By SCOTT FELTS
The 19th-ranked Tennessee Volunteers (10-3) closed out the non-conference portion of their schedule Tuesday with a 105-54 shellacking of South Carolina State (1-13).
Where do the Vols stand in the SEC and national title race? Here are some numbers that might provide a clue.
12.46: The number of turnovers the Vols are averaging. Did you know that nine of the last 10 NCAA men’s national champions kept their turnover average under 12? That will be a stat to watch as the Vols head into conference play. Also worth noting… starting point guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie had zero turnovers against S.C. State. After committing 19 turnovers in the first five games of the season (3.8 per game), Gillespie has made just five turnovers combined in the past five games. His taking care of the ball is the type of play that can lead the Vols to championships.
46.1: Tennessee’s offensive rebounding margin, which leads the entire nation according to KenPom.com. The Vols also rank third nationally in rebounding margin (+15.0), a stat helped greatly by the S.C. State game. With 20 offensive boards and 52 total on Tuesday, the Vols have logged double digit offensive rebounds in all 13 games this year and this marks the third time this season the Vols had 20 or more in a game. Tennessee outrebounded the Bulldogs by 36.
66: The number of wins against Quad 3 and Quad 4 opponents for Rick Barnes at Tennessee since the start of the 2020-21 season. That’s the best record of any coach over that span against Quad 3 and Quad 4 foes. Chris Beard, now at Ole Miss, is second in that category at 45-0 and Jon Scheyer at Duke is 44-0.
14: The number of free throws the Vols missed against South Carolina State, including 11 misses in the first half. Tennessee currently averages .699 shooting from the charity stripe. Not great, but also not as bad as the as the 2014 UCONN team that shot 62.3%, which is the lowest free-throw percentage for a national champion since 1985. Also, five of the last 10 national champions shot under 72% from the line so while it’s hard to watch those easy shots fall out, it’s not something to worry too much about when forecasting championship potential.
Stats to watch
Tennessee opens its SEC slate Saturday at Arkansas (3 p.m., ESPN). The Vols are tied for 21st nationally in scoring defense (64.5 ppg), and tied for 23rd nationally in 3-point percentage defense (28.1%). The Razorbacks are tied for 22nd nationally in scoring (89.5 ppg) and tied for fourth nationally in 3-point shooting (39.7%).
Orange Slices
This is the sixth consecutive season that the Vols have gone undefeated in non-conference play at home. That stretch is now 44 games, the longest run in program history edging out a streak from December 1940 to December 1949. In all of Division I, the only teams with longer current non-conference home win streaks are Auburn (65), Baylor (51) and Texas Tech (45). … Half of the Vols’ 10 turnovers against South Carolina came in the first five minutes. … Tennessee held the Bulldogs without a field goal for three significant stretches: a 7:17 drought in the first half and droughts of 3:40 and 3:41 in the second half. … This was he third and final of Tennessee’s opponents this season that they had never met on the hardwood previously. Northern Kentucky and North Florida were those other two first-time foes. … The Bulldogs are led by Erik Martin, the reigning MEAC Coach of the Year. Their top player, MEAC Preseason Player of the Year Jayden Johnson, scored 25 of the Bulldogs’ 54 points Tuesday night.