The Tennessee Vols basketball team is riding a two-game losing streak and frustration is growing in Knoxville. What makes things worse here is that the Vols have been in a good spot to post wins against No. 1 Auburn and No. 14 Kentucky, but they blew it late.
At some point, the game plan needs to change a bit and Tennessee needs to find a way to win these close contests. This is something head man Rick Barnes knows is on him. Following the loss to the Wildcats on Tuesday night, Barnes didn't hesitate in calling himself out a bit:
Tennessee coach Rick Barnes: Obviously this is on me. I have to get the guys to understand some things. Maybe I haven't communicated it as well as I should.
— Wes Rucker (@wesrucker247) January 29, 2025
Rick Barnes put the blame on himself after the loss to No. 14 Kentucky
One of the main issues fans had with the loss to the Wildcats was that the team went 11-of-45 shooting the ball from 3-point land, which was a complete and total joke. It doesn't matter who you're going up against - you can't shoot that poorly and expect to take down a ranked team.
To make things worse, the Vols went 2-of-13 from downtown down the stretch, with no two-point attempts being posted from the 4:39 mark. What was Barnes thinking while seeing all of this go down? He needed to make some adjustments, but he didn't.
That can't be the case on Saturday, as the Vols are getting ready to host No. 5 Florida for one of the biggest and best games of the weekend. Remember what happened the last time these two teams faced off? Yeah, it wasn't a night to remember.
Florida ended up posting a 30-point win over the Vols. At that time, Tennessee was ranked the No. 1 team in the nation, but that obviously changed after the Gators dominated Barnes' players. If the Vols are going to post some revenge on Saturday afternoon, then Barnes is going to have to mix things up and make sure his playmakers are ready. Will he deliver there? Barnes better.