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Tennessee basketball: 3 takeaways from Vols’ loss to Villanova

By Caleb Calhoun

NASHVILLE, TN - MARCH 10: Rick Barnes the head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers gives instructions to his team during the 67-65 win over the Vanderbilt Commodores during the second round of the SEC Basketball Tournament at Bridgestone Arena on March 10, 2016 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
NASHVILLE, TN - MARCH 10: Rick Barnes the head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers gives instructions to his team during the 67-65 win over the Vanderbilt Commodores during the second round of the SEC Basketball Tournament at Bridgestone Arena on March 10, 2016 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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Tennessee basketball fell to the No. 5 ranked Villanova Wildcats 85-76 in the Battle 4 Atlantis. Here are three takeaways from the Volunteers’ loss.

In the firs half, Tennessee basketball was riding a wave of momentum to make Vols fans think the Purdue upset was just a taste of what was to come. But a harsh wake up to reality in the second half, and a huge Villanova run, brought them back to reality.

Still, the Vols only lost by nine points to the No. 5 ranked team in the country. Rick Barnes’s bunch played until the very end in the Battle 4 Atlantis before falling to 3-1 on the year.

Their next game will be against the loser between the N.C. State Wolfpack and the Northern Iowa Panthers for third place in the tournament.

Here are three takeaways from the Vols’ loss this game.

1. Free throws were the difference.

The foul calls were about even, 28 to 24, but Villanova shot 18 more free throws than the Vols. At the same time, they missed three fewer free throws. So that was a 21-point difference overall, which was huge.

Tennessee basketball is usually reliable at the free throw line, and while 12-of-19 isn’t terrible, it wasn’t great. If they just make three of those, you’ve got a totally different game down the stretch. That was a huge difference.

2. This team doesn’t back down from anybody.

From a positive perspective, this team never quit. Tennessee basketball went up by 12 at one point in the first half. In the second half they got down by as many as 15. But they managed to cut the lead to three points before losing by nine.

Simply put, they never gave up and kept fighting until the end against the No. 5 team in the country. Rick Barnes still has a very young group with a bright future. They showed a ton of promise in this game, and even in a loss, this is a very good team that will only get better.

3. Tennessee’s stretch-forwards are a mismatch for anybody.

This is going to be the key for the Vols going into the season. And it was the key on Thursday. The stretch forwards were the difference all the way around. The Vols start two players of that style, Grant Williams and Admiral Schofield. And they had 20 and 16 points respectively.

But coming off the bench, John Fulkerson provided his own spark there with seven points. If Yves Pons can ever fully get it going, that’s a deep collection of stretch forwards that make this team very tough. In this game, they didn’t have help from the combo guards like they need to have. But when they do, they could be unbeatable.

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