Observations from Tennessee’s Win at Louisville

Written By Tucker Harlin

By Tucker Harlin

A packed “Yum!” wasn’t treated to a bucket of crispy chicken Saturday.

#12 Tennessee (2-0) trounced Louisville (1-1) 77-55 at the KFC Yum! Center early in the afternoon, instantly asserting its will against the rebuilding Cardinals.

While the win looked great in most areas, it wasn’t without sloppiness that Rick Barnes and the coaching staff can tune up.

Here are my observations from Tennessee’s win.

FIRST HALF

Both defenses were swarming in the opening minutes, but Tennessee’s defense forced the Cardinals to go scoreless for 5:30 of game time.

Jahmai Mashack and Zakai Zeigler were the usual aggressors with early steals against the Cardinals.

Zeigler followed a layup with a steal on an inbound and assist to J.P. Estrella later in the half. In another instance, Zeigler blocked a three-point shot and finished with a layup on the other end.

Igor Milicic parked himself on the bench again with two early fouls in the half, but Cade Phillips was terrific in his stead. In one sequence, Phillips blocked a three and was gifted an easy finish at the rim by Cam Carr as a result.

Felix Okpara showed signs of life on offense. He finished once at the rim and scored a pair of free throws, but he did leave in the middle of the half with two fouls.

Louisville put together a 10-0 run near the end of the half, but Jordan Gainey hit a paint jumper to silence a charged up atmosphere.

Chaz Lanier led the Vols in scoring with 11 points.

SECOND HALF

The opening minutes of the first half got sloppy for Tennessee.

Gainey was the center of attention on fouls, turnovers, and rushed shots. Keep in mind Zeigler was not on the floor for much of this chaotic stretch.

Zeigler hit a three as the shot clock expired when he returned, a moment that turned the tide for the better. At its peak, Tennessee was north of 62% from distance.

The offensive production from Okpara was better this time around. The Ohio State transfer finished with 10 points on a perfect 4/4 outing from the field.

The defensive intensity remained in the second half.

Zeigler and Mashack both turned the Cardinals over late in the half. Gainey righted some of his wrongs in that bad stretch with a forced turnover on a baseline inbound play.

Louisville went on another brief run, but it was down too far for the run to matter.

TAKEAWAYS

The main gripe to leave this game with is the Vols’ turnovers. Zeigler might’ve pieced together a nice night scoring the ball, but he also accrued a rare points-turnovers double-double.

To me, dirty work done by Phillips and Okpara down low is the best thing to come out of this game for Tennessee. It was expected from Okpara, but we’re beginning to understand why players were advocating for Phillips to get more minutes last season.

Three-point shooting was nice, but that’s generally not been sustainable for Tennessee under Barnes. Chaz Lanier was knocking on the door of 20 points, but a lot of Lanier’s scoring was done with both jumpers and layups in the paint.

Something that can’t be questioned is Tennessee’s tenacity on defense. The Vols stifled the Cardinals to a 26.1% shooting day from the field, a constant intangible.

The Vols return home to take on Montana Wednesday at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center. The game tips off 7 p.m. ET and airs on SEC Network Plus.

Tucker Harlin
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