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Tennessee basketball: 5 things we learned about Vols from SEC Tournament

By Caleb Calhoun

NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - MARCH 16: Rick Barnes the head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers gives instructions to his team during the 82-78 win over the Kentucky Wildcats during the semifinals of the SEC Basketball Tournament at Bridgestone Arena on March 16, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - MARCH 16: Rick Barnes the head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers gives instructions to his team during the 82-78 win over the Kentucky Wildcats during the semifinals of the SEC Basketball Tournament at Bridgestone Arena on March 16, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images
Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images /

4. Rick Barnes has a tough time with a full-court press defense.

It’s not like Tennessee basketball can’t play up-tempo. They have the athletes. And they are willing to press themselves. Rick Barnes, a guy who coached under Gary Williams, should understand Bruce Pearl’s philosophy as a result since Pearl and Williams are proteges of Dr. Tom Davis.

But, for some reason, aggressive, attacking press defenses are giving Barnes trouble. We thought Bruce Pearl’s previous two wins over the Vols were close games that simply happened to break Auburn’s way.

This time, though, Auburn dominated. And they won not thanks to red-hot shooting to start the second half. You expect a run like that with a team like the Tigers. No, they won due to their full-court press and all the turnovers they generated in the first half.

Not only did Auburn do that, but Kentucky played up-tempo too under John Calipari. And they also managed to give the Vols some trouble until they tried to run out the clock in the final two and a half minutes.

This played off of what Will Wade and the LSU Tigers had also done to this team in the regular season. A Shaka Smart protege, Wade likes to turn up the tempo as well. But LSU and Auburn raised a slight concern in the regular season.

In the SEC Tournament, Auburn managed to put it on blast. Heading into the NCAA Tournament, this could be a problem. If the Vols face a team that likes to play fast-paced at any point in the tournament, they will have to stay disciplined and motivated.

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