Tennessee Volunteers Survive Tough Road Test In 86-85 Overtime Win Against Georgia Bulldogs

In another SEC nail-biter this week, the Tennessee Volunteers survived a late comeback by the Georgia Bulldogs to narrowly win in overtime and win their second straight game and move to 14-6 on the season.

Ja’Kobi Gillespie Shines On Offense To Lead Volunteers To Victory

After upsetting the 23rd-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide on Saturday in Tuscaloosa, the Volunteers were in another dog fight in Athens tonight, but the heroics of their star senior, Ja’Kobi Gillespie, made the difference in the win. Although it wasn’t the most efficient night for Gillespie, he was still able to drop a team-high 21 points while dishing out 6 assists as the primary engine of Tennessee’s offense.

The Volunteers team followed Gillespie’s passing example, as Tennessee finished with 17 total assists on 31 made shots overall in the win. While Gillespie was scoring and setting the table on offense, his backcourt teammate, Bishop Boswell, would be attacking the boards for the Volunteers. The North Carolina native put together a solid double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds in a great showing.

The Volunteers crushed the Bulldogs in the rebounding department. The 22 rebound difference would mark the largest rebound margin in a loss this season for the Bulldogs.

One of the other deciding factors in the win for Tennessee was their three-point shooting, as they shot 39% from beyond the arc in the win, while Georgia only managed to shoot 32%. The Bulldogs would make up for their poor three-point shooting performance with an overall efficient and clean night on the offensive end. Georgia shot 50% from the field while also committing just 5 turnovers in a nice showing on the offensive side of the floor despite the loss.

Volunteers Head Coach Rick Barnes Notches 850th Career Win

It was also a milestone night for Tennessee Head Coach Rick Barnes, who joined some exclusive company with his 850th career coaching win. Barnes became just the 10th coach in NCAAM Division I history to have over 850 coaching wins, joining the likes of Mike Krzyzewski, Roy Williams, and Jim Calhoun.

Barnes has been nothing but a winner since arriving in Knoxville back in 2015, as he’s led the Volunteers to the NCAA tournament in 7 of his 11 years, while also winning an impressive 245 games in those 11 years.

Kanon Catchings and Marcus Millender Show Out for Georgia

The two silver linings in the game for Georgia were the fact that both Catchings and Millender continued their much-improved play. Catchings led the way in scoring for Georgia, as he scored 22 points, while Millender would provide a huge spark off the bench by scoring 19 points in just 28 minutes of play.

Aside from those two players, it was a struggle for other players like Bulldogs star Jeremiah Wilkinson. He scored just 6 points on 3-of-10 shooting in a disappointing outing in the loss.

Updated SEC Standings and What’s Next For Each Team

Despite this game being a key one for both squads as each team is looking to climb back into contention for the SEC regular season crown, they’ll both be staying put for the time being. While Tennessee moved to a 4-3 record overall, the Volunteers are still in 10th place in the SEC, with Georgia staying a few spots ahead of Tennessee at 6th place with a 4-4 record now.

In terms of what lies ahead for each team, both of these squads will receive a bit of a break before matching up against some tough competition this weekend. For Tennessee, they’ll be back on home turf to face off against the surging Auburn Tigers on Saturday. The Tigers are coming in on a four-game win streak, with their latest win being against the Texas Longhorns earlier today.

For Georgia, they’ll be back at home again for a Saturday tilt against Texas A&M in a crucial game for the Bulldogs. The Aggies currently occupy the first-place spot in the SEC and will be looking to add another win to their current three-game win streak to move to 7-1 in conference play.