An impressive victory over Kentucky last week and an unattractive loss at Arkansas this past weekend.
A test this Saturday against league-leading Auburn.
If ever there was an opportunity for Tennessee to fall victim in a trap game, it was Tuesday night’s trip to Missouri. Yet nobody bothered to tell the No. 17 Volunteers, who blistered the Tigers 80-61 to improve to 20-7 overall and 11-4 in Southeastern Conference play.
“I thought our guys gave Missouri the ultimate compliment, because they came in really locked in on what we needed to do to get a win here,” Vols coach Rick Barnes said afterward on a Zoom call. “After we got back from Arkansas, we took a day to really talk more about us. At our practice yesterday, our guys were really locked in, and that set a great tone for what we saw here today.
“It was a short and sweet practice, but it was very competitive, and you could tell again today in the shoot-around that we were locked in.”
Freshman point guard Kennedy Chandler paced the Vols with his most complete performance of the season, racking up 23 points, eight rebounds, six assists and two steals while committing no turnovers. Junior guard Santiago Vescovi pumped in 14 points, while fifth-year senior guard Victor Bailey added 11.
After downing the Wildcats before a sellout crowd of 21,678 at Thompson-Boling Arena and falling to the Razorbacks before a packed house of 19,200 at Bud Walton Arena, the Vols cruised Tuesday before a announced audience of just 7,253 at Mizzou Arena.
“We go into these games with the mindset that we’ve got to get better,” Bailey said. “Whether it’s 5,000 people in the stands or 25,000, it doesn’t matter. No matter the circumstances, we take every game the same and keep a level head through it all.”
Tennessee’s 19-point rout equaled the biggest home loss of the season for the Tigers, who dropped to 10-18 and 4-11 within the SEC. Javon Pickett’s 16 points led the hosts.
A Jaron Coleman jumper at the 11:20 mark of the first half put Missouri up 17-15, which would serve as the last lead of the night for the Tigers. Kennedy had a pair of layups and a dunk to highlight a 13-0 run that provided Tennessee its largest lead of the half at 28-17.
The Vols took a 36-27 lead into halftime and were up 48-36 when they used a 9-0 run to put the game away. Josiah-Jordan James made a pair of 3-pointers during that surge, with his second with 10:48 remaining making it 57-36, and Tennessee wound up finishing 9-of-18 from long range.
Chandler’s 23 points transpired on 9-of-12 shooting, and his eight rebounds marked a season-high.
“I just came out and played as hard as I could, honestly,” Chandler said. “We knew we couldn’t take this game for granted.”
Bailey’s 11 points occurred after a 10-game stretch in which he totaled just eight points.
“It was definitely good to see some shots go,” Bailey said. “My focus is doing whatever helps this team win.”
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.