Tennessee Basketball Falls to Undefeated Gonzaga: 5 Takeaways from Vols’ 86-76 Loss

Tennessee basketball fell to the undefeated Gonzaga Bulldogs Sunday in Nashville 86-76. Here are five takeaways from the Volunteers’ loss.

Rick Barnes’s Tennessee basketball team fell behind 21 points early to the Bulldogs and were never able to fully make up the deficit despite a furious comeback in the second half.

Gonzaga jumped out to a 27-6 lead on the Vols in the first half, and Tennessee played the rest of the game from behind. However, through patience and efficiency, they were able to cut it to 43-29 at halftime and then 70-66 within the five-minute mark.

But that’s as close as they would come.

The Bulldogs jumped back out ahead, and Tennessee could never recover. With the loss, the Vols fell to 6-5 on the year, and the Bulldogs, ranked No. 8 in the country, moved up to 11-0.

Here are five takeaways from Tennessee basketball’s effort against the Bulldogs.

1. The Vols remain streaky.

This was an issue last year, and it’s resurfacing again. Tennessee basketball will go on some awful droughts and then amazing runs throughout the game. In this case, the major droughts happened at the beginning and the end of the game.

With lots of freshmen and sophomores running Barnes’s tempo that can happen, and it’s only worse with Jordan Bone hurt. But it gets frustrating to watch at times, and it could be very costly to the Vols when they play good teams.

2. Detrick Mostella should get more action.

He scored two points in seven minutes against the North Carolina Tar Heels, but off the bench the past two games Mostella has provided major energy. Against the Bulldogs, he finished with 17 points on six-of-15 shooting, including three three-pointers.

He wasn’t the most efficient player for the Vols, but he played his heart out all night, and that’s what Barnes and Tennessee basketball need. He also had help from another bench player who showed flashes Sunday.

3. Kwe Parker looks like he could be a true point guard.

With Jordan Bone hurt, Rick Barnes should consider playing Kwe Parker more. He did get in foul trouble on Sunday and only had two points, but the youngster had four assists off the bench and no turnovers.

Parker hit Mostella for a beautiful slam in the first half as the Vols were making their comebacks, and if he continues to play efficient at the point, Barnes should consider putting him in and giving him more action.

4. Shooting has to get more consistent.

With John Fulkerson now hurt and Jordan Bone still not back, the Vols and Rick Barnes desperately need their guards to step up and be more efficient shooting. Robert Hubbs III was aggressive on Sunday, but he was four-for-10 with only 10 points. He needs to shoot close to 50 percent now.

The Vols as a team shot 30 percent from the field, including Lamonte Turner going an abysmal two-for-10. The high-post forwards have to be better as well. Admiral Schofield was one-for-five off the bench. And that’s unacceptable. Lew Evans going one-for-eight down low was also terrible, and with Fulkerson out, that has to get better.

5. Inside game is in trouble.

Admiral Schofield and Grant Williams can do things on the high post, but without John Fulkerson down low and without Jordan Bone to dictate the offense, the Vols can’t get much around the rim. So they’re no threat, and teams can all adjust easily on defense.

Kyle Alexander and Lew Evans are going to have to do some more dirty work now with Fulkerson hurt, and they didn’t show any positive signs Sunday. So they have to do a lot more in the future if Tennessee basketball is to get better.