Just three days ago, Tennessee didn’t have a road win on the season. With Wednesday’s victory in Nashville, they’ve won two straight road games, plus three consecutive contests with in-state rival Vanderbilt. The Vols looked as if they may be turning the corner, and played their most complete game of the year on both sides of the ball. Tennessee stormed out of the gates to a 40-28 halftime lead, and the Commodores never mounted a serious threat as the men in orange marched to a 58-46 win.

Cuonzo Martin is now 3-1 against Vanderbilt.
Photo by Reed Carringer

Offense: Jarnell Stokes has grown up before our eyes the last few weeks. He grabbed his sixth straight double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds, and leads the SEC with 10 total. The sophomore forward handled double teams, showed an improved stroke from the free throw line, and was much more decisive with the basketball. He was clearly the best player on the floor, and Vanderbilt had no answer for him on the boards or in the paint.

Trae Golden’s return to the starting lineup went well, and his play is an encouraging sign for the Vols moving forward. He scored 12 points, pulled down seven rebounds, and turned the ball over just twice. Though he shot a poor percentage (33%), he was aggressive, controlled the offense, and orchestrated good looks at the basket.  After struggling with turnovers for the majority of the year, the Vols committed just nine in the game, and Golden deserves much of the credit for that.

Perhaps no one benefited more from Golden’s return than Jordan McRae. Tennessee’s leading scorer was forced to shoulder the brunt of the team’s ball handling duties in Golden’s absence, and his scoring suffered. Golden’s play opened up the floor, and McRae scored 14 points and
added 11 rebounds; good for first-career double-double.

The Vols shot 42.9 % for the game.

Defense: Even when pulling down double-doubles, Stokes has struggled at times on defense. That was not the case against the Commodores. Josh Henderson, Vanderbilt’s 6-11 center, scored 13 points against the Vols in Knoxville earlier this year, but was limited to four points in the game thanks, in large part, to Stokes’ stellar defense. Jarnell blocked five Vandy shot attempts and did an excellent job of keeping opposing players in front of him. Vanderbilt’s leading scorer, Kedren Johnson, scored 11 points and was the only Commodore in double-figures.

The Commodores shot 37.7% from the floor.

Final Take: The Vols certainly look like they’re starting to click on both offense and defense. They took away Vandy’s strengths and got good looks most of the night. Stokes has developed into a player through which Cuonzo can run the offense, and Golden looked like the Golden that led the Vols in scoring  through the first half of the season. Tennessee defended the three-point line well (Vanderbilt was just 3-14 from beyond the arc), and this was the most complete effort we’ve seen from the Vols this season.

Up Next: The Vols host No. 25 Kentucky Saturday (1 p.m. CBS).