Tennessee defeats LSU to set up a huge matchup with Alabama this weekend

The Tennessee Basketball Volunteers headed to Baton Rouge Tuesday night to play a struggling LSU squad. Tennessee was fresh off a top-10 road win at Texas A&M and had the trip to LSU sandwiched between another top-10 matchup with Alabama this Saturday. Classic trap game scenario. Tennessee was behind the 8-ball depth-wise against the Tigers too as Jordan Gainey suited up despite flu-like symptoms and looked far from his normal self. Tennessee only held a 26-23 lead at the half and struggled to score due to turnovers and poor shooting. I’m not too surprised at the slow starts anymore. I don’t know the reason for it, but it just seems to be who this team is and they better get it fixed before tournament time.

However, just as consistent as the slow starts are for this squad, the second-half efforts are always top-notch. Tennessee eventually held a 15-point lead with 3 minutes to go before a last-minute LSU flurry made the score look closer than the game really was. Tennessee didn’t shoot well on Tuesday night but what they did do well was pull down offensive rebounds. Tennessee finished with 17 offensive boards and 27 2nd chance points. It was the key to this victory for the Vols, and without that effort on the boards, it could’ve been a resume-destroying loss in their quest for a 1-seed. Tennessee also held their 7th conference opponent under 60 points and outscored the Tigers 32-20 in the paint. It was a gritty win in a spot that many teams might have slipped up in. It was very reminiscent of last year’s win over a horrific Missouri Team in Columbia. That was also a single-digit road win for Tennessee, and that underwhelming margin of victory didn’t doom the Vols down the stretch as they went 4-0 to lock up an SEC regular season title.

This year’s team is in a very similar spot. While the SEC title is likely going to Auburn this year, a 3-0 finish to the year with wins over Alabama, Ole Miss, and South Carolina would put the Vols in a sterling position for the 1-seed. Of course, it would require some scoreboard-watching with teams like Houston and Alabama, but all Tennessee can do is beat who is in front of them. Tennessee has now won 6 of their last 7 and is consistently winning close games. Sounds like a good trait for a team to have once March comes around.