One day later than initially scheduled, Tennessee and South Carolina met at Thompson-Boling Arena. The Volunteers once again needed a boost of confidence, following their up-down trajectory of the 2020-21 season. Against the Gamecocks, the good version of Tennessee showed up.
Hot shooting had South Carolina very much in this game early. The Gamecocks hit 7-10 shots from deep in the first 15 minutes, keeping pace with a pretty efficient Tennessee offensive attack. AJ Lawson was the catalyst for Frank Martin, scoring ten early points. He was backed up by TJ Moss, who added ten points of his own.