Tennessee is fading in the projections.
Just when you thought Tennessee may be figuring things out, a second half collapse against Kentucky reminded you of the inconsistencies of this team. The Volunteers blew a 17-point lead on Saturday to a struggling Kentucky team, allowing the Wildcats to capitalize in the closing minute to pull off the unlikely comeback win.
Tennessee went from a tie for fifth in the SEC to a tie for tenth, now sitting at 2-3 in conference play. Rick Barnes has big issues with this group in just about every part of the game. The Volunteers don’t have anyone that can really go get a bucket when they need it outside of Ja’Kobi Gillespie. The defense has been lacking and the turnovers have been crippling.
“I told these guys, we’ve won a lot of games here (with) teams that are just competitive, tough, hard-nosed defensive teams, rebounding,” Barnes said on Saturday. “But they’re going to take it personal to get stops. I mean, tonight, you don’t ever want to use the (phrase) ‘hiding guys,’ but you’re really trying to hide some guys for some reasons. It’s hard to win with that.”
Ouch.
As we inch closer to February, this group certainly has the feel of a bubble team to it considering the lack of breaks the SEC schedule is going to give you. Tennessee has the midweek off this week, but follows that up on the road against No. 17 Alabama and No. 21 Georgia. With no nights off in this league, Tennessee is going to have to iron things out while playing some really capable teams.
As things stand now, Tennessee is still a projected No. 6 seed in the NCAA Tournament, according to Joe Lunardi of ESPN. The Volunteers would match up with No. 11 seed Miami (OH), seeded in a bracket that would lead to No. 3 seed Michigan State in the West Region.
Tennessee’s big wins over Houston and Louisville are propping them up right now. A win over Texas A&M in double-overtime last week also helped, but the wind was taken out of the Vols’ sails on Saturday, losing to a bubble-worthy Kentucky team.
You know the practice facility hasn’t been a fun place to be this week. It’s a young group still trying to find chemistry together and it’s Barnes trying to still figure out how to piece this puzzle together — but suddenly, time is starting to run thin. With back to back tough road games up next, Tennessee may find itself on the NCAA Tournament bubble for the first time in a long time.
Category: General Sports
