KNOXVILLE—The streaking Vols entered the night needing a win to keep growing tournament hopes alive and picked up just that. A back and forth game in the first six minutes of play, but the Vols grabbed a lead they wouldn’t relinquish at the 14:35 mark and stayed in relative control through the final buzzer. The Tigers cut the Tennessee lead to six multiple times in the second half, but whenever they made a run, the Vols answered.

McRae scored a career- high 34 points tonight.
Photo by Reed Carringer

Offense: Three Vols scored in double-figures on the evening: McRae, Golden, and Stokes. McRae’s 34 points were a career-high and the most points scored by a Volunteer since Chris Lofton’s 35 against a Kevin Durant led Texas team in 2006. The junior forward beat LSU off the dribble, from beyond the arc, and with a smooth midrange jumper. He finished 13-18 from the filed, including a scorching 6-6 from 3.

LSU head coach Johnny Jones praised McRae after the game. “He made big plays, be it at the rim, at the three-point line, he played extremely well. He looked great and we just didn’t have an answer for him.”

If not for McRae’s brilliant performance, the story of the night would have been Trae Golden. He scored 20 points on 5-10 shooting (2-5 from 3, 8-8 at the line), and handed out eight assists. The Vols moved to 11-3 when he scores in double-figures and 8-0 when he has at least 12 points.

Jarnell Stokes grabbed yet another double-double, his 11th of the season, with 13 points and 11 rebounds. He is the first Vol with more than 10 double-doubles in a season since Ian Lockhart recorded 14 in the 1989-90 season. Stokes was 4-8 from the floor, and an improved 5-6 from the charity stripe.

“This is a team we felt we could beat offensively, but I think it really starts when Jarnell Stokes identifies himself as a go-to guy, not that he has to say it, but when he made his presence known – being aggressive and being assertive around the rim, looking for the ball and everything falls in-line, because our offense is built around big guys who can score on the post and make plays,” Cuonzo said.

Stokes’ presence in the paint certainly opened things up for the Vols on the perimeter.

The Vols shot 57.4% for the game, including 66.7% from 3. Tennessee shot a combined 79% from 3-point range in their last two victories.

Defense: LSU’s height proved to be a tough matchup early. The Vols were forced to go back to a three guard lineup when it became apparent 6-5 Armani Moore couldn’t guard the 6-9 Johnny O’Bryant III. Even with a Tennessee big on him, O’Bryant proved to be more than a handful. He led LSU with 24 points and eight rebounds before fouling out with 3:21 to play. His quickness bothered Stokes, and his size was too much for Tennessee’s other defenders.

Two Tiger guards scored in double figures, Anthony Hickey with 14 points (3-9 from 3) and Malik Morgan with 12 (2-3 from 3). Overall, the Vols did a decent job of defending LSU’s speedy guards, and held the Tigers as a team to under their season average in both 3-point makes and 3-point shooting percentage.

Final Take: In a game where both teams played well, the Vols were simply better. When Martin was asked if his team was peaking, he responded, “I think we are just playing good basketball. These guys are a good team. Still have plenty of work to do, there is still progress to be made. We have the tools to be successful.”

We’ll see if the Vols can continue to play good basketball when they hit the road this weekend.

Up Next: The Vols play on the road at Texas A&M, Saturday at 4 p.m. TV: SEC Network