Tennessee's defense has already set a program record ... with 11 games left in the regular season
Georgia’s Jabri Abdur-Rahim hit a three with 10:50 left in the first half Wednesday night at Thompson-Boling Arena, cutting No. 4 Tennessee’s lead down to 19-17 and making the Bulldogs 7-for-14 from the field through the first nine minutes, 10 seconds.
Then Tennessee’s defense got back to being Tennessee’s defense.
From there, the Bulldogs made only two more shots in the first half and scored only 24 points over the final 30 minutes, 10 seconds as the Vols won 70-41 after putting another opponent in their usual submission hold.
The 29-point win helped Tennessee (17-3, 7-1 SEC) set a new program single-season record for wins by 20 or or more points, with 11 through 20 games. The Vols have 11 games left on the regular-season schedule.
Vols have college basketball’s No. 1 defense for eighth week in a row
Georgia was the 10th Tennessee opponent held to 50 points or less by the Vols and the 15th held under 60 points. The Bulldogs needed a layup with two seconds left to break 40 points.
Tennessee’s biggest margin of victory this season was the 54-point win over Alcorn State. The Vols have won by 40 or more points three times and 30 or more points eight times. The slimmest margin of victory was three points against Maryland in December, just ahead of four at Ole Miss to start SEC play. The Vols beat USC by seven in overtime in the Battle 4 Atlantis in November and beat Vanderbilt by nine at home earlier this month.
The other 13 wins have been decided by 10 points or more.
Tennessee remained at No. 2 overall in the KenPom.com ratings after the win over Georgia, closing the gap to 0.68 points behind No. 1 Houston.
The Vols have been ranked No. 1 in adjusted defensive efficiency (82.7) — points allowed per 100 possessions — for the last eight weeks in the KenPom numbers. Rutgers, at 86.4, is the next closest.
Tennessee is ranked No. 1 in effective field-goal percentage, a statistic that adjusts for the fact that a 3-point field goal is worth more than a 2-point field goal, and No. 1 in 3-point percentage allowed (21.6). The Vols are No. 5 in steal percentage (14.3), No. 6 in 2-point percentage allowed (42.8), No. 7 in turnover percentage (25.2) and No. 22 in block percentage (14.0).
“As you guys know,” Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said after the game Wednesday, “we like pressuring the ball.”
That pressure starts in the backcourt.
Zakai Zeigler is second in the SEC in steals, with 46, and Santiago Vescovi is fourth with 40. Zeigler ranks 22nd nationally in steal percentage, ahead of Vescovi at No. 32. Sophomore wing Jahmai Mashack is ahead of both, though, and is ranked fourth nationally with a 5.5 steal percentage. Mashack has 30 steals despite averaging just 16.4 minutes per game.
Jonas Aidoo is tied for seventh in the SEC with 24 blocks. He’s ranked 24th nationally in block percentage, at 14.3.
Up Next: No. 4 Tennessee vs. No. 10 Texas, Saturday, 6 p.m. ET, ESPN
“Great defensive guys,” Barnes said, “… they impact the game because not only do they do what they need to do guarding their man, but they are fix-it guys. They are there when something breaks down, they can fix it.”
Barnes was asked Wednesday night how this defense, with the gaudy numbers it has already put up this season, can get better.
The answer: Consistency. Barnes is still looking for more of it.
“Can we be consistent every night,” he said, “with each guy knowing what he has to do to get better?”
