Picking up right where they left off after a perfect home slate last year, the 11th-ranked Tennessee Volunteers opened the season with a 75-43 victory over Tennessee Tech on Monday night at Thompson Boling Arena.
The Volunteers (1-0) made it happen on both ends of the floor, and Tyreke Key shined in his Rocky Top debut, leading the team in scoring with 17 points and shooting 4-of-8 from beyond the arc. He enlivened the second-largest crowd for a home opener during the Rick Barnes era, bringing the 17,957 in attendance to their feet time and time again. The Vols also won their sixth consecutive season-opener of the Barnes era.
The lockdown defense was a team effort, as the Vols logged 17 steals in the game, tying a Barnes-era high. Nine different Vols had a steal in the game, and the staunch defense was led by Key, Santiago Vescovi and Jahmai Mashack, who each recorded three. For Mashack, it set a new career high.
Vescovi got his senior campaign off to a strong start, as he compiled an all-around night, adding nine points, all by way of the 3-pointer, and leading the team in rebounds (8) while tying for the team lead in assists (5).
The Vols chucked up the second-most 3-point tries in program history, attempting 44 on the night. 14 of those shots found the net after the Vols had 13 games with double-digit made 3-pointers a year ago.
More impressively, the Big Orange did not miss from the charity stripe, sinking all nine attempts from the line. It was almost a mirror image of the matchup a season ago, during which the Vols went 10-of-10 from the line. In fact, the Vols have now made 27 consecutive free throws against the Golden Eagles, dating to Dec. 29, 2018.
Tennessee’s lockdown defense started early in the ballgame. The Volunteers did not allow a Tennessee Tech field goal for the first 8:40 of the game, amassing five steals during that span all by different players. For the half, the Golden Eagles amassed just 16 points, the lowest first-half total for a Tennessee opponent since conceding 15 to UNC Greensboro last December. Allowing next to nothing on the defensive end, the Vols limited TTU to 4-of-22 (18.2 percent) from the floor and 1-of-9 from deep (11.1 percent) in the first half.
Key, an impact graduate transfer from Indiana State, emphatically introduced himself to Vol Nation, coming off the bench and scoring 11 of Tennessee’s 27 first-half points on 3-of-5 shooting, 2-of-4 from beyond the arc and draining all three free-throw tries.
Coming out of the halftime break, the offense immediately kicked into gear, hitting 7-of-11 (63.6 percent) from the floor to start the period, including 4-of-6 from deep with makes from Key, Vescovi and Josiah-Jordan James. For the first 10 minutes of the second half, the Vols converted on 7-of-13 (53.8 percent) from beyond the arc.
Zakai Zeigler was a sparkplug in the second period, accounting for 10 points and matching Vescovi’s assist total with five.
Tennessee Tech (0-1) was led by junior Brett Thompson who logged 15 points and shot 8-of-10 from the free-throw line. He also pulled down a team-best six rebounds.
UP NEXT: Tennessee is back in action Sunday, Nov. 13, in the midstate, as the Vols take on Colorado at 2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. CT at Bridgestone Arena in downtown Nashville on ESPN. Tickets are available for purchase HERE.
VOL NATION SHOWS OUT: Monday’s crowd of 17,957 at Thompson-Boling Arena marked the second-highest attendance at a home-opener during the Rick Barnes era and highest since 2019-20.
MASTER KEY: Tyreke Key’s 17 points Monday marked the most points ever by a graduate transfer in their Tennessee debut.
TENNESSEE DEBUTS: Four players made their Tennessee debuts Monday—Julian Phillips, Tyreke Key, Tobe Awaka and B.J. Edwards (in order of appearance). That newcomer quartet combined to score 30 of Tennessee’s 75 points (40 percent).
