A shorthanded No. 15 Tennessee team overcame a halftime deficit to beat Tennessee Tech 80-69 Friday afternoon at Thompson-Boling Arena. Josiah-Jordan James and Justin Powell did not play for the Volunteers and three-point shooting was not good as Tennessee could never really pull away.
Here are three takeaways from Tennessee’s win.
Three-point consistency
It’s no secret that Tennessee can be a great three-point shooting team. The Vols have already set the program record for threes in a single game just three weeks ago, but consistency is looking to be a real problem.
It took the Vols 15 minutes to make their first three against a Tennessee Tech team whose opponents are shooting over 40% from beyond the arc. Tennessee went on to shoot just 6-of-23 from three. It’s the second time in the last three games that they’ve shot under 30%.
Victor Bailey Jr. has had a rough start to the 2021 season and that continued as he had just 2 points on 1-of-5 shooting against the Golden Eagles. Tennessee needs him to get his shooting swagger back if they’re going to keep up with the likes of Auburn, Alabama and Arkansas in the SEC this season.
Getting a shooter like Justin Powell back on the floor will help, but it’s fair to be wary of this team’s shooting ability, especially with how last season progressed.
Freshmen sparked the run
There was very little energy inside Thompson-Boling Arena for most of the day, but that changed when three Tennessee freshmen put the Vols on their backs midway through the second half. Those three freshmen were Brandon Huntley-Hatfeild, Zakai Zeigler and of course Kennedy Chandler, and they scored 14 straight points and gave the Vols a 13 point lead.
Huntley-Hatfield had his best game as a Vol so far, as he made his first 6 field goals and finished with 12 points. Chandler continued his terrific start with 15 points on 6-of-13 shooting and Zeigler finished with 4 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists.
The future looks really bright for these Tennessee freshmen, and they’re only going to get better.
Olivier Nkamhoua needs the ball
Tennessee Junior Olivier Nkamhoua was a perfect 8-for-8 from the field and led the Vols with 18 points. It was a great bounce back effort for Nkamhoua, as he had just 7 points in two games during the Hall of Fame Tip-off against Villanova and North Carolina.
Nkamhoua brings great efficiency and sneaky good athleticism to the floor, but he has to be more aggressive with the basketball. Games like this one and the one against ETSU in which he had a career high 23 points show that he should never have a game where he’s 0-for-2 with zero points like he had against Villanova. He’s too good for that now.
Nkamhoua has the talent to turn into an almost Grant Williams type game changer, but he has to be able to do it consistently, and he has to want the ball.
Santiago Vescovi (25) brings the ball down the court against Tennessee Tech at Thompson Boling Arena on Nov. 26, 2021.
