Tennessee defeated Arkansas at home for its eighth NCAA victory. Uruguayan Santiago Vescovi posted two key free games at the time of closing the game for Knoxville’s men.
In a new day of American college basketball, the University of Tennessee and its counterpart in Arkansas faced each other. The former had suffered their first loss of the season at the hands of Alabama, while the latter had also lost their undefeated, after being defeated by Missouri. Those commanded by Rick Barnes took to the field with Santiago Vescovi, Keon Johnson, Josiah-Jordan James, Yves Pons and John Fulkerson. For their part, those led by Eric Musselman began with Desi Sills, Moses Moody, Jalen Tate, Jaylin Williams and Connor Vanover.
The match played at the Thompson-Boling Arena presented an extremely entertaining start, in which both teams exchanged attack for attack, taking advantage of the little defensive opposition. The home team hurt on the perimeter with Keon Johnson and Josiah-Jordan James, while the visiting team was strong in the paint through Connor Vanover. As the minutes passed, the coaches began to rotate their teams, seeking to find solutions on both sides. Those of Knoxville did it through Victor Bailey Jr and Jaden Springer, meanwhile, those of Fayetteville did it with Vance Jackson and JD Notae, the first with two bombs that allowed his team to open a small advantage. The first 20 minutes of play went with the visit to the front in figures of 40 to 33.
At the start of the second half, the best version of the Volunteers could be observed, which with a good defense on the front line of Springer and Vescovi, plus what John Fulkerson contributed in the key, allowed their team to go to the front in the electronic. In that period of the game the Razorbacks had serious problems behind, while on the other side they depended excessively on what their individualities could generate. With James and Bailey Jr as the main offensive exponents, those led by Rick Barnes managed to get an income of seven points (68-61) with just over three minutes to play. Those of Eric Musselman did not give up and from the hand of Notae they got to put a ball. However, with Santi Vescovi free with 14 seconds left, the Vols closed the game in their favor. Ultimately, Tennessee took the victory 79-74 and thus added its second victory in the SEC and the eighth of the season.
In the winner, Josiah-Jordan James stood out, scoring 17 points and grabbing 9 rebounds, well seconded by Victor Bailey Jr with 17 points. On the underdog side, JD Notae finished as the leading scorer with 19 points.
Uruguayan point guard Santiago Vescovi spent 24 minutes on the court, in which he contributed 4 points (0/4 triples, 1/3 doubles and 2/2 free), 2 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals, for a total rating of 4.
The next commitment of our compatriot’s university will be on Saturday when he has to visit Texas A&M.
Foto: Twitter Tennessee (@Vol_Hoops)
