Tennessee basketball took care of business Saturday night, knocking off LSU 73-63 despite lackluster play for much of the night. A surprising player provided a major contribution and some similar themes continued for Tennessee.
Here’s three quick takeaways on the victory.
Ethan Burg Re-Emerges
After 20 minutes of basketball, star Tennessee point guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie had three points while Ethan Burg had eight points on three-for-three shooting from the field. Just as we all expected.
Gillespie hit a triple on the first possession of the game but struggled to get it going the rest of the first half. Troy Henderson didn’t thrive in his minutes leading to a longer leash for Burg, who originally checked in to play shooting guard.
Burg made the most of his opportunity. He had a nice finish in transition, hit a tough triple late in the shot clock and knocked down another three-pointer in a dynamic first half.
Before Wednesday night’s game at Mississippi State, Burg had not played in Tennessee’s previous five games. With SEC play over the halfway mark, Burg had played just 11 total minutes in conference play.
Burg did little in the second half but still earned the most minutes of a guard off the bench. He finished the game with eight points and two rebounds in 18 minutes.
It’s way too early to draw any massive conclusions from the performance and what it means moving forward, but it is at least a positive development for a player who has struggled badly as of late and often looked overwhelmed. At the very Ieast, it’s a good example to young players about holding on to the rope.
LSU Makes Push Around Halftime Break
At the final media timeout of the first half, Tennessee led 34-24. LSU was badly struggling to score and while the Vols were not playing great, they were very much in control. But that’s when LSU put a run on Tennessee.
It started with a modest 8-4 LSU run to end the first half. The Vols had some bad offensive possessions and fouled a three-point shooter on a made attempt but there was nothing truly crazy about it. The start of the second half is where the game really flipped.
The first four possessions of the second half saw Felix Okpara miss a shot, Marquel Tamba hit a three-pointer, Nate Ament miss a layup and Jalen Reece hit a three-pointer. Just like that, the game was tied. When Sutton hit two free throws out of the under 16 timeout, LSU led by one point and the game was on.
Tennessee re-gained control and spent most of the second half with the lead, but they were unable to feel too comfortable until the final minute of the game.
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Familiar Rebounding And Turnover Numbers
The two most consistent things about this Tennessee basketball team has been its ability to rebound and in its inability to take care of the basketball. Both were on display against LSU.
Tennessee won the rebounding battle 45-24, grabbing 50% of its misses and turning it into 22 second chance points. JP Estrella was particularly a force on the offensive glass, grabbing five including board on that end including multiple put-back baskets.
But on the flip side of the coin, LSU won the turnover battle 9-3. Ja’Kobi Gillespie and Jaylen Carey each totaled two turnovers and the Vols had some very silly ones including on multiple entry passes.
The turnover issues were not as bad as they have often been for Tennessee, but its inability to force turnovers made it feel more dramatic.
Final Stats
Up Next
Tennessee basketball is back in action Wednesday night when they face Oklahoma at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center. Tipoff is at 7 p.m. ET and ESPN2 is broadcasting the game.
