Tennessee basketball lost its first game of the season on Tuesday night, and it wasn't pretty. The Vols lost 73-43 on a night in which they couldn't do anything right on offense or defense. The tables were completely flipped from what we've seen all season long, and Florida controlled the game and dominated the best team in the country.
It was only Tennessee's third true road game of the season, which could have played a factor. The Vols did go into Illinois' house and beat one of the best teams in the Big Ten, so this result was not expected based on previous results, but Florida showed up, and Tennessee did not.
Tennessee's shooting woes highlighted the game. The Vols only made four shots in the first half and 12 shots all game. After a disappointing offensive game, Rick Barnes' postgame press conference focused on that.
"Well, early, we had a ton of open shots, Barnes said to start his press conference. I mean, first play the game, Chaz Lanier hadn't been that open in a long time. And then they weren't going in. Then I thought we lost our poise.
"I thought we had the wrong guys shooting the ball at the wrong time. And again, give Florida a ton of credit. They played well. They did what we like to do on the boards to people, which I thought was the difference in the game."
Allowing offensive rebounds was a major issue for Tennessee in a game only a few days after they were controlling the boards against Arkansas. Florida finished the night with 19 offensive rebounds and 55 total rebounds, which was one of Barnes' biggest complaints.
"That happens sometimes, Barnes said postgame. And again, that's okay. But you can't give up the offensive rebounds that we did. You can't. You can't give that up.
"But give them credit. I mean, that's the mindset. That's an effort. They made great effort. I thought their post guys played well. Did what they, I think, what they set out to do. I think their post guys understand their roles tremendously and how they need to play."
Florida was also the more physical team, as evident on the boards. The team dominating the rebounding advantage is most likely the more physical one. That was clear in Tennessee's win over Arkansas and again in Tennessee's loss to Florida.
"I would say that [Florida was more physical]. We don't get ridden up the lane like that, stuff that we talked about. And when those things start happening right there, again, you give your opponent credit for taking advantage of it. But you also look at your own players and like, 'Why are we doing things that we know we're not supposed to do?'
"They lose their concentration, and good teams like Florida take advantage of it. But we were just, again, I have no idea some of the things I was looking out there watching it. I don't think it was our guys not trying to play hard. I just didn't think we played very smart."
Barnes' messaging was clear. Tennessee has to be more poised in games against top-tier teams. The Vols didn't have much poise in this game, which was a big reason Tennessee lost.
Tennessee basketball will have to go back on the road for its next game on Saturday, another SEC matchup against Texas. Rick Barnes returns home in the hopes the Vols can get back on track against the Longhorns.