Tampa, Fla — The Tennessee Volunteers (26-7) have waited 43 long years to cut down the nets in the SEC Tournament. That wait came to an end on Sunday as the Vols beat Texas A&M (25-8) 65-50 to claim their first SEC Tournament Championship since 1979.
The trio of Santiago Vescovi, Josiah Jordan-James, and Kennedy Chandler led the Vols to the victory. All three were named members of the SEC All-Tournament Team. Vescovi scored a game-high 17 points, brought down three rebounds, and dished out five assists.
Jordan-James finished with a double-double as he scored 16 points and grabbed 10 boards. The freshman Chandler added 13 points, four rebounds, and six assists. Chandler was also fittingly named the MVP of the SEC Tournament.
Tennessee played their brand of basketball on Sunday in Tampa. They played stifling defense which made it hard for an explosive Texas A&M offense to score.
Wire-To-Wire Win
Rick Barnes’ squad came out laser-focused in this one. Tennessee would start the game on a 14-0 run. Jordan-James set the tone, as he has all tournament, by scoring six of Tennessee’s first nine points.
Texas A&M was never going to roll over, especially after the run they had been on in this SEC Tournament. After trailing by 14 points, the Aggies began to rally and attempt to chip away at the Vols’ lead. An 8-0 Aggies’ run would make things interesting early on in the first half.
It just wasn’t Texas A&M’s day. It seemed that at anytime the Aggies would come within reach Tennessee would knock down a demoralizing shot. One of the most demoralizing shots came from freshman point guard Kennedy Chandler with 2:47 remaining in the first half. In result, the Vols’ extended their lead to 11 after the Aggies had chipped away.
Tennessee would lead 29-20 at halftime. This season Tennessee was 20-0 when leading at halftime, on Sunday they improved to 21-0.
Tennessee had firm control of the game in the first half but took this game by the neck in the second half. The Vols flexed their muscles by continuing to play great defense and continuing to pour it in on the offensive side.
Tennessee would extend their lead to 18 with under six minutes to play after a monster jam from John Fulkerson. The senior forward finished with eight points and twelve rebounds.
After that, Tennessee would coast from there to win their first SEC Tournament Championship since 1979. They held Buzz Williams’ Texas A&M squad to a season-low 50 points.
What’s Next?
After winning their first SEC Tournament Championship since 1979, Tennessee won’t have a ton of time to celebrate. They will have their eyes glued to the television to see where they will be seeded and playing in the NCAA Tournament. It will be interesting to see how their seeding will be affected by their win on Sunday and if they can sneak up to a one or two seed.
Despite having an incredible run in the SEC Tournament, Texas A&M is on the bubble and will sit nervously as the NCAA Tournament matchups are announced.
 have waited 43 long years to cut down the nets in the SEC Tournament. That wait came to an end on Sunday as the Vols beat Texas A&M (25-8) 65-50 to claim their first SEC Tournament Championship since 1979.){kind=link}