Victor Bailey Jr. and John Fulkerson had a forgettable past month for Tennessee basketball.
But on Wednesday, the duo who led the Vols in the November and December successes returned to form at the start of the season against South Carolina.
Bailey was a 3-point machine and Fulkerson ran across the court, creating an attack for him and his teammates. The veteran duo combined 48 points to lead Tennessee to a 93-73 victory at the Thompson-Boling Arena.
“All we really ask of these guys is to do what you do,” said Vols coach Rick Barnes. “Do it at a high level. Don’t think that you need to do more than you need to do. Just trust each other, play with each other. Just play to your strengths. Don’t try to overdo it. “
Bailey had his career record of 29 points with seven of 3 points. Fulkerson had 19, breaking his previous record of 16 for No. 20 Volts (15-5, 8-5 SEC).
Josiah-Jordan James did not play with an injury to his left wrist.
Victor Bailey Jr. illuminates
Bailey had already set his career record, 23 points, when he fired a fast three from the corner in front of the Tennessee bench.
He shook, while taking a foul. He hit another to crown his game with the second highest game for a Vol this year, just behind Jaden Springer’s 30-point game against Georgia.
“Actually, I expect 29 per night from VJ,” said Fulkerson. “I hope so. Every time he doesn’t understand or is embarrassed, we won’t be talking. We are roommates, so this is going to be a little weird. “
Bailey came in on Wednesday, 3 of 16, with a 3-point streak in his last four games. He scored four in the first half, equaling South Carolina during a torrid shootout for the Gamecocks (5-9, 3-7).
Bailey, who finished 7 out of 10 on 3 points, hit 3 consecutive points to put Tennessee ahead 38-29 at the end of the first half.
He missed and played the lowest 12 minutes of the season at LSU on Saturday.
“My teammates and coaches have done a great job in the last few days, just trying to build my confidence and really get me going,” said Bailey.
John Fulkerson becomes active
Fulkerson opened a screen for Bailey in the final minute of the first half, then shot across the runway. Bailey gave a jump pass around Keshawn Bryant of South Carolina to Fulkerson, who made the tray.
The senior striker, who went through a rough patch last month, was more active for Tennessee in attack and defense.
He reached double-digit points for the second time in his last eight games.
“I thought he did a better job of running tonight than he did all year,” said Fulkerson. “He really ran a lot on the ground.”
Fulkerson had an impressive dunk in the second half of the transition. Santiago Vescovi pushed forward for Keon Johnson, who landed a streaked Fulkerson for a left-handed dunk.
After all, the Tennessee list was not affected by COVID-19
Tennessee and South Carolina played Wednesday instead of Tuesday due to UT having a positive COVID-19 test during Sunday’s test.
But the test turned out to be a false positive. The player was retested and recorded three direct negative tests, which cleared the initial result as a false positive, according to SEC guidelines.
Tennessee would have run out of four players due to the positive test and contact tracking protocols.
Next
Tennessee hosts Kentucky (7-13, 6-7) on Saturday (1 pm ET, CBS). The Vols won the Wildcats 82-71 on February 6.
Mike Wilson covers athletics at the University of Tennessee. Send an email to [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @ByMikeWilson. If you like Mike’s coverage, consider a digital signature that will give you access to it all.