Tennessee in position to further extend its winning streak after beating Aggies

One successful Saturday night led to another for Tennessee.

A week after defeating 17th-ranked Kentucky by 11 points, the Vols beat Texas A&M 75-62 Saturday night at Thompson-Boling Arena.

Combine those two double-digit victories with a road win over Vanderbilt in between, and Tennessee’s SEC status has taken a sudden turn for the better. After losing its first two SEC games, UT has won three consecutive SEC games for the first time since last January.

And no one was more impressed than Texas A&M coach Billy Kennedy.

“You’ve got to give Tennessee credit,” he said. “They’re playing about as well as any team in the country offensively and defensively.”

The Vols might just be getting started when you consider how effectively they handled Texas A&M, which was once ranked No. 5 nationally.

Tennessee could be a slight favorite in its next six games, including two conference games at Missouri and South Carolina next week.

Never mind how hard winning streaks are to come by in a conference as balanced as this one. Resourcefulness goes a long way in this league. UT’s resourcefulness and team effort have been evident in their past three games, and those virtues were magnified against the Aggies.

“Tennessee was more disciplined than us offensively and defensively,” Kennedy said.

That was an understatement.

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The Aggies look like an NBA team when they take the floor. They start three players 6-foot-9 or taller, and bring another 6-10 player off the bench.

They didn't look nearly as impressive once the ball was in play - in part, because they frequently seemed disinterested in exploiting their size advantage.

For example, take 6-9 forward Tyler Davis' decision early in the second half. Matched against 6-1 Tennessee guard Lamonte Turner, Davis strangely decided the offense would be better served by passing the ball to the perimeter for a 3-point attempt. Like so many of the Aggies' decisions, that one didn't work out, either.

Much of the Aggies' struggle had nothing to do with decision-making. They mishandled the ball time after time in the first half and never really recovered from their 13 first-half turnovers, which left them trailing by eight points at halftime.

"We had some bad turnovers," Kennedy said, again stating the obvious. "Their scheme and system also create opportunities for them."

During UT's three-game conference winning streak, the system has thrived because so many players have contributed.

Leading scorer Grant Williams had 37 points against Vanderbilt but just nine against the Aggies. Kyle Alexander, who entered the game averaging only 5.3 points, picked up the offensive slack against Texas A&M by scoring 14.

In the last three games, six different Vols have scored in double figures, and five Vols have had four or more assists. Backup guard James Daniel has had 13 assists in those three games.

As effective as the Vols have been, they shouldn't forget how quickly things can change. Their winning streak began following a 94-84 home-court loss to Auburn, after which coach Rick Barnes ripped the team in the postgame press conference for its immaturity and lackadaisical play.

 Kennedy provided a reminder: "You have to be at your best every night. If you’re not, you’re going to get beat."

John Adams is a senior columnist. He may be reached at 865-342-6284 or john.adams@knoxnews.com. Follow him at: Twitter.com/johnadamskns.