Order has been more or less restored in the Tennessee Basketball universe after a winning weekend that found the Vols picking up a tough road win against Texas and the Lady Vols absolutely routing Arkansas in Fayetteville. The wins were sorely needed following what had been a rough week by both teams.
We’ll start with the easy game first.
The Lady Vols seized control of their matchup with Arkansas early and never looked back, rolling up a 93-63 win. Kim Caldwell’s team put up 20+ points in all four quarters, stretched a 47-33 halftime lead to a 73-47 third quarter lead and coasted in the fourth quarter. UT put four players into double figures. Talaysia Cooper led the way with 20 points, and Zee Spearman followed closely with 18 points.
In a huge game impacting stat, the Lady Vols turned Arkansas over 22 times that led to 28 points off the turnovers. For a team that gave up almost 90 points in each of their last two games, the Arkansas game was a significant step up on defense. They also dominated the glass, hauling 43 rebounds to Arkansas’s 26. Next up is a Thursday night home game against Mississippi State. The Lady Vols are now 14-2 for the season.
The challenge was bigger and a bit more complicated for the men’s basketball Vols in Austin. Returning to the college town Rick Barnes called home for almost 20 years, the Vols ran into a motivated Longhorn team and a loud & rowdy home crowd. With both teams struggling from the opening whistle, the Vols managed to build a six point lead after a 9-0 run. After a tight first half in which neither team could take control of the game, the Vols led 33-31.
The second half marked the arrival of Darlinstone Dubar. A very athletic built 6’6″ guard, Dubar came through with 9 points over the last 14 minutes, finishing the night with 12 points and six rebounds in his season high 17 minutes. I suspect his playing time will be going up with that level of production. Zakai Zeigler led the Vols in scoring, and like Dubar, he did most of his damage late, as he scored 13 of his 16 points over the last 15 minutes.
Obviously, it was a big win for Rick Barnes against his former team. Barnes delivered one of the top quotes of recent in college sports when he addressed why he sat team scoring leader Chaz Lanier. To quote Barnes, his comment was “if you’re not going to do what you’re PAID to do, you sit over here.” Refreshing in this new college sports world for a coach to call it like it is. You’re getting paid. Do what you’re supposed to do.
Next up for the 15-1 Vols is Georgia, who comes to Rocky Top Wednesday night. The game will be broadcast on the SEC Network with an 8pm tip.
Nice bounce back weekend Vols & Lady Vols, and good luck with this weeks SEC matchups!
