No. 1 Volunteers Burning Up the SEC

To say the Tennessee Volunteers are on a roll is a gross understatement.

The No. 1 Volunteers took care of business on their home court Wednesday night with an 85-73 win over Frank Martin’s South Carolina Gamecocks.

Tennessee’s win marks their 19th consecutive victory this season. Their last loss came to hands of the then-No. 2 Kansas Jayhawks.

Let's review, shall we? pic.twitter.com/nCvif16SyH

— Tennessee Basketball (@Vol_Hoops) February 14, 2019

What Are They Good At?

A team of Tennessee’s caliber does a lot of things well, especially for a team that wins 19 straight. But what do they do best?

First of all, they get buckets. The Volunteers are second in the nation in field goal percentage at 52 percent. A majority of them come inside the arc as they sit third in the country in two-pointers made at 580. Plus, they average over 85 points per game.

They share the ball and don’t turn it over. Tennessee is second in college basketball at 19.9 assists per game and posts the second-best assist to turnover ratio at 1.74. Against the Gamecocks, Rick Barnes’s team scored 22 assisted buckets and only turned the ball over only 10 times.

Tennessee mastered the art of rejection too. It records the third-most blocks per game with almost six. The Volunteers sent back seven Gamecock shots on Wednesday night.

what did the five fingers say to the shot?

B L O C K ✋ pic.twitter.com/KYWhP80P1I

— Tennessee Basketball (@Vol_Hoops) February 6, 2019

The Usual Suspects

The Vols boast a lineup with a lot of experience and, coincidentally, those are the players producing for the team. Junior Grant Williams leads the SEC scoring at 19.4 points per game while senior Admiral Schofield is fifth with 16.7.

Schofield had a double-double against South Carolina with 21 points and 10 rebounds.

Junior point guard Jordan Bone leads the conference in assists per game (6.5). He stayed at that average with six dimes against the Gamecocks, Williams pitched in too with seven assists.

https://twitter.com/Vol_Hoops/status/1096125675101192194

Jordan Bowden is a leading candidate for the SEC’s Sixth Man of the Year. He’s only started five games but appeared in 23 of 24 games. He provides instant offense for Tennessee and is on a torrid stretch in the month of February.

Bowden is currently averaging over 14 points on 54 percent shooting with over four rebounds and nearly two assists in his last four games.

He threw in 16 points on 46 percent shooting against South Carolina.

What’s Next for the Vols

The Volunteers will get set for a primetime, top five matchup on Saturday. They’ll clash with the No. 5 Kentucky Wildcats at 8 p.m. on ESPN.

A win like that will all but ensure them one of the top four seeds for the NCAA Tournament.