No. 13 Tennessee shuts down McNeese State
Defense travels. There’s no question No. 13 Tennessee’s defense followed the Vols back from The Bahamas.
Tennessee scored 30 points off 24 McNeese State turnovers and held visiting Cowboys to 28.6-percent shooting, slogging through a 76-40 win Wednesday night at Thompson-Boling Arena.
The Vols (6-1) got 16 points from Santiago Vescovi, who went 4-for-12 from the 3-point line, and got 12 from five-star freshman wing Julian Phillips. Olivier Nkamhoua had 11 points and five rebounds.
McNeese State (2-6) got eight points from Trey English. The Cowboys, who had three players foul out, finished 15-for-56 from the field and went just 2-for-17 from the 3-point line.
Meanwhile, Tennessee had 21 assists on 23 field goals and held an opponent under 50 points for the fifth time in the first seven games this season.
The Vols gave up just 54.5 points per game in the Battle 4 Atlantis last week, wining the tournament after taking down Butler, USC and then-No. 3 Kansas over the course of three days. Tennessee left The Bahamas ranked No. 1 nationally in KenPom.com‘s adjusted defensive efficiency.
Tennessee led 30-14 at halftime, after scoring 16 points off 13 McNeese turnovers, then opened the second half on a 10-0 run to get the lead to 36.
Tennessee held McNeese to 23.1-percent shooting in the first half. The Cowboys went 6-for-26 from the field and were shutout at the 3-point line, going 0-for-7.
The Vols weren’t much better in the first half, either, going 9-for-26 from the floor and 3-for-12 from the 3-point line. To make matters worse, Tennessee was just 9-for-18 at the free-throw line, capped with Tyreke Key making only one of three attempts after drawing a foul at the 3-point line with two seconds left in the first half.
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Vescovi had eight points in the first half and Jonas Aidoo scored five, while grabbing six rebounds and blocking four shots. Phillips had five points of his own before the break, but missed three of his six free-throw attempts.
Josiah-Jordan James (knee) misses fourth straight game
Josiah-Jordan James warmed up but did not dress for Wednesday’s game, missing a fourth straight game with knee soreness. The senior wing, who leads Tennessee (5-1) in scoring (13.7 points per game) and rebounding (6.0), missed all three games last week in the Battle 4 Atlantis last week.
His status is day-to-day according to head coach Rick Barnes, who said before practice on Tuesday that James will return to the floor when he feels he’s ready to do so.
“It’s really up to him,” Barnes said. “We want him to be 100 percent healthy when he’s ready to play. He did do a little bit yesterday, but only he knows where he really is. Mentally I think he’s got to feel good about it, when he’s ready to go.”
Up Next: No. 13 Tennessee vs. Alcorn State
The Vols host Alcorn State on Sunday at 6 p.m. Eastern Time. The game is not televised, but can be streamed online via SEC Network+ and ESPN+. It’s the second of three straight home games, with Tennessee hosting Eastern Kentucky on December 7, a 7 p.m. ET start on SEC Network.
Tennessee’s next game away from home is the neutral-site meeting with No. 22 Maryland on December 11 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The Vols play at No. 4 Arizona on December 17.
