Tennessee basketball: Is Vols defense lucky or just that good?

In wins over the Ole Miss Rebels and Vanderbilt Commodores, Tennessee basketball’s defense has been amazing. What’s behind the Volunteers’ success?

After allowing 47 points in the first half of a loss to the Georgia Bulldogs last week, Tennessee basketball has turned up the heat defensively. That has manifested itself in two historically great performances in which they held back to back opponents to under 50 points.

It started on Saturday in a 66-45 win at the Vanderbilt Commodores. UT held Vandy to 0-for-25 from three-point range, the first time since 1986 that they failed to hit a three-pointer in a game. That’s an incredible streak that was broken.

Three days later, however, Tennessee basketball returned home and beat the Ole Miss Rebels 73-48. In that game, Ole Mis was five-for-25 from three-point range, better but not great, and they were only 19-of-63 from the field overall.

So what’s behind this dominance on defense? How do you measure horrendous shooting nights by other teams? Is it more about them being off or the Vols just playing great defense? Honestly, certain numbers would initially favor luck.

Vanderbilt, for instance, had 17 turnovers, but only six of those were steals by the Vols. Ole Miss, meanwhile, only had 10 turnovers. That came despite the fact that Rick Barnes threw in a 1-2-2 press at times, which is designed to generate turnovers. So if you’re pressing and not generate turnovers and the other team is missing shots, that’s somewhat due to luck.

To be fair, it was on Tuesday. Ole Miss air-balled multiple wide open looks. They also went five-of-11 from the free throw line when they usually shoot above 70 percent, so that also involves a decent bit of luck.

But if you look at how the Vols have played all year, lowering a team’s shooting percentage is not something new. In fact, it has been their method of winning even when they have poor shooting nights all year. And it’s worth noting that Vanderbilt shot better than its average from the free throw line, hitting 21-of-26 for over 80 percent when they are 67.4 percent on the season.

Rocky Top has the best field goal percentage defense in the SEC and is No. 15 in the nation, as opponents shoot only 37.7 percent against them. On top of that, they are No. 12 in the nation in blocks per game at just under six, good for second in the SEC.

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Against Vanderbilt, UT had eight blocks. They had another five against Ole Miss. Yes, Vandy hits over eight and a half three-pointers a game, good for 34.7 percent on the season, while Ole Miss hits nearly six and a half and shoots 31 percent on the season.

With those numbers, the drop-off involves a break of both teams having an off shooting night. But there’s no way to ignore the fact that Tennessee basketball is contesting every shot, and Barnes switching up his defenses could be forcing teams out of their rhythm.

For instance, even if you beat his press, he just threw that in there, and that could be just enough to keep you out of rhythm when you do shoot, as you could rush a shot. Meanwhile, despite technically being undersized, the Vols have length among the wings with Yves Pons leading the way. There’s a reason he has seven blocks in two games.

One advantage with Uros Plavsic being eligible is the Vols now have either his length or Pons’s athletic ability at all times down low, allowing them to deny things inside. Kermit Davis touched on Ole Miss being unable to finish at the rim. Knowing that, the Vols are able to play a little more aggressive on the perimeter, and they can deny passing lanes in the paint.

The combination of those things and guys being able to switch pretty quickly makes for every single shot being contested. Considering that they have played elite defensive basketball in every game since Plavsic’s first, this could be a big deal.

Barnes clearly wanted Tennessee basketball to make sure it always defended regardless of whether or not its shots fell. That and free throw shooting made the difference. Well, the defense is back as of now, and that’s a big deal. Sure, some luck is involved in holding two teams under 50 points, but they won both games by over 20. So the suffocating defense is clearly a thing.

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