The crowd was rocking in what really felt like an NCAA tournament game in Nashville on Saturday night. Vibes were high, until they weren't.
Tennessee basketball fell 75-62, for a third straight loss this season, this time it was to an Illinois team they have knocked off the last two years. Tennessee played hard, but defensive lapses and the inability to make a timely bucket made an awesome night in Nashville bleak.
Here are three key takeaways from the Vols loss to the Fighting Illini.
1. Rebounding was once again dominant
Let's start the takeaways on a high note. The Volunteers were absolutely dominant on the glass from start to finish as they outrebounded Illinois 46 to 31, which included 23 of them on the offensive end. They were cleaning the glass all night long and found themselves with a ton of second-chance opportunities.
The problem was that Tennessee just couldn't convert on these boards, which left players visibly frustrated. Not converting on these opportunities is just a killer in a game where Illinois was draining everything left and right.
The Vols couldn’t buy a bucket, but fans should at least be happy the roster from top to bottom was rebounding hard and working for points.
2. Perimeter defense
Stop me if you have heard this before: "Illinois Three." It seemed to be raining threes in Nashville for Illinois. The Fighting Illini shot 39% from deep and down the stretch they couldn't miss.
Too often, Tennessee guards got caught digging to help out Ament and the other bigs down low. This just made for easy looks for one of the best shooting teams in the nation. Vols fans in the crowd were pulling their hair out seeing Illinois throw it on the block just to kick it out for another three.
Almost half of Illinois' points came from beyond the arc, which is just not sustainable for a team that has its offensive woes like Tennessee.
3. Nate Ament needs to be better
Volunteer fans love Nate Ament, and rightfully so. He's uber talented, but his youth has been apparent the past couple of weeks. It sucks to say, but this has been a trend. Nate Ament needs to be better if Tennessee wants to reach its goals.
I'm not saying the sky is falling and everyone should panic, but physical play has been getting to Ament. he still is averaging 17.1 points a game which is a significant feat, but in some of the Vols biggest games he's taken a back seat.
With SEC play coming up in a month, Ament needs to breakout of the slump and help lead the Tennessee basketball team its potential.