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Tennessee basketball: 5 vulnerabilities Vols need to address for a Final Four run

By Billy Williford

PHOENIX, ARIZONA - DECEMBER 09: Jordan Bone #0 (second from left) of the Tennessee Volunteers celebrates after defeating the Gonzaga Bulldogs in the game at Talking Stick Resort Arena on December 9, 2018 in Phoenix, Arizona. The Volunteers defeated the Bulldogs 76-73. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
PHOENIX, ARIZONA - DECEMBER 09: Jordan Bone #0 (second from left) of the Tennessee Volunteers celebrates after defeating the Gonzaga Bulldogs in the game at Talking Stick Resort Arena on December 9, 2018 in Phoenix, Arizona. The Volunteers defeated the Bulldogs 76-73. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /
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Tennessee basketball
KNOXVILLE, TN – JANUARY 19: Donta Hall #0 of the Alabama Crimson Tide takes a charge from Grant Williams #2 of the Tennessee Volunteers during the second half of their game at Thompson-Boling Arena on January 19, 2019, in Knoxville, Tennessee. Tennessee won the game 71-68. (Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images) /

No.5 – Cutting down on the fouls

Maybe this one isn’t entirely fair. College basketball refs have been some kind of bad. They have been on another level of horrible this season. Frankly, every game grows worse, and I’m not just talking about the calls on Tennessee.

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There are some refs that love to take over games and make it about themselves instead of letting the players decide the outcome. The picture above is a perfect example of exactly that. In the closing seconds of the Alabama game, Donta Hall set up to take a charge on Grant Williams, and a charge is what was called.

But, here are the stats, Tennessee has committed 329 fouls in 18 games which ranks them close to the middle of the pack, so it could be worse. However, it could be better.

In the past two games against Alabama and Vanderbilt, Admiral Schofield has found himself in foul trouble which has affected his offensive game. He did write the ship a bit in the second half against the Tide by scoring 12 points, but he had an off shooting night at just 23.5 percent. Against Vanderbilt it was even worse, Schofield shot 0-of-6 from the three-point line and just 22 percent from the field.

Then there is the reigning SEC Player of the Year in Grant Williams who seems to always find himself in foul trouble. Williams has accounted for at least three fouls in half of the games this season and fouled out in four of them.

It’s only backfired on the Vols once this season which was against Kansas, but cutting down on the fouls to be safe will help Tennessee make a deep run in March.

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