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Rapid Reaction: Tennessee cruises to Round of 32 with lopsided victory over Longwood
By Andrew Olson
Published:
No. 3-seed Tennessee opened its campaign to take the NCAA Tournament’s South Region by dominating No. 14-seed Longwood on Thursday, notching an 88-56 win at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
Rick Barnes’ Vols got off to a strong start, putting up 54 points in the first half, a season-high, for a 25-point lead at the break (54-29). Josiah-Jordan James, John Fulkerson and Santiago Vescovi led the way to 54, combining for 40 on 15-for-20 shooting.
In the second half, Vescovi joined an exclusive club, hitting his 100th 3-pointer of the season. Vescovi joins Chris Lofton as the only other UT player to make 100 3-pointers in a single season. He heads into Saturday at 101 3-pointers.
Vescovi led all scorers with 18 points, coming off 6-of-8 3-point shooting. James, Fulkerson and Kennedy Chandler also finished in double figures.
The Vols shot 60 percent (33-of-55) from the floor while holding Longwood under 40 percent (20-of-52). UT was hot from behind the arc on Thursday, draining 14-of-24 3-pointers. Longwood was just 7-of-22 from 3-point territory. Barnes’ squad led by as many as 36 points and won the box score battles when it came to rebounds (32-24), assists (29-15) and steals (13-9) while committing fewer turnovers (16-12).
Tennessee is one win away from making the Sweet 16. UT will face No. 11-seed Michigan on Saturday in the Round of 32. The Wolverines upset Colorado State 75-63 earlier Thursday.
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
