On paper, there’s nothing to worry about. Tennessee Basketball lost by four to the No. 2 ranked team in the nation with two of its key players, Santiago Vescovi and Zakai Zeigler, still working their way back from injuries. They were also the victims of an overly-officiated game that does no favors to two physical teams like these.
However, in reality, everything that plagues the Vols in March was on display in this game. Nobody ever had any question about whether or not UT can compete with the best of the best. Rick Barnes has a physical, skilled team loaded with veterans who can take over games, and he’s now got a bona fide go-to scorer in Dalton Knecht.
What happened in Hawaii Tuesday, though, in their 71-67 loss to the Purdue Boilermakers during the second round of the Maui Invitational, which is being played in Honolulu this year due to the Lahaina wildfires, showed why Tennessee Basketball keeps losing to lower seeds in the NCAA Tournament. March is all that matters.
UT shot an abysmal 8-of-30 from the three-point line. They had open looks too. This, specifically, is the problem. Purdue, one of the best teams in the nation, gave the Vols a chance to take this game over on a silver platter. They shot 61.5 percent from the free throw line, and they had 16 turnovers.
Still, horrendous three-point shooting ended up costing the Vols. Jordan Gainey, brought in specifically for this, was 3-of-10 with about seven open looks. Zakei Zeigler was 1-of-7. Santiago Vescovi was 1-of-3. Shooting 70 percent from the foul line, only committing 10 turnovers and playing tough defense is meaningless with that stat line.
Now, to be fair, Purdue was no better, shooting 4-of-15 from the three-point line. However, there’s a reason Matt Painter’s team lost in the first round last year of the Big Dance and, similar to Barnes, is also a perennial underachiever that time of the year. Both of these teams love defense and physicality, but you need shooters in March.
To be fair to both teams, though, the quick whistle by the officials put all the bigs in foul trouble and put a damper on this game. Zach Edey finished with four fouls, and Tobe Awaka and Jonas Aidoo both ended up fouling out for the Vols. This was supposed to be the first true teats for UT’s bigs, and we never got the chance to see that.
Still, Edey went out for a significant period late in the game due to foul trouble. Purdue was up by three when he went out and up by one when he came back in, so the Vols couldn’t even take advantage. Also, it’s not like Aidoo and Awaka were showing any level of dominance necessary in March when they did have their chance.
That is a big deal, as part of the three-point shooting comes from the offensive threat Barnes needs to have under the basket. Uros Plavsic wasn’t that, and Aidoo and Awaka still haven’t proven they can be. It’s one thing to have a double-double when breaking a zone, as Aidoo did Monday against the Syracuse Orange.
What will this team do in the tourney, though, when they run into a lower seed with four guards that shoots lights out that day and has that one physical post player who can defend the other team’s bigs? The exact same problem that plagued Tennessee Basketball last year will return. Also, you don’t think they’ll face a quick whistle in one game at least in March?
Look, it’s not time to panic. We didn’t get the full showing of the bigs in this game, and Vescovi and Zeigler are still hurt. Fully healthy, they’ll likely be better threats from three, and Knecht certainly gives this team more offense. He finished with 16 points while Gainey had 15, albeit inefficiently.
For now, though, Tennessee Basketball has the same underlying issues it has always had under Barnes. There’s a commitment to excellence on defense, and it comes at a sacrifice of offense, particularly outside shooting. That could have been the difference for the Vols in this one. It wasn’t.
