Tennessee basketball: Three takeaways from Vols’ 78-65 loss at LSU

Will Wade’s LSU Tigers are becoming similar to Bruce Pearl’s Auburn Tigers in terms of programs Tennessee basketball can’t beat under Rick Barnes. The Vols lost 78-65 to the LSU Tigers at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge, La. on Saturday.

With Yves Pons back into the starting lineup in Louisiana, UT’s only lead in the game was 3-2. It trailed 31-26 at halftime and did cut the lead to 36-35 in the second half. LSU then went on a 32-16 run, and Rocky Top never got back within single digits.

In the process, Tennessee basketball fell to 14-5 and 7-5 in the SEC and will host the South Carolina Gamecocks Tuesday. LSU, meanwhile, improves to 13-6 and 8-4 in the SEC and will have a week before hosting Auburn in a week. Here are three things we learned from the Vols’ loss.

1. LSU’s interior defense was too much.

Give all the credit here to Will Wade. He mixed in a compact zone with a matchup zone, in which he would be aggressive going for turnovers on the perimeter. Otherwise, he played a compact man. It worked. The Vols had open looks from the three-point line but missed them because they were rushed and couldn’t buy a bucket inside.

UT shot 8-of-27, or 29.6 percent from the three-point line. They went 22-of-62, or 35.5 percent from inside. Until the final minutes, when they shot a few desperation three, the Vols were actually shooting better from the outside than inside. They only had 11 turnovers with these issues, but they couldn’t find the open looks in time.

2. Yves Pons was back but not himself.

Barnes decided to use four guards again but with Pons starting instead of John Fulkerson starting. That may have been a mistake. Yves Pons did have a key block late. However, for the most part, he struggled. He clearly wasn’t his usual athletic self, and that resulted in him coming away with only four rebounds and three points.

More importantly, on the defensive side, the Vols couldn’t play their usual lockdown half-court defense. Pons could not get up under the paint, and that allowed LSU to go 27-of-52 overall and 20-of-31 from inside the three-point line. It also helped that they went 17-of-18 from the free throw line, but overall, they took advantage inside, and UT couldn’t counter.

3. Starting guards still showed value.

Despite Josiah-Jordan James and Keon Johnson struggling with their shooting efficiency, the Vols’ four starting guards still all contributed in a big way. James and Johnson both had two steals and nine and 10 points respectively. Santiago Vescovi and Jaden Springer, meanwhile, had 13 and 21 points respectively. Springer went 2-of-4 from three, and Vescovi went 3-of-8.

Now, there were still some issues, including Johnson’s five turnovers. But those four have all been elite off the bench. Victor Bailey Jr., meanwhile, is still struggling for some reason. He’s not starting and went 0-for-3 with no points in this game. Tennessee basketball needs him and Pons to get back to normal and reach its peak once again.