Observations From Tennessee’s Opener Against Gardner-Webb

By Tucker Harlin

#12 Tennessee (1-0) defeated Gardner-Webb (0-1) 80-64 in its season opener in Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center.

The win is indicative of a team that’s still growing early in the season. The sickness of poor shooting was largely eliminated in the middle of the first half, but with the cure on offense came suspect defense late in both halves.

These are my observations from the Vols’ opening night victory.

FIRST HALF

Offensively, everyone but Cameron Carr who entered the game scored a point in the first half.

The same offensive woes in the exhibition against Indiana presented themselves early as the Vols shot 1/6 at one point from distance. Chaz Lanier and Jordan Gainey were able to flip that trend later in the half, scoring in double figures by the buzzer.

Zakai Zeigler went 0/4 from three, but he found other ways to score outside of the three. He netted eight points in the half.

Felix Okpara was unable to score from the floor. The box score said he only made two attempts, but the Vols were consistently working the ball in to him and he was unable to get shots up.

The defense was questionable in a few instances in the opening frame. The effort was there, but Gardner-Webb cashed in on several shots around the rim.

Igor Milicic and Jahmai Mashack both parked themselves on the bench with two fouls in the half, so that may be part of the reason for the Bulldogs’ production later on.

SECOND HALF

The Vols looked better on offense to begin the second half.

Both Mashack and Zeigler broke the threshold of double digits. Zeigler scored seven of his 13 points at the free throw line while Mashack hit two of four three point attempts.

Cade Phillips and Igor Milicic were strong in getting put backs and doing dirty work inside.

But once again, the defense fell asleep in the later stages of the half. Tennessee’s lead was sliced in half between the 8:30 mark and 3:10 mark in the second half, going from 71-44 to 75-62.

Bulldogs guard Darryl Simmons II led all scorers with 22 on the night in what was a respectable effort out of Gardner-Webb.

OVERALL

Tennessee occasionally has a non conference win over a mid-major opponent that ends closer than expected.

My mind jumps to the win over Georgia Southern in December 2023. The Eagles were winless at the time in which Tennessee played them, and the later stages of the second half turned into a tighter battle than anticipated.

Don’t overreact to a 16-point victory over Gardner-Webb.

I have two more notes to address before I close.

First, Felix Okpara is playing through a hip pointer. Okpara was strong defensively, but offensive struggles mixed with fouling made for what Rick Barnes thought was his worst performance he’d ever seen.

Finally, I’ll touch on the Darlinstone Dubar situation Whatever is happening with Dubar right now is confidential, but Barnes painted the situation in a light that suggests he really is going through some personal struggles and that the team is behind him right now.