In what may have been the most exciting ending to a 21-point blowout win in history, Tennessee (11-5, 3-2) cruised past Vanderbilt on Saturday night by a score of 66-45.
With the game out of reach, Vandy scrambled to extend its historic 1080 game streak of making at least one 3-point basket in every game since the line was added back in 1986. As the game clock ticked away, fans booed as players took the ball to the basket rather than looking to extend the streak.
As the final 3-point attempt bounced off the rim. The stat sheet showed 0-25 from beyond the arc. Streak over.
Jordan Bowden led Tennessee with 21 points on 7-11 shooting and started to look like his old self again, the player we expected to see this season. Rick Barnes said after the game, “I didn’t think Jordan Bowden pressed at all today. He let it come to him.”
John Fulkerson and Yves Pons scored 12 points each while Josiah James added 6 and led the team in rebounds with nine.
After struggling in the first half, the Vols went on a 16-3 run to open the second half and never looked back. Tennessee finished the night shooting 26-49, good for 53.1%, which is a marked improvement over its season average of 42.5% and the second-best shooting percentage of the season.
Of note, Tennessee freshman walk-on Jacob Fleschman was awarded a scholarship after the game, according to Grant Ramey.
Next up for the Vols is the Ole Miss Rebels on Tuesday at 9 p.m. at Thompson-Boling Arena. The game will be televised by the SEC Network.
Leave your comments here: The Official Tennessee @ Vanderbilt Game Thread, 6:00 PM ET, SEC Network