BOX SCORE (PDF) | HIGHLIGHTS | VIDEO: BARNES POSTGAME | VIDEO: CHANDLER POSTGAME | VIDEO: BAILEY JR. POSTGAME
COLUMBIA, Mo. – A hot-shooting night led 17th-ranked Tennessee to a definitive road win Tuesday night at Missouri, 80-61.
All-SEC candidate Kennedy Chandler led the way for the Vols with 23 points on 9-for-12 shooting with a career-high eight rebounds and six assists.
Joining Chandler in double figures was fellow All-SEC hopeful Santiago Vescovi, who scored 14 points on 4-for-6 shooting from 3-point range, and Victor Bailey Jr., who had 11 points on 5-for-8 shooting.
Javon Pickett had 16 points to lead Missouri.
Carrying a nine-point lead into the start of the second half, Tennessee (20-7, 11-4 SEC) opened the final period by hitting just one of its first six shots, but quickly regained its shooting stroke.
The Vols and Tigers played back-and-forth for the first four minutes of the final period before a Jonas Aidoo and-one fast-break dunk on a feed from Chandler kicked off a 16-3 Tennessee run that gave the Vols a 21-point lead at 57-36 with 10:44 remaining.
Missouri responded with a 14-5 run to cut the Tennessee lead to 12 at 62-50 with 6:37 left, but never was able to draw any closer, as Vescovi’s three 3-pointers in the final six minutes helped the Vols maintain distance.
Tennessee led Missouri at halftime, 36-27, after shooting 50 percent (15-for-30) from the field during the first half.
Despite its high shooting percentage for the first half as a whole, the Vols hit just two of their first seven shots from the field to start the game. Trailing 17-15 just under nine minutes into the opening period, Tennessee took control by rattling off a 13-0 run spanning nearly five minutes—bookended by contested midrange jumpers from Bailey Jr.
After it made seven of 12 shots to start the game, Missouri made just four of its last 16 to end the half.
Chandler led all scorers with 14 first-half points on 6-for-8 shooting.
UP NEXT: Tennessee is back at Thompson-Boling Arena on Saturday for a ranked showdown with No. 3 Auburn. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m. ET on ESPN. Although Saturday’s game is sold out, fans can still purchase tickets through VividSeats.com.
VOLS REACH 20 WINS: Tuesday’s win marked Tennessee’s 20th of the season, with the 2021-22 season standing as the third season of the Rick Barnes era in which the Vols have reached 20 wins, and the first since 2018-19.
-UT Athletics
