Tennessee basketball turns in lowly performance in loss to South Carolina
Tennessee basketball has had bad halves this season but hadn't turned in a lowly game.
Well, until the first 37 minutes Tuesday anyway.
Tennessee missed layups and dunks, got little production from key players, and gave upstart South Carolina a signature win it had been craving. The No. 5 Vols took their worst loss of the season against the Gamecocks, falling 63-59 at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center after a furious scoring push from Dalton Knecht in the final three minutes made the late moments tense.
Knecht led Tennessee (15-5, 5-2 SEC) with 31 points against the Gamecocks (18-3, 6-2). He did not make a field goal for the first 17:04 of the second half, then scored points in a hurry to pull Tennessee back in the game. Zakai Zeigler had two points and did not make a field goal. Jonas Aidoo had six points on 2-for-8 shooting.
South Carolina made 10 3-pointers, while Tennessee made five.
Tennessee was terrible at the rim
Jonas Aidoo missed a layup on the first possession of the game and that set the tone for what was to come for Tennessee. The Vols were lousy at the rim, missing open baskets routinely. Aidoo especially struggled, but was hardly the only one.
UT made 8-for-21 on layup and dunk attempts. Freshman J.P. Estrella missed a dunk early as it slammed off the back of the rim and out.
Dalton Knecht scored but was not efficient until late
Knecht did his usual scoring but it wasn't his usual efficiency in getting the points. He had 18 points on his first 18 shots before unloading in the final three minutes. He scored 13 points in the final 2:54.
South Carolina worked hard to play physically with Knecht, who missed his first five shots of the second half.
Santiago Vescovi gave Tennessee a spark
Tennessee lacked a spark often against South Carolina, but it got bursts from Vescovi. The senior got the second half started well with a steal at the top of the key, batting the ball away with his left arm. He ran free for a layup to cut South Carolina's lead to 33-30.
The senior hit a deep 3-pointer to tie the game 33-33. He forced a turnover with tenacious backcourt defense, then was hit with a moving screen with the Vols down by four. But Aidoo airballed a jumper on the ensuing possession.
Up next
Tennessee plays at No. 8 Kentucky on Saturday (8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN).
Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.com and follow him on Twitter @ByMikeWilson. If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee basketball woeful in loss to South Carolina
