COLUMBIA, Mo. – Facing a seven-point deficit with under 16 minutes to play Tuesday night at Missouri, the University of Tennessee men’s basketball team answered the call and stormed back to claim a 72-67 road victory.
Sophomore forward Tobe Awaka posted a career-high 18 points and a co-game-best 10 rebounds for fifth-ranked Tennessee (20-6, 10-3 SEC).
Neither team made a field goal until the 15:31 mark, when junior guard Jordan Gainey’s fast-break dunk put the Volunteers ahead, 2-1, after the two sides combined to miss their first 10 shots and commit seven giveaways in the opening four-and-a-half minutes. Tennessee held Missouri (8-18, 0-13 SEC) without a field goal for the first nine minutes, as the home team missed its first 11 attempts and notched six giveaways.
Neither offense found its groove in the first half, but the Tigers went 3-of-10 (30.0 percent) from beyond the arc and 10-of-13 (76.9 percent) at the line, while Tennessee missed all nine of its 3-point attempts and shot 8-of-13 at the stripe (61.5 percent). Those differentials helped Missouri, despite logging 10 turnovers, take a 29-26 edge into the locker room after leading by as many as five points.
Awaka’s team-best point total came on a 6-of-8 clip from the field and a 6-of-7 ledger at the line, as he set career highs in both makes categories, as well as in free-throw attempts. His 10 rebounds, half of which came on the offensive end, gave him his second collegiate double-double.
Knecht finished with 17 points and grabbed a season-best 10 rebounds to notch his first double-double in a Tennessee uniform. Junior forward Jonas Aidoo, who eclipsed 100 blocked shots in his career, totaled 14 points and a game-best four blocks. Junior guard Zakai Zeigler added 10 points in the victory.
Despite having half as many made 3-pointers—the Volunteers went 5-of-17 (29.4 percent) and Missouri shot 10-of-27 (37.0 percent)—Tennessee used its strong interior play to claim the result, as it had a 32-22 advantage in paint points. The victors also had a commanding 26-6 cushion in bench points, good for its third-highest margin (plus-20) of the season.
The Volunteers now head home to Knoxville, Tenn., where they face Texas A&M at Food City Center, live on ESPN, Saturday at 8 p.m. Listen on 103.1FM WIKQ in progress following High School Tournament basketball.
