The Tennessee Volunteers (24-2, 12-1) defeated the struggling Vanderbilt Commodores (9-17, 0-13) in an ugly, unconvincing win in Knoxville on February 19th, 58-46.
Tennessee struggled mightily on offense to start the game. By the first media timeout, Vanderbilt had a three point lead.
Tennessee has not come out with the fire that many were hoping for. Vanderbilt has hit a few threes that haven’t helped that cause either.
First media timeout:#Vols 10#Dores 13
— AtoZSports Nashville (@AtoZSports) February 20, 2019
However, by the end of the first half, the Vols were back in the drivers’ seat and led by nine. This was in part due to Tennessee giving the Commodores a new look on defense by switching to zone instead of man-to-man.
A couple new looks from the #Vols.
Tennessee is coming at Vanderbilt with a zone pressure rather than usual light man-to-man full-court pressure that we’ve seen.
Also, Derrick Walker is logging some early minutes in wake of Alexander’s recent struggles.
— AtoZSports Nashville (@AtoZSports) February 20, 2019
The Volunteers led Vandy at halftime, 36-27.
Vanderbilt started the second half rejuvenated. Meanwhile, Tennessee was sluggish at first, giving Vandy the chance to cut the Vols’ lead down to four.
Following their run to to cut the score, Vandy began to struggle offensively and only went one for nine shooting for a stretch. Capitalizing on the Commodores’ mistake, the Vols began to widen the gap again.
#Vols lead 51-44 with 3:49 remaining.
Tennessee has looked decent over the last few minutes which serves as a distractor from how the rest of the game has been.
— AtoZSports Nashville (@AtoZSports) February 20, 2019
Tennessee escaped at home with the win, but it wasn’t the bounce-back performance they needed following their loss to Kentucky.
Meanwhile, Vanderbilt played the same kind of game they have played all season. They were competitive, but weren’t able to seal the deal and finally win a game in the SEC.
Here are the top eight pictures from the game:
Feb 19, 2019; Knoxville, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers head coach Rick Barnes speaks with forward Grant Williams (2) during the first half against the Vanderbilt Commodores at Thompson-Boling Arena. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
