No. 24 Tennessee survives Vanderbilt in Nashville nail-biter

Following Tennessee’s 28-point loss to Kentucky on Saturday, the 24th-ranked Vols vowed that they would be tougher.

They got their first crack at that on Tuesday night, with a pivotal in-state rivalry matchup against Vanderbilt providing the perfect stage in Memorial Gymnasium.

Fueled by swift lineup changes, a gritty 100-year rivalry and some late heroics, Tennessee beat the Commodores 68-60.

It was UT’s ninth-straight victory at Vanderbilt.

Here are our takeaways from the matchup:

As Promised, Barnes Shakes Things Up

The biggest takeaway, at least early-on, was obvious: Rick Barnes finally made his move.

When starting lineups were announced, John Fulkerson stayed on the bench.

In his place came Uros Plavsic.

On Saturday, Barnes mentioned that “somehow, some way, we’ve got to change the vibe of this team.”

Evidently, Tuesday’s change constituted pulling Fulkerson, who was held scoreless and reboundless against Kentucky.

Fulkerson totaled points against the Commodores, while Plavsic earned his minutes in Nashville.

They did combine at one point, though — Fulkerson spun and dished to Plavsic before Plavsic connected for a three-point play to put the Vols up 50-45.

Still, the Commodores clawed back. 

And then Plavsic earned even more time down the stretch.

Plavsic Flashes, Saves — and Fouls

In total, Plavsic finished with 13 points and seven rebounds.

His last play was undoubtedly his greatest, as Plavsic gathered a board and dumped in a hook shot to give Tennessee the lead after a Scottie Pippen trey had tied the game at 60 with under a minute left.

Still, the Serbia native was far from perfect on the night.

As time expired in the first half, he committed a shooting foul by reaching down as Pippen went up to shoot.

The sequence allowed Pippen to sink a free throw before the half, drawing Vandy within one at 33-32.

Vols Show Needed Toughness

Early in the first half, Santiago Vescovi got tangled up with Vanderbilt’s Trey Thomas.

With Vescovi’s arms wrapped around one side of the ball and Thomas holding the other side, the two grappled until Vescovi slung Thomas away.

Referees intervened quickly, but the moment was far from Vescovi’s only gritty moment on Tuesday.

Late in the second half, the Uruguay native took an errant elbow from Myles Stute.

That was all Vescovi would take, though, as he charged Stute before Plavsic and Jamaine Mann got involved.

After the dust settled, each team was charged with two technical fouls.

Altogether, the moments emphasized Vescovi’s growth — but they also reinforced the grittiness that Tennessee showed in surviving the Commodores’ comeback.

Chandler Elevates as James Sits

On Tuesday night, no Tennessee player was more impressive than Kennedy Chandler.

The freshman had 13 points, four rebounds, four assists and five steals. 

Defense, Free Throws Finish the Job

Against Kentucky, Tennessee’s defense was nowhere to be found.

In the Vanderbilt win, though, the Vols made plays when they counted most.

After Plavsic’s bucket, Zakai Zeigler nabbed a crucial steal before drawing a foul.

UT went a perfect 6-of-6 from the line to ice the win, notching another victory in a series Tennessee now leads 127-75.

Up Next

Now, the Vols will look ahead to their rematch against LSU in Knoxville.

The Tigers and Vols will tip at 6 p.m. ET on Saturday at Thompson-Boling Arena.