No. 17 Tennessee torches No. 18 Kansas in Big 12/SEC Challenge matchup

Jaden Springer ducked into post-up position against Kansas guard Ochai Agbaji on Saturday.

Kansas forward David McCormack darted across the paint to help Agbaji, leaving John Fulkerson behind. The Tennessee basketball forward waved his right arm to Springer, who tossed a lob over the pair of Jayhawks for a two-handed Fulkerson dunk. 

That was one of the highlight plays as Tennessee torched Kansas in a 80-61 win behind Yves Pons (17 points) and a dominant rebounding performance.

Jaden Springer had 13 points for the No. 17 Vols (12-3). Victor Bailey Jr. and John Fulkerson had 11 each to down No. 18 Kansas (10-6).

Three things we learned from the Big 12/SEC Challenge content: 

Yves Pons stays scoring

Springer hurled a one-handed pass from under the hoop to Pons in the corner midway through the first half. Pons swung to Victor Bailey Jr., who passed back to Pons. 

The hot-shooting Vols forward took a pair of dribbles and swished a midrange jumper.

Pons, who had a career-high 24 points against Kansas last season in Lawrence, was dominant against the Jayhawks again.

He hit all four of his field-goal attempts, including a pair of 3-pointers, to score 10 first-half points. He finished the game with 17 points. 

Pons has been exceptional offensively for Tennessee in its past three games. He had 20 points on 6-of-11 shooting against Missouri on Jan 23, then had 13 on 6-of-9 shooting against Mississippi State on Tuesday.

Tennessee had one of its best 3-point shooting games of the season, hitting 8 of 13 attempts. James went 3-for-5 to lead the Vols. Bailey hit a pair in the second half.

Tennessee put on a rebounding clinic

Fulkerson grabbed defensive rebounds on both of the first two possessions. The Vols never stopped rebounding.

Tennessee finished with a 38-23 edge in rebounding, while it did not allow a second-chance point.

Four Vols had at least five rebounds. James, who did not start for the first time this season, had a season-high 10 rebounds. Fulkerson and Santiago Vescovi had six each. Pons had five.

Starting lineup with both freshmen pays off

Rick Barnes started Springer and Keon Johnson together for the first time Saturday.

The results were immediately evident on the defensive end. The Vols forced Kansas into three straight long possessions to open. The Jayhawks took shots with less than 10 seconds on their first two possessions. UT forced a shot-clock violation on the third.

Tennessee held KU’s guards to 3-for-17 shooting in the first half. Marcus Garrett was the first Jayhawks guard to score from the field when he made a layup at the 6:49 mark.

Up next

Tennessee is scheduled to play at Ole Miss on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET, ESPN2).