Knoxville, TN – A season-high 16 points from freshman guard Keon Johnson and a solid effort on the defensive end led the 10th-ranked Tennessee men’s basketball team past in-state foe Vanderbilt 81-61.
The win was the Vols (10-1, 4-1 SEC) seventh consecutive over the Commodores (4-6, 0-4 SEC) and the fourth in a row inside Thompson-Boling Arena.
Saturday’s victory also tied Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes with legendary former coaches Phog Allen and Don Haskins for 20th place on the all-time Division I wins list with 719. Barnes ranks seventh in career wins among active head coaches and now has 115 victories at Tennessee.
Johnson’s 16 points were both a team- and season-high, coming on 4-of-8 shooting from the field and a near-perfect 7-of-8 mark from the free-throw line.
Senior John Fulkerson was the most efficient Vol on the night, scoring 15 points, knocking down five of his six attempts from the field, and brought in a game-high eight rebounds.
Freshman Jaden Springer stuffed the stat sheet, scoring 10 points, pulling in a season-high seven rebounds, five assists, and a season-high-tying three steals.
Junior Victor Bailey Jr. finished the night with 11 points, nine of which came on three made 3-pointers during the Vols early second-half run that put the game nearly to bed.
The first half was a tightly contested affair that saw the defenses controlling the flow. While the squads combined for a fairly efficient 37 percent from the field, there were only 10 combined offensive rebounds and seven-second chance points between the sides.
A late push to end the half sent the Vols into the locker room with a 34-24 lead.
The start of the second half saw a similar pace to the contests opening frame, before the Vols broke things open with a 15-2 run during a four-minute stretch where the Vols knocked down five shots from 3-point land, three of which came from Bailey Jr to extend the lead to 56-42.
Over the contest’s final 10 minutes, the Vols stifled Vandy on the defensive end and made a number of key buckets to close out the night.
Defense Wins Games: The Tennessee Vols forced 16 turnovers and nabbed nine steals as a team. Saturday’s 16 forced turnovers marked the 10th time in 11 games the Vols have forced 15 or more turnovers.
Box Score
Next Up For Tennessee Vols Basketball
Tennessee hits the road for a Tuesday night contest with Florida. Tipoff from Gainesville is slated for 6:00pm CT on ESPN.
