Tennessee basketball: Five things we learned about Vols in 2022 SEC Tournament

2. Vols’ defense is consistently suffocating.

It’s fair to question if Tennessee basketball will continue to shoot over 40 percent from three like they did every game in the SEC Tournament. Sure, that had a lot to do with shot selection, but there have been games where the shot selection was fine and they still didn’t shoot that well, so they’ll likely have one bad shooting game in the NCAA Tournament.

However, what’s consistent with this team in a way that would make Rick Barnes proud is its defense. The Vols continually suffocate their opponents in all phases of the game. They don’t actually do it by forcing turnovers, but they do it just by contesting every shot.

The Vols gave up an average of 57 points a game over the weekend, and only one team went over 60. Mississippi State is the only team that didn’t shoot horrendously from the perimeter, going 6-of-17 from beyond the arc. Kentucky was an abysmal 2-of-20, and Texas A&M, after shooting over 50 percent every game from three in the tournament, went 4-of-19.

What really stood out against Kentucky and Texas A&M was how the Vols’ defense continued to get back in transition no matter what. You can bring up A&M being tired, but that doesn’t explain how they handled Kentucky. As a result, this defense is the real deal.