Tennessee basketball: Three takeaways from Vols’ ugly, low-scoring loss at Arkansas

In an ugly defensive battle that saw neither team lead by more than one possession through the first 43 and a half minutes, Tennessee basketball allowed the Arkansas Razorbacks to go on an 11-1 run late in the second half and take control in the game with a nine-point lead. As a result, the Vols’ eight-game SEC winning streak came to an end on the road in a 58-48 loss.

Rick Barnes’ team, ranked No. 16 in the AP Poll and No. 13 in the Coaches Poll, could not keep up the momentum from its top five win over the Kentucky Wildcats earlier this week. After that run, the Hogs, ranked No. 23 in the AP Poll and No. 24 in the Coaches Poll, never allowed UT to get within five of them.

Rocky Top falls to 19-7 and 10-4 in the SEC with a trip to the Missouri Tigers set for Tuesday. They are tied with Arkansas now for third in the league, as Eric Musselman’s team improves to 21-6 and 10-4 in SEC play with a trip to the Florida Gators set for Tuesday. Here are three things we learned from Tennessee basketball’s loss.

1. Foul trouble and an injury limited the roster.

To be fair, this went both ways. The officials called a horrendous game, loading it up with ticky-tack fouls, and most of the bad calls were charges. They fell for two Arkansas flops and called Uros Plavsic for a moving screen late. On the other end, Arkansas’s J.D. Notae fouled out late on a horrible charge call. However, the foul trouble cost the Vols more.

UT is deeper than Arkansas, but Kennedy Chandler and Santiago Vescovi both had four fouls with over six minutes to go. Josiah-Jordan James fouled out agin. That already limited them. John Fulkerson then got hurt and left the game with over 10 minutes left. Add in that they are already without Olivier Nkamhoua, and Barnes was severely limited with who he could use.

2. There were too many missed open shots.

Arkansas played great defense. However, Tennessee basketball still missed too many open looks. They shot 4-of-24 from the three-point line and 16-of-59 from the field, a horrendous performance. Chandler had 11 points but missed an open three and a layup. Vescovi was 1-of-9 from three and missed multiple open threes and a first half layup.

Only Zakai Zeigler shot well from outside, going 2-of-3 from three and 6-of-6 from the free throw line en route to 12 points. However, he missed all five two-point attempts from the field. Free throw shooting was also mediocre, going 12-of-18, largely because Jahmai Mashack missed one late while Plavsic was 0-of-4, missing two crucial ones late. This made the performance hideous.

3. Defense was great.

With Notae in foul trouble, Barnes was able to mix up his defense for the Vols. He went to zone every time Notae was on the bench, and it worked. Arkansas only had 10 turnovers, but UT had six steals, including three from Zeigler and two from Fulkerson, and four blocks, including two from Chandler. They forced Arkansas to shoot 18-of-59 from the field and 5-of-22 from three.

If there was one positive from this one, it was the fact that Tennessee basketball’s defense still never waivers. They are clearly still prone to horrible offensive performances though, and that seems to be a worse problem on the road. As a result, there are still plenty of issues they have to work out before March.