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Tennessee Basketball: Three Takeaways from Vols Loss to Georgia

By Caleb Calhoun

Jan 13, 2016; Athens, GA, USA; Tennessee Volunteers forward Kyle Alexander (11) fights for a rebound with Georgia Bulldogs forward Kenny Paul Geno (25) at Stegeman Coliseum. Georgia defeated Tennessee 81-72. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 13, 2016; Athens, GA, USA; Tennessee Volunteers forward Kyle Alexander (11) fights for a rebound with Georgia Bulldogs forward Kenny Paul Geno (25) at Stegeman Coliseum. Georgia defeated Tennessee 81-72. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports /
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Tennessee basketball fell to 8-8 Wednesday in an 81-72 loss to the Georgia Bulldogs in Athens. Here are three takeaways from the Volunteers’ loss.

It was another blown opportunity for Rick Barnes and his Tennessee Vols. For the second straight game, they blew a second-half lead.

The Vols led the Dawgs 35-28 at the break and then extended the lead to 43-34. But Georgia got red hot from beyond the arc, finishing the game 12 of 19 from the three-point line and 28 of 56 overall.

Tennessee, meanwhile, fell back into an abysmal shooting night, something that has plagued them on and off throughout the year as they struggle to pick up Rick Barnes’s tempo-based offense.

The result was once again a loss that they easily could have avoided, which is becoming a pattern for this basketball team.

Here are three takeaways from the loss.

1. Perimeter Shooting is Atrocious on Offense and Defense

This applies on both ends of the court, and it’s the only reason Tennessee is 1-3 in the SEC and not 3-1. Size has not been the problem for the Vols, at least to the degree we expected it to be. It’s the disparity in perimeter shooting.

On Wednesday, they shot 26 percent from 3 and 37 percent from the field, and we’ve already documented Georgia’s numbers. Just move those stats to 30 percent and 40 percent respectively, and Tennessee wins.

Against Auburn, the Vols shot 10 percent from and 38 percent from the field while the Tigers shot 46 percent and 53 percent respectively. They did hang tough with Texas A&M in this regard, but keeping one team under 40 percent from three would help.

If they could, they’d be 4-0 in the league.

2. Free Throw Shooting is Keeping Tennessee in Games

Despite the atrocious disparities on the perimeter, the Vols deserve a lot of credit for remaining consistent from the free throw line. For the second straight game, they shot better than 80 percent from the line, and they have shot better than 70 percent in all four SEC games.

While the shots are coming and going, the Vols are making sure to take advantage of the easy things that come their way, and that held true again Wednesday night, as they shot nearly 86 percent from the free throw line.

If it wasn’t for that advantage, this team could be a heck of a lot worse than 8-8.

3. Robert Hubbs III Needs to be More Aggressive

We have been calling for this ever since he arrived in Knoxville but continually gave him passes due to injuries. Still, this point is nothing new.

Hubbs has the potential to be a lethal scorer for the Vols and actually help bring some of that perimeter shooting the team is missing, but he is not playing aggressively enough. He’s part of the reason for the disparity from the first point.

Rick Barnes called for that just earlier this week, and to be fair, Hubbs was five of six from the free throw line. But he was only two of four from the field and 0 for 1 from the three-point line. Really?

Yes, he’s shot terrible from three this year, but maybe, just maybe, he could improve that by trying to shoot his way out of it. If Hubbs gained some confidence, or any intangibles, this would be a very different Tennessee team.

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