No. 5 Tennessee has hung its hat on defense for the last two seasons, according to head coach Rick Barnes.
On Wednesday night, the Vols (4-0) hung their hat on offense, and a late defensive spurt, to open the NIT Tipoff with a 92-81 win over Louisville (3-1) at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Junior forward Grant Williams, the reigning SEC Player of the Year, led Tennessee with 24 points, nine rebounds, four assists and three blocks. Senior forward Admiral Schofield added 20 points and six boards.
Both players surpassed 1,000 career points in the game. Williams became the 49th player in Tennessee history to accomplish the feat, and Schofield marked the 50th Vol to reach that pinnacle later in the first half.
Redshirt-junior Lamonte Turner made his first appearance of the season on Wednesday after sitting out the first three games of the season as he recovered from offseason shoulder surgery.
Turner provided the offensive spark that earned him SEC Sixth Man of the Year honors in 2017-18, as he poured in 13 points off the bench. He was 3-for-8 from three-point land.
Louisville opened up a 33-31 lead with 7:14 remaining in the first half, but the Cardinals would not lead for the rest of the contest. Tennessee held a 45-40 lead at intermission, despite allowing seven made three pointers.
For the first ten minutes of the second half, Louisville stayed toe-to-toe with the Vols. With 9:30 left in the game, the teams were tied at 68-68.
As Tennessee has done throughout the early portion of this season, an offensive run combined with stifling defense opened up the game. At the 5:00 mark, the Vols held an 85-70 lead, and Louisville would not get close again down the stretch, as a 24-13 run close the game.
John Fulkerson was another key for Tennessee off the bench. He was 4-for-4 with 11 points in his 11 minutes of playing time. Jordan Bone added 11 points, six assists and two rebounds in the win.
Jordan Bowden was held to four points on 2-of-3 shooting from the field.
The Vols have now won five of their last six games against teams from the ACC. Wake Forest visits Knoxville for a matchup at Thompson-Boling Arena on Dec. 22.
Tennessee will now face No. 2 Kansas (4-0) on Friday night at 9:00 p.m. ET on ESPN2.
