Tennessee looks like a heavyweight

Tennessee’s 84-36 win over Western Carolina tonight was a textbook, pre-Christmas non-conference blowout. The Vols looked how you’d expect the No. 1 team in the nation to look against a 3-6 Southern Conference team, barely breaking a sweat in a 48 point win.

No doubt Rick Barnes will find some teaching points from this one for the film room, that’s what coaches do, especially this head coach. But the Vols look like they’re rolling towards the holidays as a team that’s finding its sweet spot.

Tennessee wasn’t particularly good on the offensive end tonight, especially in the second half, but it could have hardly mattered less.

The Vols’ defense simply overwhelmed Western Carolina in the manner they often do in this low-major match-ups.

The Catamounts didn’t even make a shot from two-point range in the first half (true story), getting all of their 15 points on five made three-pointers (out of 37 attempts) as Tennessee led 38-15 at the break.

Western Carolina hit two three pointers in the opening minutes of the game to take a 6-0 lead, and it was all downhill for the visitors from there.

“I don’t know if I’ve coached in a game where I don’t think they scored a two-point bucket in the first half. But they were just coming in shooting it (the three),” Barnes said after the win.

“Obviously our talent was a major factor in the game. But they’re so well coached, the play hard. And they play hard for 40 minutes.”

As Barnes noted, Tennessee’s talent was a major factor in the game.

Zakai Zeigler just missed recording the second triple-double in program history (Tyler Smith, 2007). He finished with 10 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists and was pulled from the game with 2:10 left on the clock.

Chaz Lanier led the Vols with 19 points and got there effortlessly.

Jordan Gainey continued his strong play with another efficient outing, getting his 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting (2-of-4 from three) to go along with five steals on the defensive end.

If you’re looking for a potential bright spot in an otherwise meaningless blowout, Darlinstone Dubar putting together another strong performance could be a real positive for this team.

Dubar had an impactful 16 minutes tonight, scoring a season high 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting. It goes without saying that given their numbers, Tennessee needs the transfer to continue to progress.

“I think, one, he’s playing the role we want him to play. He’s getting more comfortable. And I just think over time, as he strings together practices and gets time in more games, I think it’s going to help us,” Barnes said of Dubar’s increasing contributions.

“We believe that. And he’ll continue to get himself in better shape. That’s what he needs to do right now.

“He obviously can shoot the ball. We all know that that. I thought he tried really hard defensively. I think he was really locked in there. That’s the big thing we’ve been talking to him about. Trying to be more consistent on that end.”

Tennessee as a team was consistent on the defensive end tonight.

The offense came and went in spurts, but the defense was locked in from the start.

This game wasn’t likely to be close in any event, but to see Tennessee come back just three days after a huge road win—with very little practice time—and be that locked in defensively was a testament to this team’s maturity.

It’s not surprising at all, mind you, but it’s still worth noting that after their best win of the year—and plenty of outside praise—they came back against an opponent they could have overlooked and still won by 20, but they were totally locked in defensively.

Western Carolina didn’t get to 20 points until the 12:54 mark of the second half. I don’t care who you’re playing, that’s noteworthy.

Tennessee has two games left this year before SEC play starts. The Vols host MTSU next Monday and will play Norfolk State on New Year’s Eve.

Barring a stunning development Tennessee will host Arkansas in the SEC opener as the No. 1 team in the country, the first game of what should be a wild SEC conference season.

Tennessee is going to be one of the heavyweights in what should be the most entertaining conference race in years.

We didn’t learn anything about this Tennessee team tonight that we didn’t already know. They look like one of the best teams in the country and they’re capable of completely wrecking your offensive game plan.

We’ve got two more warm up acts to sit through, then we’re all going to find out if Tennessee, and the SEC, are as good as we all think they are based on what we’ve seen to this point.

And based on what we’ve seen to this point, emerging as the best team in the SEC may just stamp you as the best team in college basketball.

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