Vols won Battle 4 Atlantis title with 'three days of hard-nosed defensive basketball'

Rick Barnes had been here before. Leading at halftime against a top-five team. In a ballroom turned basketball arena on Paradise Island in the Bahamas. With a chance to make a statement in the Battle 4 Atlantis.

Five years ago, against No. 5 Villanova, Tennessee was up 46-34 at the break and looking for a second upset win over a ranked team in as many days.

“They came out and kicked our butt in the second half,” Barnes said, referencing Villanova outscoring his Vols by 21 after halftime, on the way to an 85-69 win back in November 2017. “We were in the same spot, up 12 or something like that.”

This time, Friday night in the tournament’s championship game against No. 3 Kansas, Tennessee led by eight at halftime, despite committing 17 turnovers in the first 20 minutes. 

“They came out,” Barnes said, “and I said we are going to see how far we have grown as a program.”

The Vols cut down on the turnovers in the second half, shut down the leading scorers for the Jayhawks with elite defense and rode the scoring of Santiago Vescovi and Zakai Zeigler, winning 64-50 for the Battle 4 Atlantis title. 

“These guys came out and sustained it,” Barnes said. “It has been three days of hard-nosed defensive basketball against some physicality, different matchups.” 

Vescovi scored 20 points and Zeigler had 14, as the two combined to hit eight 3-pointers. Tyreke Key added 10 and Olivier Nkamhoua had seven points and seven rebounds.

Kansas forward Jalen Wilson, who had 29 points and 14 rebounds Thursday against Wisconsin, had 14 points on just 3-for-15 shooting. Gradey Dick, who had 25 points after going 6-for-12 from the 3-point line against North Carolina State on Thursday, had just seven points against the Vols, going 2-for-8 from the field.

Point guard Dajuan Harris, who combined for 19 points and 13 assists over the previous two days, had just two points and two assists, committing four turnovers before fouling out with nine minutes left.

Tennessee, meanwhile, suffocated Kansas after hanging on to beat USC in overtime Thursday, after blitzing Butler in the second half on Wednesday. The Vols won three games in three days without senior wing Josiah-Jordan James, who missed the tournament with knee soreness. 

“These guys came up here with this in mind,” Barnes said. “I am really happy for them. They’ve worked hard. They worked hard getting ready for this.”

Zakai Zeigler: ‘I think we like to play defense, that’s how I would put it’

After beating Kansas Friday, Tennessee moved to No. 1 in adjusted defensive efficiency — points allowed per 100 possessions — at 83.7. The Jayhawks averaged just 0.745 points per possession against the Vols, held to their lowest point total since a loss to No. 1 Kentucky in 2014.

“We have started to develop the kind of mentality defensively,” Barnes said. “What we did tonight, in three days, it’s physically tough. I’m not sure how many minutes these guys (Vescovi and Zeigler) averaged, but they probably averaged close to 30 minutes (per game). The way they go at it, we try to run. It’s not like we’re walking the ball up the floor, playing a tempo game.”

Tennessee committed just 11 turnovers against USC on Thursday. The Vols had 16 against Butler on Wednesday, but forced 23.

Kansas forced 17 Friday night before Tennessee could get to halftime.

“I would say we knew the turnovers were a big problem,” Zeigler said, “and a lot of their points came off of our turnovers. Once we cut that down and when we cut it down, it was a whole different ball game and I believe that showed in the second half.”

Up Next: No. 22 Tennessee vs. McNeese State, Wednesday, 7:15 p.m. ET, SEC Network

The Vols had seven turnovers in the second half while Vescovi and Santiago combined for 22 points after halftime, going 6-for-8 from the 3-point line.

The sloppiness early, Barnes said, was on him. Maybe he had emphasized the defensive intensity a little too much.

“We weren’t great in the first half with (the ball),” Barnes said, “but the one thing that we didn’t let up on was on the defensive end, which is what we talked about, which is on me because I said to them ‘we’ll find a way to score enough points if we just won’t let up (on defense).’ 

“And sometimes when you say that, the guys get a little loose with the ball.”

The Vols never got loose on the defensive end during the three-day run in the Bahamas.

“I think we like to play defense,” Zeigler said, ‘that’s how I would put it. Like I said earlier, if you can’t stop the man in front of you, then you have no shot of winning the game. But if you can, you’ve got a pretty good shot even if you can’t make a shot or not. 

“We just like to play defense and we just happen to be good at it.”