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Tennessee Basketball: Three Takeaways from Vols’ Loss to Vanderbilt Commodores

By Caleb Calhoun

Mar 1, 2016; Nashville, TN, USA; Vanderbilt Commodores head coach Kevin Stallings greets Tennessee Volunteers guard Shembari Phillips (25) following the game at Memorial Gym. Vanderbilt won 86-69. Mandatory Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 1, 2016; Nashville, TN, USA; Vanderbilt Commodores head coach Kevin Stallings greets Tennessee Volunteers guard Shembari Phillips (25) following the game at Memorial Gym. Vanderbilt won 86-69. Mandatory Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports /
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Tennessee basketball continued its rough season with an 86-69 loss to the Vanderbilt Commodores. Here are three takeaways from the Volunteers’ loss.

The Tennessee Vols fell to 13-17 on the season and 6-11 in the conference for the season with their third straight loss, an embarrassing blowout loss up the road in Nashville to Kevin Stallings’s red-hot Vanderbilt Commodores.

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This was the worst time for the Vols to face Vanderbilt. They are clearly out of things to play for, they did not have their two best players, Kevin Punter and Robert Hubbs III, and they were facing a Commodores team that has gotten on a ridiculous hot streak with a chance to win the SEC Championship.

Rick Barnes’s team had no chance of overcoming all of that.

After a 10-10 tie, they were blown out throughout the rest of the first half. The Vols were able to cut it to 10 in the second half but then let things get out of hand, falling behind by as many as 25 points.

However, despite this loss and the lost season, there are signs of a very bright future, which we will get into below.

Here are three takeaways from the loss.

1. Tennessee’s lack of inside game is becoming a killer.

The lack of size and an inside game was something that was certainly a concern going into the year, but it has really reared its ugly head in the injuries to Kevin Punter and Robert Hubbs III. The Vols now have no consistent guard play to really offset the lack of inside game, and it has shown.

They actually shot well from the three-point line Tuesday, going 7-of-13 from beyond the arc, and they also did a decent job defending the three, holding the Commodores to 7-of-21. But they had no inside offense, and it rendered them one-dimensional. So inevitably, they had no chance.

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2. Rick Barnes and Tennessee may have Kevin Punter’s replacement for the future in Shembari Phillips

This has been one pleasant surprise with the Punter injury. Shembari Phillips has shown a heck of a lot of promise since he was forced to step onto the scene and fill in for Punter, scoring double-figures in each of the past four games. Phillips is also an efficient player as well, shooting 38.6 percent from three.

If Phillips can improve his shot selection, his aggression and intensity along with his abilities as a freshman is the first sign of a bright future for Barnes to seriously build on at the guard spot. Even if this year is a loss, he should still focus on developing Phillips as much as possible.

3. Admiral Schofield has a bright future

Keeping in line with the future narrative, Admiral Schofield’s inconsistent has now included two straight games of scoring double figures. He has done a good job stepping up to replace the loss of scoring, and at 6’5″ there is only so much he can do under the basket.

But Schofield plays big and with toughness along with efficiency. Once Barnes can get his guys in the system, Schofield will be able to play a more consistent role. And he has already developed a lot as a freshman, so he is another sign of encouragement.

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