Barnes, Vols looking to power through difficult stretch

Tennessee has lost three in a row and faces a tough task on the road in Alabama. Rick Barnes is choosing to focus on what the Vols can controls

A year ago, Tennessee was separating itself from the rest of the SEC - in the midst of a 19-game win streak - as it blazed through January and February at the top of the AP poll.

This year's Vols couldn't be experiencing more opposite fortunes.

Coming off of a 13-point thumping at the hands of Mississippi State in Starkville, Tennessee is currently in a position it had not been in for two years. 

Boasting one of the SEC's most experienced rosters a season ago, this version of the Vols couldn't be more different. Just ask head coach Rick Barnes, who also finds himself in a peculiar spot.

He expected to have veteran leadership from Lamonte Turner during this stretch. Instead, Tennessee now must rely on the plethora of youth on its roster, many of whom have not played meaningful basketball at the collegiate level.

"This is the month where things start separating. But, probably the most important part of that question is with a young group of guys that have never been through it," Barnes said. "It's something they're going to have to experience."

UT boasts seven underclassmen on its roster. Six of those played in their first college basketball game this year. 

Tennessee hasn't done itself any favors as of late, dropping its past three contests. The Vols have now lost consecutive or more games three times this season, and their total of nine 

If one silver lining has come of this, it's that Tennessee's youth is getting meaningful, late-game action. 

"What they're going to realize as they continue to go through this, is just how difficult it is to win basketball games this time of year," Barnes said. "That's something where we're going to have to keep grinding, we're going to have to keep working, and find a way to break through."

Two of the newest Vols that have proven to be key pieces in Barnes' rotation lately are also two of UT's least-experienced pieces.

Niether Santiago Vescovi or Uros Plavsic were on the active roster to start the season. While Plavsic battled with the NCAA for eligibility, Vescovi found himself trying to fight his way onto a college roster.

"Those guys didn't have a chance to play any of the games that we played earlier in the year, so they're learning at a time when it's a very difficult time to learn that," Barnes said. "But, the only way they're going to learn it, is that they're going to have to play through mistakes.”

Barnes and his staff have no plans of getting in the way of those, either. 

"And we're going to have to let them play through some of those mistakes."

Tennessee stands at 12-9 with a 4-4 mark in SEC play with 10 games left in the regular season.

A win on the road in Tuscaloosa - a place the Vols have struggled at in recent years - would lend UT a necessary boost as it prepares to host 15th-ranked Kentucky on Saturday. 

For Barnes, that means pushing forward and competing, like everyone else.

"I think every team this time of year, we're all trying to continue to figure it out and see what we can do as we head down the home stretch."