Before an announced crowd of 20,375 the Tennessee Vols snapped Vanderbilt’s three game winning streak and stayed on top of the SEC East with a 69-50 win over Vanderbilt. With Florida’s loss at Georgia, the Vols are now tied atop the SEC east with surprising South Carolina and Kentucky who defeated Arkansas this afternoon. 

Tyler Smith led the way with a career high 30 points on 10 of 13 shooting. Tyler showed the kind of skills that garnered him All-SEC honors last season. He has been struggling with his shot this year, but looked like his old self today.  

J.P. Prince who is slowly starting to expand his game, scored eight points, pulled down 10 rebounds and dished out seven assist. He is feeling better now than he has all year and it has shown up in the stat sheet lately.  

Brian Williams and Wayne Chism were magnificent on the defensive end of the floor today denying Vanderbilt’s post players the ball and they really made it a tough day for A.J. Ogilvy.  

Bobby Maze shadowed Vanderbilt’s Jermaine Beal and limited him to 1 of 10 shooting. Maze has been a leader recently on defense and is starting to show why he was such a sought after high school player.  

The Good:

Tyler Smith in his own words went back to doing what he does best, and that is shoot the basketball. 

Half Court Defense: The Vols held the Commodores to 38.8% shooting from the field and forced 23 turnovers. The last time the Vols held consecutive opponents to this low of a point total came in 1997.  

The Bad:

Home Court Advantage: The crowd definitely had its moments and was loud during a couple of key moments in the game, but by in large I think the players could benefit from a more energetic crowd. The Vol fans seem to really get up for Florida and Kentucky, but are a little too reserved for opponents like Vandy and Georgia in my opinion.