The game was originally scheduled for Tuesday, but what turned out to be a false positive COVID-19 test for a Tennessee player led to a one-day delay.
John Fulkerson scored 15 of his 19 points in the second half, Jaden Springer added 16 points and Yves Pons made 10 for the Volunteers (15-5, 8-5 Southeast Conference).
AJ Lawson led the Gamecocks (5-10, 3-8) with 20 points. Keyshawn Bryant and TJ Moss scored 15 each.
Tennessee increased their lead by 11 points in the break to 89-69 at the end of the second half thanks to a 17-7 straight. Fulkerson scored eight points in that burst.
Bailey hit 4 out of 7 out of 3 points and scored 14 points to take Tennessee to a 50-39 lead at halftime. Spring connected to a bell jumper to mark 10 in the first half. The Vols were good at 6 out of 13 points out of 3 in the first 20 minutes.
FALSE POSITIVE
If the positive result of the COVID-19 test for a Tennessee player were not false, Volunteers would have lost four players due to subsequent contact tracking. But all tests were negative on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, meaning that all four players were released to play under SEC rules, the university said.
Josiah-Jordan James, from Tennessee, lost the game due to an injury to his left wrist.
BIG PICTURE
South Carolina: The Gamecocks dropped their fourth straight. After Saturday’s loss to Ole Miss, Bryant said, “Three consecutive losses is just the result of playing individual basketball and not team basketball.”
Tennessee: Finding consistency is the Vols’ mission towards the postseason. This starts with veterans Pons and Fulkerson playing according to the expectations they had at the start of the season.
NEXT
South Carolina: hosts Missouri on Saturday. Gamecocks had eight games affected by the pandemic.
Tennessee: hosts Kentucky on Saturday. Tennessee won 82-71 at the Rupp Arena on February 6.