Put Up Or Shut Up Time For Tennessee
Image: sportsbuzz2.com
By Sam Beard
The Tuesday night matchup with Kentucky was some of the worst basketball I have watched recently. Kentucky didn’t make a shot from the field for the final 5:20 of the game. Tennessee didn’t attempt a 2 pointer in the final 4:39 of the game, while shooting 2-13 from 3 in that span to end the game. 11 of 45 from three. Yes, you read that right. A Rick Barnes basketball team attempted FORTY FIVE threes in a single game.
If you told me before the game we would win the offensive rebounding battle by 10 and only turn the ball over 5 times compared to 13 for Ketucky, I would’ve told you that it was a smooth double digit win for the Vols that got them back on track from an emotional game at Auburn.
I’m not going to sit here and tell you where this Tennessee team can turn it around, because at the end of the day, we just have to make shots. If you want to have the argument we don't have a roster that is capable of making the shots in league play, fair, but that’s a story for another time. The Vols shot 13-41 on uncontested shots, 8-33 on uncontested 3’s, and 7-16 on layups.
Kentucky shoots 50% from the field and 3pt land, yet you still find yourself at the end of the game with a chance to get an improbable win. I know the glass half-full approach isn’t what people love to hear after the offensive output from this team over the last month, but I think there is something we can take away from this game.
You have to go back nearly a decade to find the last consecutive home losses against SEC teams with Tennessee. In Barnes’ second season on Rocky Top in 2016-17 they dropped consecutive home games in early January with a road loss wedged in between. Losing streaks don’t happen often in the Barnes era; even in the first two years of him playing .500 basketball he has done a great job of defending home court. A top five Florida team coming in who presents a matchup problem for maybe every team in the country, besides Duke. Two 7 footers and a trio of some of the best guards in the country… doesn’t exactly feel like a winning recipe.
Saturday’s game against Florida sounds like a nightmare after what we’ve watched over the last month, including the debacle that happened down in Gainesville about three weeks ago. I think it’s safe to say the loss at Florida started the downward spiral on offense, and they straight up embarrassed you after being ranked #1 in the country.
Sure, this team could continue to spiral, and I wouldn’t necessarily be shocked if it keeps happening, but I think we might be in line to get a response with our backs against the wall as well. This squad was going to have the rematch circled on their calendars after that 30 point loss regardless of how well we played after that game. Now, we’ve strung together some lackluster performances with the taste of an awful home loss still in our mouth, and I believe that means we’re due for a response.
Saturday is an opportunity to either lay down and let the rest of the conference roll over you, or pick yourself up by the bootstraps and find a way to hit some shots, get out in transition, and get your offensive identity back.
Call it whatever you want against Florida: Must win, Gut check, Backs against the wall.
Dalton Knecht ain’t walking back through those doors, so we better find a way to make some shots on Saturday and beyond.