Tennessee started out hot and never looked back as they won the SEC tournament title. The time is 2:1.
Tennessee beat Texas A&M 65-50 on Sunday to win the SEC basketball tournament for the first time in 43 years.
The second-seeded Volunteers won for the 12th time in 13 games after rattling off the first 14 points of the afternoon.
Tennessee has emerged as the top team in the SEC after beating each of the other rivals in the past few weeks, but Kentucky and Arkansas entered the SEC tournament ranked in the top five, and Arkansas was as hot as any team in the country down the stretch.
Tennessee recorded assists on 19 of 22 baskets and the first 10 of them were made after the halftime break.
Texas A&M was playing its fourth game in four days.
Tennessee began the game with a 3-pointer and a 3-point play by James and then the Aggies missed their first eight shots.
It was 14-0 before Henry Coleman III scored for Texas A&M. The Aggies missed all nine of their 3-point attempts in the first half, while shooting 27% from the field.
The Tennessee defense did a great job defending the 3-point line in the semifinal victory over Kentucky. The Vols have held their opponents under 65 points in each of the last 10 games.
The closest Texas A&M got after the slow start was 34-29, thanks to a 3-pointer by Tyrece Radford. The lead was rebuilt to 14 after a 9-0 burst that included a 3 by Vescovi.
The Vols led by as many as 18 before James sank a 3-pointer from the corner.
Texas A&M advanced to its first SEC tournament final with 13 points from Radford. Coleman finished with 12 points and seven rebound for the Aggies, who likely played their way into the NCAA tournament with three wins.
Tennessee won the conference for the first time in 34 years. The Vols lost to Kentucky in the final for the third time in five years.
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