On the eve of Christmas Eve, following a two-game losing streak, Tennessee bounced back and rode strong performances from Josh Richardson and Derek Reese to a 82-67 victory over Morehead State.
A win is a win, yes, but Tennessee could have and likely should have won this game by 20 points or more as The Eagles just aren’t very good at playing the game of basketball.
Buuuut if you’re a Vol fan, it’s hard to take too much issue with the performance. Tennessee desperately needed a win and got one, although the defense was somewhat sloppy in the second half. With the inferior opponent felled and the holiday here, we’re going to go with an abbreviated version of TDD today. Less frill, more thrill. Except not really more thrill. Just less frill.
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Holiday high-fives to the aforementioned Josh Richardson and Derek Reese. Josh was aggressive early, looking for his shot and making an effort to get to the hoop and score the ball. Richardson played a team-high 39 (out of a possible 40) minutes and collected eight rebounds, and he shot 8-13 from the field en route to his season-high 19 points. According to the wonderful people at UTSports.com, Josh was one point away from tying his career-high of 20 points set against Memphis last season.
UT coach Cuonzo Martin said following the loss to NC State that the lineup might need some tinkering to inject some life into the recently-prone-to-sleepwalking Vols. Derek Reese was the main beneficiary against Morehead State, getting his first burn of the season. The Orlando, Fla., product hadn’t touched the floor since last season, and he played like a man who missed being out there.
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Reese notched 12 points in 19 minutes on 5-9 shooting, including a 2-4 mark from behind the 3-point line. He also led the Vols in rebounds and blocks, tallying 10 and four respectively. He provided a jolt off the bench that Tennessee needed, but it remains to be seen if he can sustain a high-level of play against a high-level of opponent. Reese’s 19 minutes came primarily at the expense of freshman forward AJ Davis, who saw just 7 minutes of action after averaging 13.5 over the last four contests. It will be interesting to see how Martin divvies up the minutes against a much tougher Virginia team.
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Jeronne Maymon looked like the Jeronne Maymon we all fell in love with the season before last. He was vintage Maymon — tough and efficient down low — scoring 16 points on 5-8 shooting in a very productive 20 minutes. He also led the Vols with nine FT attempts, converting six of them. The hustle play he made on the steal and tipped-ball pseudo assist to Jordan McRae at the 8:35 mark of the first half was fantastic — that’s a guy just plain gettin’ after it. Tennessee needs this from its bulldog.
Antonio Barton finally hit a three and broke his streak of misses. Prior to last night, he hadn’t scored (on the court at least, lol) in 16 days.
Jordan #McRaecrae was quiet, but it was a game when it was okay for him to be quiet. I fully expect him to return to dunking on fools after Christmas.
The Vols were a little careless with the ball resulting in15 turnovers, more than half of which came from McRae and Darius Thompson.
Tennessee returns to the floor next Monday to face a 9-3 Virginia team. This will be the Vols’ last chance to add a quality non-conference notch to their NCAA tournament belt.
I sincerely hope y’all enjoy the time with your families and loved ones over the next few days. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all.[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]