It’s not like Kentucky didn’t show up to play. In front of a loud Rupp Arena crowd on a Saturday night on ESPN, they shot the ball extremely well, going 12-of-27 from three, and they only committed nine turnovers. The problem for them is just Tennessee Basketball showed what it could be in a 103-92 win.
Dalton Knecht is the Vols’ best scorer, and he did have 16 points Saturday. However, after a string of 30-point games, even in their loss last Tuesday at home to the South Carolina Gamecocks, the message from Rick Barnes was clear. Other players need to step up. Did they ever.
Jonas Aidoo returned to form after an off-night with another double-double, 11 points and 11 rebounds. Oh, and he had three blocks. Simply put, the most important player for Tennessee Basketball in terms of what they do in March played his part under the rim.Santiago Vescovi played his part from outside, scoring 11 points while going 3-of-4 from three.
However, Zakai Zeigler and Josiah-Jordan James were the stars. Against a wildly athletic Kentucky backcourt with two first-round draft picks, Zeigler had 26 points, 13 assists and three steals while shooting 3-of-6 from the outside. He outperformed everybody he faced.
What helped, though, is that James, who had been struggling ever since the start of SEC play, finally found his footing. The law of averages worked in his favor, and everything he was missing for a month came back in one night, as he shot 4-of-9 from three and had 26 points.
Simply put, this is the perfect formula for the Vols to win. It also won’t last. Look, UT is constructed in a way in which it has multiple options to win, and all of those options showed themselves among the starters Saturday in Lexington. They deserve a ton of credit for that.
Typically, though, two or three of those things won’t happen. James will be awful offensively. Aidoo will get in foul trouble. Vescovi or Zeigler will hit a shooting slump. The problem with this team was still on display in the game. They have no answer if any of those things happen.
Lack of depth has been killing the Vols. Once again, all five starters played at least 28 minutes, and three played at least 30 minutes. Off the bench, Tobe Awaka got in foul trouble, so he only played 10 minutes. J.P. Estrella still only saw two minutes, so lack of front court depth remains a huge issue.
Then there’s the fact that Jordan Gainey was 2-of-8 from the field while Jahmai Mashack was 0-of-3 on free throws. Kentucky was so hot that Mashack’s defense didn’t matter. Simply put, for all the work the starters did, the bench just didn’t show up in this game, and it hasn’t all year.
To be fair, they were facing a top 10 team on the road, but going forward, Rick Barnes has no choice. He’s got to start running more players, even if it sacrifices some wins, to get his guys healthy and fresh for March. Otherwise, they will go home in the first weekend once again.
Now at 16-5 and 6-2 in the SEC, they host the LSU Tigers on Wednesday. That is the time to start turning to his bench. February is here, and Tennessee Basketball needs to find depth fast. They won’t look the way they looked at Kentucky every game this year.
