This could be habit-forming.
Tennessee has won seven consecutive Southeastern Conference games.
Good guard play was again the winning edge. A strong performance by John Fulkerson helped.
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The Vols defeated visiting Vanderbilt, 73-64. It was a little too close for comfort. The Commodores reduced a 16-point deficit to two. Tennessee had to fight through foul troubles. Tennessee hit only 30 per cent of its field-goal attempts in the second half. The Vols won the backboard battle by 10.
Zakai Zeigler led the winners with 16 points and an assortment of other exciting plays. Best of all, ZZ had zero turnovers.
Josiah-Jordan James had a double-double – 14 points and 10 rebounds. Hidden behind those numbers were 12 missed shots from the floor in 14 tries. On the plus side were four critical free throws in the final minute.
Kennedy Chandler went scoreless for seven-eighths of the game but came through with three goals under duress. Santiago Vescovi and Chandler missed many minutes because of fouls. Both finished with four. Vescovi contributed 10 points.
Fulkerson had his best game since the long-ago victory over Arizona – 12 points, six rebounds, three assists.
Tennessee’s defense was good enough to win but not good enough to stop Vandy guard Scotty Pippin. He scored 23.
Historical summation: No current Vanderbilt player has ever enjoyed a victory over the Vols. Tennessee has won 10 in a row over the Commodores.
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Rick Barnes saw the same things the big crowd saw.
“It was a hard-fought game. SEC wins are hard to come by. The guards won the game down the stretch.
“We were sloppy at times, not very good on offense, but we responded when we had to respond. I thought we generally took care of the ball.”
The coach said he was concerned before the game about player durability, the late return from Mississippi State, limited time to recover from serious combat in Starkville.
Barnes monitored Vescovi in particular because he is perhaps the hardest worker and usually plays the most minutes.
The Vols are facing another tight turnaround. The rematch against Kentucky is Tuesday.
The Wildcats may or may not have a different kind of problem. Guard TyTy Washington dropped out of yesterday’s victory over Florida with a leg injury. He mistreated the Vols in Lexington in January – 28 points, 10-for-13 from the field.
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Turning point: Tennessee’s improvement and the SEC winning streak started the game after the 107-79 Kentucky romp.
In a similar struggle against Vandy, the Vols closed with an 8-0 run and earned a valuable road victory. They beat LSU more decisively than the final 64-50 score. They turned back Florida, 78-71.
Next came the 90-80 win over Texas A&M, an 87-57 rout at South Carolina and the plenty-tough 72-63 victory at Mississippi State.
Barnes said: “This time of the year, any coach would tell you, if you don’t have a turning point, things normally don’t end up very well for you.
“I think we are a different team.”
Marvin West welcomes reader comments or questions. His address is marvinwest75@gmail.com