Tennessee blows double-digit lead in loss to No. 5 Villanova

Despite a valiant first half effort, Tennessee blew a double-digit lead in an 85-76 loss to No. 5 Villanova on Thanksgiving afternoon in the Bahamas.

“We were there, but we didn’t get enough play from everybody,” Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes said following the Vols (3-1) first loss of the season. “Our guards struggled for the most part, but a couple guys didn’t play the minutes because we felt that they weren’t in it.”

Midway through the first half, Tennessee went on a 15-4 run to take a 10-point lead over the Wildcats. Behind Grant Williams’ 12 first half points and the Vols 50 percent shooting from the field, Tennessee built a 15-point lead as they looked for its second consecutive win over a ranked team following the win over No. 18 Purdue on Wednesday.

At the half, Tennessee held a 12-point lead, 46-34, over the No. 5 team in the country.

“I think it shows you what we can be, but we’re not there yet,” Barnes said of his team’s first half play. “They were saying all the right things but we didn’t come out and do the right things.”

“Man, they were tough,” Villanova head coach Jay Wright said of the Vols first half run following the game. “I thought we were ready to play. We did a good job, and then they just got us into foul trouble in the first half, and when they did, they took it to us.”

The second half wasn’t pretty for Tennessee. Villanova came out of the gates on fire, only needing five minutes to take the lead back.

Tennessee’s blown lead was in large part due to 12 second-half turnovers while Villanova shot 52 percent from the field. The Wildcats were led by Jalen Brunson who scored 25 points and assisted on six baskets. Mikal Bridges added 21 points on 7-of-10 shooting.

Villanova would eventually extend its lead to 15 points with 4:40 to play, but the Vols fought back. Behind efforts from Grant Williams and Admiral Schofield, Tennessee cut the Wildcats lead to 79-76 with less than a minute remaining. That would be the closest the Vols could real the Wildcats back in before Villanova put the game away on the foul line – where they attempted 37 free throws.

After leading the Vols to victory with a 22-point performance on Wednesday, Williams followed up with another strong performance. The sophomore forward scored 20 points, eight rebounds, dished out three assists and blocked two shots.

Scofield would also turn in a big performance despite battling a shoulder injury. The Illinois native scored 16 points on 6-of-13 shooting.

Tennessee will close out the Battle 4 Atlantis on Friday afternoon when they take on NC State at 2:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2.

Photo by Brad Blackwelder

Edited by Seth Raborn