Tennessee basketball looking like a Rick Barnes-coached team just in time for Kentucky

It’s pretty easy to determine how Tennessee basketball pulled a 180, going on a seven-game SEC winning streak after a blowout loss to the Kentucky Wildcats on the road back in January sent them to 2-3 in league play. Their three-point shooting picked back up.

Josiah-Jordan James emerged as another elite scoring threat on top of his defensive skills. Zakai Zeigler became a huge spark off the bench. Those guys combined with Kennedy Chandler playing in control and Santiago Vescovi still being a threat from outside made all the difference.

However, as they get set with their rematch against the top five-ranked ‘Cats on Tuesday, something else is clear. Tennessee basketball is playing to the identity that Rick Barnes loves to have on his team, and it was evident last Saturday.

The Vols were not as sharp, particularly in the second half, against the Vanderbilt Commodores. James had an off-night for the first time in a while, they allowed too many runs and Olivier Nkamhoua’s season-ending injury limited them in the post.

Still, Barnes committed to running two big men on the floor as much as possible. The result? UT won with a suffocating defense and second-chance points. John Fulkerson scored double figures off the bench, and even in an off-night, James had a double-double, scoring 14 points to go with 10 rebounds. Four offensive boards led to his double figures.

When you add that to the improve shooting, which is clear even with that off-day Saturday, what stands out is the fact that Tennessee basketball has weapons and leaders, but it is still playing like Barnes teams do at their best. The Vols can still go inside-out, they still play great defense, and they’ll also turn up the tempo when needed.

These are all things Barnes stresses. Honestly, in their last loss at Kentucky, you could see the signs that the shooting was returning. It was the horrendous defense as the Wildcats went off from the outside that cost them in that game.

Now, though, that offensive performance hasn’t left. Defense has stepped up in a huge way, and its been helped by James, once a five-star recruit who is now in his junior year. Barnes’ ability to develop talent would naturally make James, Vescovi and Fulkerson all huge threats in this system, as it’s their third year playing for him.

More importantly, though, as an added bonus to this team playing in Barnes’ identity, James and Fulky have taken on huge leadership roles. That removes the pressure from Barnes, and with superstar freshmen like Chandler and Zeigler, it helps to keep everybody in line.

As UK heads to Rocky Top Tuesday night, the timing couldn’t be better for the Vols. We know that Barnes has a solid track record of beating John Calipari. His style is just the perfect matchup, and it’s even better when his teams have more experience.

Well, they have more experience this year, and they are doing things not necessary for Barnes-led teams to beat Calipari, including shooting well from outside and finding leadership from their players. All of this favors Tennessee basketball at Thompson-Boling Arena Tuesday night, even without Nkamhoua.