Takeaways: No. 22 Tennessee Downs South Carolina 66-46

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Josiah-Jordan James let a shot fly in front of the Tennessee bench Tuesday night. 

After James’ 3-pointer swished through the net, Santiago Vescovi snatched a steal away from South Carolina's Jermaine Couisnard. 

The other Vols veteran raced down the floor, leaped and tossed in a layup while drawing a foul. 

Vescovi missed at the line -- a common theme for Tennessee on this night -- but the damage had been done.

Fueled by that five-point swing and their stellar freshman point guards, UT created enough separation to dismantle Frank Martin's Gamecocks 66-46 at Thompson-Boling Arena. 

Here are our takeaways from the win:

Vescovi Leads

In the past few outings, Santiago Vescovi has emerged to affirm his role as most improved player. 

He continued that Tuesday with a 14-point performance, and he added five rebounds and three assists. 

As mentioned, though, he was not the only Vol veteran to succeed. 

Josiah-Jordan James Rediscovers His Stroke

Against LSU, Josiah-Jordan James notched just three points. 

He remedied that on Tuesday, scoring a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds on 3-of-6 shooting from the floor. 

Aside from his cushion-giving 3-pointer, James also hit another to beat the buzzer to give Tennessee a 30-24 lead going into halftime. 

“Josiah was terrific tonight,” Rick Barnes said. “I thought the shot he made at the first half was a big play, but he was so involved in so much.”

Freshmen Shine as Zeigler Sparks

Several times this season, we've seen either Kennedy Chandler or Zakai Zeigler on the floor for UT. 

Rarely, though, have we seen the freshmen floor generals playing at the same time. 

Tuesday provided one such example, and they made it count by combining for 19 points and seven assists. 

One play was particularly emblematic of their effect, as Chandler drove the baseline in the first half before firing to Zeigler -- who promptly nailed a three from the corner. 

Zeigler was especially juiced, as he scored four straight at one point, with a steal in-between. 

Vols Can't Connect at the Line

To reiterate an original point, poor free-throw shooting has become a commonality for this team.

That continued Tuesday, as Tennessee made just 11-of-25 from the stripe against the Gamecocks.

The Vols finished the first half an abysmal 9-of-18. 

“We’re better than that,” Barnes said. “When you get to the line, you’ve got to take advantage of it.”

Defense Still Holds

Despite the struggles on what should have been easy makes, the Vols' defense continued to hold against South Carolina. 

The Gamecocks shot just 34.7% from the floor on the night, with 31.6% from long range. 

The Vols also notched 11 steals and generated 23 Carolina turnovers that led to 21 UT points.

 “You can control you defense, because it’s basically effort and want-to,” said James. “It’s energy-boosting for us.”

Fulkerson Returning to Form

Following the LSU loss, Rick Barnes called out super-senior John Fulkerson. 

When asked about the issue again, Barnes reiterated that Fulkerson -- who returned from a bout with COVID-19 after Christmas break -- needed to let the staff know if he is ill and cannot power through. 

On Tuesday night, whatever has bothered Fulkerson still seemed to be lingering in the first half. 

But there were several glimpses of Fulkerson’s former self in the second half. 

The primary example came with 9:32 left, as Fulkerson powered to the hoop and stuffed a two-handed slam. 

He also tossed a couple turnaround jumpers after banging into the Gamecocks' brick-walled Brandon Martin through the first 20 minutes, and he became more physical by backing his way into the lane. 

“Fulky gave us consistency,” Barnes said, “which is what we need from our older players.”

“He took himself out a couple times, which is what we told him.”

In total, Fulkerson rounded out UT's double-digit scorers with 5-of-8 shooting to total 10 points -- six of those in the second half -- with seven rebounds. 

Up next

The Vols will need a similar effort going forward, as they travel to take on No. 18 Kentucky in Lexington this Saturday. 

Tip-off is slated for 1 p.m. ET on ESPN.