Tennessee basketball’s loss at Arkansas nothing to worry about
We could just bring up the fact that Tennessee basketball lost to a team whose only loss the past 12 games was by one point on the road to a top 25 foe and who also beat the then-No. 1 ranked Auburn Tigers at home. However, losing 58-48 would still generate some concerns.
Well, it’s safe to say the Vols, ranked No. 16 in the AP Poll and No. 13 in the Coaches Poll, have nothing to worry about. It is true that Rick Barnes’ team is still prone to long periods of horrendous play and games in general with horrendous offensive performances. That wasn’t the case here.
Yes, Tennessee basketball had an off-day. They shot 4-of-24 from three and 16-of-59 from the field overall. However, a combination of that, foul trouble and injuries is why they fell to 19-7 and 10-4 in the SEC against a team that is ranked No. 23 in the AP Poll, tied for No. 24 in the Coaches Poll and is now 21-6 and 10-4 in the SEC.
If any of those things changes, we’re talking about a closer outcome, and if two of them change, we’re talking about UT winning this game with a score in the 60s. At that point, nobody would be freaking out about the offensive production from this team.
Sure, wide open looks were missed. Kennedy Chandler was 1-of-5 from three, and Santiago Vescovi was 1-of-9 from three. If they just make a couple of the open looks they both had, were talking about them scoring in the high 50s and making it a game.
However, it’s hard to get that going when you see how the game was called. Officials on both ends called ridiculous ticky-tack fouls and fell for every flop Arkansas did, which resulted in at least four horrendous charge calls against the Vols. There were a couple against the Hogs, to be fair.
Anyway, it affect UT worse, as those charging calls put both Chandler and Vescovi in foul trouble, and Josiah-Jordan James, who can also be a threat, eventually fouled out. That forced Barnes to pull them at crucial times, which further limited their offense. It kept Vescovi from getting into rhythm and limited Chandler’s chances to drive to the basket.
Finally, John Fulkerson got hurt. Look, in spite of what we saw from Jonas Aidoo Tuesday and what we saw from Uros Plavsic earlier in the year, without Olivier Nkamhoua, Fulky’s is Tennessee basketball’s only offensive threat in the post right now. He left the game midway through the second half.
That departure totally ruined the Vols’ chances at playing inside-out, and then Chandler was in foul trouble, so he couldn’t properly attack the basket. Combine that with Vescovi, who was also in foul trouble, being out of rhythm, and you’ve got the perfect storm for a disaster on offense.
Next. 10 greatest made shots in Vol basketball history. dark
As a result, Tennessee basketball will be fine. Yes, Saturday was disappointing, but lots of random things went against the Vols in that one. It’s not indicative of a very real problem we’ve seen from Barnes-led teams before, which is massive offensive droughts. Other major problems were on display Saturday that won’t be consistent.