FINAL:
Tennessee – 85
South Carolina – 42
COLUMBIA S.C. – The Vols traveled to Columbia for their third SEC matchup of the season after starting off 2-0. They would be hosted by a South Carolina Gamecocks team that is currently 12th in the SEC standings. In a game where Tennessee would be looking to take care of business and remain tied for first in the SEC, they would have to remain focused while on the road and not overlook The Gamecocks.
The Vols picked up right where they left off with an offensive assault similar to the Mississippi State game. Tennessee missed their first shot then proceeded to make their next 4 baskets to jump out to a 12-3 lead. While South Carolina had four steals early they were falling directly into Tennessee’s defensive trap of forcing their opponent to take long threes. A strategy that worked well as The Gamecocks started 1-13 from deep. A Julian Phillips layup at the four-minute mark gave The Vols a 19-point lead as they shot 59% from the field. That percentage would increase to 61% as Santiago Vescovi hit a three from near mid court to end the half. Tennessee took the largest road halftime lead under Rick Barnes into the locker room up 43-21.
Tennessee started off the second half with points thanks to Olivier Nkamhoua, who got an offensive rebound and scored under the rim for his 13th point of the game as he led all scorers. His next basket made it 15 points for the senior forward who was a perfect 7-7 from the field after going 5-5 against Mississippi State. A Jonas Aidoo dunk made it 61-30 Tennessee. Leading by 31 in conference play is certainly impressive, but the vols weren’t done. Who else but Nkamhoua would make it 71-30 on a highlight reel dunk that you can see below.
FLYIN’
📺 SEC Network
📲 https://t.co/JT82cXPEQd pic.twitter.com/hRdSevKkcH— Tennessee Basketball (@Vol_Hoops) January 7, 2023
Tennessee continued to force South Carolina into bad shots and they extended their lead to 76-33 as Nkamhoua remained perfect at 10-10 for the game and 15-15 since the start of the last game, and added a tenth rebound for a double double. South Carolina hit a couple shots to cut into the lead, but The Vols remained in control. Tennessee held SC to 21 points in each half as they won the game by a final score of 85-42.
Meechie Johnson led The Gamecocks with 19 points, while Olivier Nkamhoua led all scorers with 21. Tennessee out-rebounded South Carolina 48-21 as Nkamhoua led all players with ten, and Josh Gray led SC with five.
This is what Tennessee Head Coach, Rick Barnes, had to say post-game via Ben McKee of GoVols247 (@benmckee14) on Twitter:
Rick Barnes: This team works. They deserve where we are right now. But they’re also smart enough to know we need to get better. And we’re just getting our team together.
— Ben McKee (@benmckee14) January 7, 2023
Tennessee’s next game is against Vanderbilt in Knoxville at 8:00pm on Tuesday.
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