Tennessee basketball got off to another hot start and took down Lenoir-Rhyne 90-48.

The Vols were able to spread the minutes around in the win as the regular season nears. They finished their preseason exhibitions 2-0 along with a win over No. 4 Michigan State on the road.

Here are three takeaways as the Vols brought the preseason to a close.

Another fast start paves way for freshmen minutes

After leading 30-12 in the first 10 minutes at Michigan State, the Vols led 15-0 early against Lenoir-Rhyne. They shot 6-of-9 during that stretch and stayed hot for the duration of the first half.

Tennessee shot 6-of-10 from three en route to a 49-20 halftime lead.

As a result, the Vols were able to get extended playing time for their freshmen — something that wasn’t available against the Spartans. There were some slip-ups that Barnes wasn’t happy with, but freshmen Cameron Carr and Freddie Dilione V earned a significant amount of playing time.

Dilione had two points and three assists in 20 minutes, and Carr had nine points and seven rebounds in 19 minutes. Cade Phillips and J.P. Estrella also impressed in the paint, combining for 10 points and 12 rebounds.

Offensively, the freshmen fared well, but Barnes made it clear that he wants to see more on the defensive end.

“Tonight, was hoping those guys understand how hard it is to play two minutes with all the details that you want,” Barnes said. “Whether it’s on defense, hands up, deflecting, getting to your gap position, whatever it is. And then turn around, running the court as hard as we want to run it, taking care of the ball. And they will tell you now they’re realizing it’s a lot harder than they thought.”

Transfers stand out for the second straight game

Jordan Gainey and Dalton Knecht continued to prove to be big pickups for Tennessee. After combining for 48 points against Michigan State, the pair went for 26 on Tuesday.

When paired with a high-level performance against a top-five team, it is looking to be a successful year for Barnes in the transfer portal. Barnes hasn’t leaned on the transfer portal much in his time at Tennessee outside of last year’s addition of Tyreke Key, but he did say that he “likes the 48 points.”

Both players have shown the ability to do more than just score the ball. Gainey racked up four assists and two rebounds, and Knecht had three assists and three rebounds.

However, Barnes said that he would like to see Knecht use his length on the defensive end. Knecht is known as a shooter, but Barnes said at media days that part of the reason he came to Tennessee was to improve on the other side of the floor.

“There’s no doubt he has tried harder than he’s ever tried in his life, but now he’s gotta understand, if he does his work early, understand who he is guarding and his length,” Barnes said. “He doesn’t use his length. When people see him, they tell me they didn’t know he’s that tall and that long, but he’s gotta use that on the defensive end.”

Spreading the ball around 

Every Vol that appeared in Tuesday’s game except for Grant Hurst scored a point. Four Vols recorded at least 10 points. Tennessee was still able to shoot at a 58.7% clip.

In addition to Gainey and Knecht, big men Tobe Awaka and Jonas Aidoo reached double digits. The Vols passed the ball around efficiently and finished the game with 22 assists as a team.

Tennessee was able to do this even with the absences of its top two returning scorers in Zakai Zeigler and Santiago Vescovi. When the two guards return, it will only serve to boost the Vols’ depth.