Wildcats Dominate Number Nineteen Vols in Knoxville
The Tennessee Volunteers showed again on Saturday that they are one of the most bafflingly inconsistent teams in all of college basketball. After a win earlier in the week against South Carolina where the Vols shot the ball exceptionally well, they did what they have done over and over again this season, and followed it up with an abysmal offensive performance. This time, the Tennessee defense failed to show up early as well, resulting in the Vols getting hammered on national television by arch rival Kentucky in Thompson Boling Arena to the tune of 70-55. The Wildcats are in the midst of a historically bad season, and still managed to come to Knoxville and thrash the number nineteen Vols. This embarrassing loss in front of a national audience will likely drop the Vols out of the top twenty five when the new polls come out, and, frankly, it should. Tennessee is no longer a team that can be labeled as, “Inconsistent.” Rather, they simply are a Jekyll and Hyde team with an offense that is usually painful to watch. They have failed to make any adjustments from the start of the season in terms of what they struggle against, and it is causing them to under achieve.
There is no excuse for this Tennessee basketball team to be unranked. The Vols were ranked in the top ten during the pre-season and much of this season. They were viewed as legitimate contenders to win a National Title, and they have the talent to do just that. However, the Vols have not grown or improved through the season in areas they have struggled. In fact, they have regressed in many of those areas. At one point the Vols had held Kentucky to just 3 of 22 from the floor in the second half, but their offense was so abysmal that they couldn’t capitalize. Had the Vols showed that kind of defensive effort in the first half, they may have had a chance to win, despite their miserable offense. This is a team that relies on defense to carry them, and everyone knew that would be their identity before the season began, but the offense has turned out so many awful performances that any lapse by the defense being anything but elite results in a loss.
It is pretty simple to see the issue with the Tennessee offense to an eye that has watched this team for several years. Tennessee is too passive on offense. The Vols can be unselfish to a fault with the ball, but they are entirely too passive. Rick Barnes recruits players that want to work in the system, that want to get the shot for their teammates if it is there, and that is not a bad thing at all. What is a problem is that nobody on this roster wants to pull the trigger when the ball comes to them. Against the Wildcats, time and time again, Tennessee players got the ball with an open look, and rather than taking the shot, they paused, hesitated, looked to make a pass, rather than shoot. This allowed Kentucky, just as it has allowed so many other teams, to close out on the Vols, making what had been an open shot a contested one. The Tennessee offense does work as a system at times, but the players have been drilled so hard to pass first that they hesitate or turn down the open shots presented to them that are created by the offense in favor of another pass around the three-point arc. This timidity carries over to the Vols settling for jump shots and threes over and over again. The Vols simply are not a good three point shooting team. They haven’t been all this season or really over the last four seasons. Under Barnes, Tennessee has consistently gotten in trouble when they take too many threes, and for some reason they play offense like they are an elite shooting team behind the arc. Tennessee has shown a timidity when it comes to driving the lane. The Vols consistently refuse to drive on teams when their wings have size and strength advantages, and defenders are running hard to close them out. Instead of side stepping a defender and driving to the basket, the Vols just hesitate to shoot or defer with another pass, leading far too often to another miss.
The regression of Tennessee’s inside game has also been a major factor in this painful Tennessee offense. John Fulkerson and Yves Pons are simply not involved enough in the Tennessee offense this season, and they certainly are not involved enough on the block. Tennessee and their offensive scheme do not get the ball to Fulkerson and Pons near often enough when they are in a scoring position. Pons and Fulkerson are too often positioned away from the basket or on the wing, rather than inside where they can work together in the paint. The pair, but especially Fulkerson, are far to quick to pass up shots that they should take in the paint, and are far to hesitant to turn and finish with authority when they have the opportunity. The system doesn’t give these two enough opportunities, it keeps them out of position, and it has resulted in them hesitating and deferring far too often. This reluctance to work the ball inside has been a huge part of why the Vols have struggled so mightily against any type of zone defense this year. From their first game against Colorado, the Tennessee offense has been stifled every time they were presented with a zone defense, and the game against Kentucky was no different. Attacking just inside the free throw line is the fundamental spot to attack zone defenses, an area where Fulkerson and Pons are both effective shooters. Yet, for some reason, the Vols either cannot position one of their big men in that area or fail to get them the ball there to break the zone. The Vols have the ability to get hot from the outside, and that may be the exciting thing to see, but they are at their best when they run through the post, which creates outside opportunities.
The Wildcats came into Knoxville in a year they have struggled, and they punched Tennessee in the mouth. The Vols, on their home floor, trailed by twenty most of the second half. Against a Kentucky team that is unlikely to make the NIT, the Vols, once considered a genuine contender for the National Title, got embarrassed in front of a national audience. They allowed Kentucky to hurt them from deep in the first half and shoot the ball well. Thanks to their pathetic offense, this meant that an elite defensive performance in the second half wasn’t even able to create a single competitive moment after the break. The Vols never got within less than fifteen of the Cats because their offense was so bad. Rick Barnes deserves enormous credit for what he has done at Tennessee, but he also has to shoulder some blame for his team under achieving yet again. He has made no adjustments to his offense this season, no changes to get certain players more involved, and no changes from issues that have shown themselves over and over the last four seasons. The Wildcats deserve all the credit in the world for coming into Tennessee’s house and smacking them in a season that has been a disaster for them. The Cats could have rolled over, instead they earned their best win if the season, by far, in dominating fashion. These Vols had no business being in that situation to these Wildcats. If the Vols can find a consistent, efficient offense, they can be an elite team in the nation. If Tennessee can consistently score 65-70 points a night they will win most games convincingly, however they too often fail to reach 60 points. There are bad shooting nights, and there is simply having a bad offensive system. It is time to admit that Tennessee has the latter, and unless they manage to actually fix their system, not merely hide it by a strong shooting night by a single individual, this year is poised to end like so many of Tennessee’s offensive possessions; With a clang, a thud, and disappointment.
