ospreys. The Vols were sloppy with the basketball in the first few minutes of the game which allowed North Florida to take a 5-1 lead.
The Vols did take the lead but was unable to gain a ton of separation for much of the first half. Defense and rebounding was the biggest issue. North Florida made six triples in thew first 12 minutes of the game and even more importantly, rebounding eight of its first 17 missed shots.
The result was Tennessee leading 32-30 at the under eight timeout which game with 5:59 remaining in the first half. Tennessee came out of the timeout with a much different energy on the defensive end of the court. The Vols forced three turnovers on the next three possessions and turned all into points, taking a 41-30 lead and forcing a North Florida timeout.
Tennessee held North Florida scoreless in the final six minutes of the half as they opened up a 17-point halftime lead. The Ospreys did not get a single offensive rebound in Tennessee’s 15-0 run to end the first half.
Number Of Vols Flirt With Double-Double
One Tennessee playes recorded a double-double against North Florida while a number of others flirted with one in the victory.
JP Estrella was a big part of sparking Tennessee’s first half offense and finished the game with 23 points on an incredibly efficient 11-of-14 shooting from the field and one-of-two shooting from three-point range. He grabbed his 10th rebound in the game’s final seconds as he went for his second straight double-double.
Nate Ament had a quiet 19 points while grabbing nine rebounds. Ament has been knocking on the door of a double-double all season and is going to flirt with a triple-double at some point this season. He recorded five assists against the Ospreys as he continues to frequently make the right play.
Ja’Kobi Gillespie scored eight quick points and finished the game with 21 points including a second half barrage from three-point range. The senior point guard added seven assists but continues to be too loose with the basketball, totaling five turnovers in the win.
Lastly, Cade Phillips was incredibly close to the first double-double of his career, totaling nine points and nine rebounds to go along with two blocks.
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Some Rotation Notes
Ethan Burg made the first start of his Tennessee career with Bishop Boswell sidelined with a right foot injury. He didn’t quite run with his opportunity. Burg recorded two quick turnovers during the cold start which led to him playing just four first half minutes.
Troy Henderson was the first two-guard off the bench behind Burg and played 14 minutes, totaling three points with five rebounds and three assists.
It was Amaree Abram who gave Tennessee its best minutes at the two-guard sport. Abram provided a serious spark off the bench with his offense and defense and went for nine points and three steals. It was by far Abram’s best game as a Vol.
Amari Evans played a season-high nine minutes while Clarence Massamba played just one second half minute.
In the front court, Jaylen Carey did not check in until the 5:59 mark in the first half. He promptly picked up two fouls in less then three minutes and played only 14 minutes. Freshman DeWayne Brown played 12 minutes in comparison.
Final Stats
Up Next
Tennessee is back in action on Monday night when they host former assistant coach Rob Lanier and the Rice Owls to Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center. Tipoff is at 9 p.m. ET and the SEC Network is broadcasting the game.
