What happens when Tennessee's four-guard starting lineup has four guards who can't buy a basket?
The No. 5 Volunteers found out Tuesday night.
Trailing 29-26 at halftime against Missouri in Columbia and watching his seasoned shooters go 0-of-9 from 3-point range in the first 20 minutes, Tennessee coach Rick Barnes decided to grow his team by having 6-foot-8, 250-pound sophomore forward Tobe Awaka join 6-11, 240-pound junior starting forward Jonas Aidoo more often on the floor. The inside tandem paid noticeable dividends, with Awaka and Aidoo combining for 32 points as Tennessee eventually built a 13-point lead before prevailing 72-67 to improve to 20-6 overall and 10-3 in Southeastern Conference play.
"We went with the bigger lineup because we felt like we weren't getting much from the perimeter," Barnes said afterward during a news conference. "We weren't making any 3s, and our post guys did a good job."
Aidoo played 31 minutes and 28 seconds, while Awaka was on the floor for 22:12. Their combined time of 53:40 is easily the most of this season, which will continue Saturday night (8 on ESPN) when Tennessee hosts Texas A&M.
The Aggies are 15-11 overall and 6-7 in SEC play, having lost three straight games since upsetting the Vols 85-69 in College Station on Feb. 10.
Awaka racked up a career-high 18 points Tuesday, making 6-of-8 shots from the floor and 6-of-7 attempts from the free-throw line. He also hauled in 10 rebounds and led the Vols in the plus/minus category with a plus-18.
Aidoo was 6-of-9 from the floor for 14 points, and he collected four rebounds.
"I love playing with Jonas," Awaka said after the victory on the Vol Network. "He's a little bit more finesse and lengthy, and I'm a little more of a bruiser, so I think we complement each other pretty well. He can stretch the floor playing the outside, and I can play towards the inside.
"We can play off each other pretty well."
Saturday will be Tennessee's annual "Checker Game," so fans in the lower bowl of the Food City Center will be provided with orange or white shirts, depending on their seat location.
All-time thief?
Fifth-year senior guard Santiago Vescovi picked up two steals at Missouri and now has 198 for his career, equalling the total of C.J. Watson, who played from 2002-06.
The only Vols player with more steals for a career than Vescovi and Watson is former Cleveland High standout Vincent Yarbrough, who compiled 211 from 1998-2002.
Odds and ends
Should Tennessee defeat Texas A&M and end a two-game skid against the Aggies, the Vols would possess the most recent win against every SEC team with the exception one-game losing streaks to Auburn, Mississippi State and South Carolina. Tennessee hosts Auburn next Wednesday and travels to South Carolina on March 6. ... The Vols outscored Mizzou 26-6 in bench points.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com.