Fulkerson on Fire: Tennessee big man leads Vols to win over Ole Miss to set up intriguing showdown with No.3 Kansas

This season, John Fulkerson has taken on a new role for the Tennessee basketball program. Sure, he got his minutes last year, adding some slams when he got the

This season, John Fulkerson has taken on a new role for the Tennessee basketball program.

Sure, he got his minutes last year, adding some slams when he got the chance. 

But this season, without Grant Williams, Admiral Schofield or even new big man Uros Plavsic in the lineup, Tennessee has had to learn to rely on the Kingsport native in ways it never did before.

In Tuesday’s matchup against Ole Miss at Thompson-Boling Arena, that reliance reached new heights. 

And Fulkerson answered accordingly.

18 points, 10 rebounds (for his second double-double in four games) and a Player of the Game nomination from the SEC Network broadcast crew— that’s how the night went for the Pal’s aficionado, who twirled, slashed and ducked his way through the paint, cramming dunks like “Frenchie Fries” in Tennessee’s 73-48 win.

“I love him," Ole Miss coach Kermit Davis said. "When I was at Middle Tennessee (State), we were one of the first teams that offered him, I think. I loved how he played then. I love watching him on tape.

"He gives his team a big boost when he can score,” Davis continued. “He plays every play hard. I can only imagine how he works during the week. He’s a much-improved player offensively and he just dominated our guys around the basket tonight."

While he led the Vols in scoring, Fulkerson heaped credit onto his teammates after the win.

"I think my shots fall on our offense and I credit my teammates to giving me the ball," Fulkerson said. "I was sort of thinking about my shots, and I didn’t have to create a lot of them. My teammates created them for me. I think that’s credit to them for just running our offense not only for me getting shots but for my teammates.”

And his teammates got in on the action, too.

Olivier Nkamhoua scored 10 points with a couple blocks— the second double-digit game of his Tennessee career— while Jordan Bowden and Josiah-Jordan James added 11 each.

Yves Pons contributed three swats on the night as well, bringing his season total to a whopping 48 blocks in just 18 games. 

Finally, the win also marked Rick Barnes’ 100th as Tennessee’s head coach.

And with his Vols playing as cohesively as they have all season, the win couldn’t come at a better time for Barnes.

On Saturday, Tennessee will travel to Phog Allen Fieldhouse, one of the premier venues in college basketball, in an SEC-Big 12 matchup with third-ranked Kansas.

There should be some familiar faces, too. 

Last year, Kansas edged Tennessee 87-81 in overtime at the NIT Tip-Off Classic in Brooklyn. It was a loss that left a bad taste in the Vols’ mouths, as the Jayhawks escaped in a game paced by Tennessee.

But after the events of Tuesday night, Bill Self’s could be short a few players for Saturday’s matchup. 

A fight erupted late in Kansas’s Sunflower Showdown matchup against rival Kansas State, but it was anything but sunny. At one point, Silvio De Sousa wielded a chair, WWE-style, before players were separated.

That will (and should) result in several Kansas suspensions, leaving the door wide open for Barnes and the Vols to steal one on Saturday in Lawrence.

If they can, namely by playing as smoothly as they did against Ole Miss, then this Tennessee team would take a much larger step toward the NCAA Tournament, even in what many called a “rebuilding year” for Barnes and the Vols.

And for guys like John Fulkerson, that would be even better than “Frenchie Fries.”

Featured image via Tennessee Basketball Twitter