Tennessee’s 76-40 win against McNeese State had most, if not all, of the elements that typically lead to a Vol hoops win. UT played great defense, forced a lot of turnovers, turned those TOs into points and connected on nearly 40 percent of its 3s. Oh, and the Vols hit the magic number with at least 20 assists. In fact, they finished with 21 helpers on 23 field goals — a ridiculous 91-percent assist percentage 8^0
But the early part first half was basically just a slog of turnovers, fouls and missed shots. I sort of expected the defense to suffocate McNeese, and it did a lot of that.