Take note, Kentucky. That’s how a legitimate Final Four threat behaves in the opening round.

While the 3-seed Wildcats were being upset by 14-seed Oakland, 2-seed Tennessee was ripping apart 15-seed Saint Peter’s. Yes, the same Saint Peter’s team that knocked off Kentucky as a 15-seed 2 years ago. There would be no such Cinderella run this time for the Peacocks. Tennessee put the clamps down, holding Saint Peter’s to 29% shooting from the field in an 83-49 victory.

The win pushes the Vols to the second round, where they’ll face 7-seed Texas on Saturday. Expect UT to be the betting favorite when that line opens at various Tennessee sportsbooks. And after Thursday’s showing, bettors who backed the Vols as a Final Four team before the tournament began are sitting comfortably.

Here are 3 takeaways from the win.

Dalton Knecht recovers, and his teammates follow suit

In its SEC Tournament quarterfinals loss to Mississippi State, Tennessee shot 24% from 3-point range. The 33 attempts were the third-most to that point of the season. The conversion rate was the second-worst. Knecht came off a 40-point explosion on Senior Day and crashed to a thud with a 4-for-17 showing against the Bulldogs.

No one could hit a 3 for most of the evening.

After poor postseason performances in the past, Tennessee’s early exit from the conference tourney stirred some angst.

Obviously a win over a 15-seed won’t have believers thumping their chests, but Tennessee showed little reason to doubt either. The Vols took 24 triples against Saint Peter’s and they made 11 of them. Knecht hit 4 of his 8 attempts from beyond the arc to score a game-high 23 points.

Knecht hasn’t had many poor performances this season, but when he has, he has followed them up with smart games. Knecht made 8 of his 15 shots from the field. He largely played smart basketball. The Vols outscored the Peacocks by 25 with him on the court.

And that performance helped everyone else.

The Vols shot 51% as a team. Seven different players scored at least 6 points.

Suffocating defense

Saint Peter’s did not bring a good offense into the game. Per KenPom, they ranked 306th in adjusted offensive efficiency. A matchup with a smothering Tennessee defense promised to do the Peacocks no favors. And UT was motivated after a really poor showing in the conference tourney.

Tennessee was relentless on that end of the floor.

Saint Peter’s trailed by 26 points after the first half. They scored 20 points in 20 minutes and averaged a miserable 0.645 points per possession. Inside the 3-point line, Tennessee held Saint Peter’s to 3-of-15 shooting from the field. Tennessee had a 20-4 advantage in the paint, a 25-11 advantage on the boards, and 4 blocked shots over the first 20 minutes.

It was more of the same in the second half. Jonas Aidoo finished with 3 blocked shots. Josiah-Jordan James had 3 steals. The Peacocks were limited to 0.817 points per possession and only 16 paint points. They went just 4-for-24 from beyond the 3-point line.

Turnovers weren’t really an issue. Saint Peter’s just couldn’t find much separation. Tennessee was active and engaged. Nothing came easy for the Peacocks.

Bring on the Barnes Bowl

From 1998-2014, Rick Barnes was the head coach of the Texas Longhorns. He won 3 regular-season Big 12 titles and made the NCAA Tournament all but once. He was the leader of some of the Longhorns’ best seasons in school history.

Now at Tennessee, Barnes might have his best shot yet at taking Tennessee to its first-ever Final Four.

A second-round matchup with the Longhorns promises to bring with it some extra noise. It benefits Tennessee that there’s only a day to prepare for the Longhorns. No doubt, though, Barnes’ team will want to go out and play well for him. What does that look like when the ball is tipped off? This team is already burdened with expectations. Does Tennessee come out a little tight?

Texas was nightmare fuel for Colorado State in their first-round meeting on Thursday. The Rams were held to just 11 first-half points and 29% shooting from the field.

We could be in for a rock fight.