Nichols: Tennessee's defense saves it again, but late surge shows how elite Vols can be

After starting the season less than a week ago, No. 12 Tennessee is understandably out of sync on offense. But when the scoring finally matches the suffocation we’ve seen on defense, this team will be spectacular.

Offense sells tickets, defense wins games. 

That's how the saying goes, right?

Granted, that saying is used more in reference to football than basketball. 

But 12th-ranked Tennessee has lived by that mantra so far this season, and it's given the Vols as many wins in one week as their football counterparts earned all year prior to Saturday's romp over Vanderbilt. 

"I definitely feel like we can be one of the best defensive teams in the nation," said Tennessee guard Josiah-Jordan James Saturday. 

James' feeling is more than accurate. 

The Vols (2-0) held Cincinnati (2-2) to three points in the final six minutes Saturday, countering that with a 14-point spurt for a 65-56 win.

But the scoring didn't come that easily all day for Tennessee. 

In fact, it was quite hard -- even from close range. The Vols started just 4-for-20 shooting, and they finished an abysmal 19-of-59 inside the arc. They were just as bad outside it, going 2-for-12 from long range.

The Vols also made just 15% of their layups on the day, something John Fulkerson was quick to note. 

"I wouldn't say it's as frustrating," Fulkerson said of the misses. "You just think, at the SEC level, we should be able to make a layup. We just need to keep playing, and our shots will fall."

But where Tennessee's offense struggled, the defense picked up the slack.

"If shots aren't falling, that's just more energy and execution that we need to put on the defensive end," Fulkerson said."Getting stops and executing the defensive plan is just as important, if not more important than, executing on the offensive end."

"It just proves that we don't have to shoot the ball well to win basketball games," added Rick Barnes.

And Tennessee didn't shoot well, except for a 25-for-30 outing at the charity stripe. 

But neither did Cincinnati, except for a 5-for-8 field-goal night and 4-for-7 three-ball damage from Jeremiah Davenport. 

In the end, though, the free-throws made the difference for Tennessee, as did a defense that forced 17 turnovers and an offense that drew 26 fouls.

"You know what you’re gonna get from Cincinnati," Josiah-Jordan James said. "You’re always gonna get a dogfight. We just needed our strength and numbers to break them, and eventually they did late."

Early, though, it was all Bearcats. 

A 2-0 Tennessee lead evaporated quickly, and Cincinnati took control for the majority of the first half.

A 6-4 Bearcat lead moved to a 12-11 score that shifted to 15-13 before ballooning to 17-13. 

Tennessee finally regained some momentum off a 3-pointer from Santiago Vescovi, and a pair of Fulkerson free throws put the Vols ahead at 18-17 -- Tennessee's first lead since the game's initial 30 seconds. 

Finally, a 6-0 run left Barnes' team ahead 30-24 at the break. But Cincinnati didn't go away easily. 

The Bearcats launched a 6-0 run of their own out of the break, and they held pace with the Vols through the next eight minutes. 

The teams reached another stalemate at 53-all with just under six minutes left. 

Only then did we see a glimpse at Tennessee's full symphony of offense, defense and newfound chemistry, fueled by an equally impressive combination of youthful exuberance, flashy transitions and veteran grit. 

Jaden Springer and Keon Johnson filled the exuberance role, as Barnes left them on the floor late to help push the Vols over the top. 

"When the two young guys came in, they did a good job," Barnes said. 

"It definitely feels good to get more minutes on the court," said Springer, who finished with 11 points and called the extra time "a confidence booster."

Then came the flashy transitions, courtesy of Vescovi and Keon Johnson. 

The Uruguay native has spliced and diced just as artfully this season as he did last year, while avoiding the turnovers he accumulated in 2019. Johnson, meanwhile, notched just one assist on the day, but it came on a Yves Pons basket that Tennessee used to pull away.

Finally comes the grit. For that, you can look to John Fulkerson. But don't forget to glance at the stat sheet under "rebounds," either.

The Kingsport native took over late for 15 points and 12 boards, the fifth double-double of his career to lead Tennessee. 

“Coming down the stretch, Fulky did do a good job,” Barnes said. “He wasn’t very good early... but (Fulkerson) did answer coming down the stretch.”

The Vols also corralled 45 rebounds as a team, a vastly improved effort from their 32-board night against Colorado.

“Rebounding certainly was one of them,” Barnes said when asked about improvements. “But the other was taking care of the ball.”

Overall, this win was Rick Barnes' version of an abstract painting. 

The rebounding, defensive effort and resilience down the stretch provided a close win.

But the early offensive struggles make this a more blurry picture.

Only when those separate aspects merge, like we saw in short spurts during the second half, will this team reach the elite status that so many expect.

Granted, the Vols have a couple tune-up games ahead. 

They’ll face App State (7pm ET tip) at home on Tuesday before taking on Tennessee Tech Thursday and St. Joseph’s the following Monday, with a matchup against USC Upstate on December 23.

All this scheduling discussion isn’t for boredom, as anyone can simply Google the Vols’ schedule.

Rather, it’s for reassurance.

With four more non-conference opponents ahead, Barnes has ample time to tinker and toy with this lineup until he has the perfect look.

And when the final product comes together?

Well, that answer comes from Springer: "As soon as we start clicking on offense, it’s over."