Anybody who has followed March Madness over the years can tell you that the biggest driver if upsets in the NCAA Tournament is when one team shoots lights out from three while the other has an off-night. That has plagued Tennessee Basketball head coach Rick Barnes since the beginning of his career.
Finally, though, he got a break.
Against a UCLA Bruins team that didn’t allow spacing and took away the bigs, the Vols had ways to win. They pressed, trapped at the half-court line and proved their athleticism. However, they were also lucky to finally shoot red-hot from three in a March Madness game that called for it.
UT was 11-of-22 from beyond the arc, and it has nothing to do with Mick Cronin’s defensive schemes leaving the Vols open. They just got hot at the right time. Chaz Lanier, who was 4-of-5 from outside with 20 points, had struggled all season with contested shots from outside. They didn’t bother him here.
Beyond Lanier, Jordan Gainey was 3-of-6 from outside, and Jahmai Mashack was 2-of-3. Overall, the Vols were 11-of-22 from beyond the arc while the Bruins were slightly below their average, largely thanks to UT’s perimeter defense, shooting 7-of-23. That was the difference in the game.
Look, March Madness is all about luck. The best you can do as a head coach is take as many steps as possible to mitigate bad luck when it coms your way, and Barnes has always had an issue just hoping it doesn’t come his way. Finally, it didn’t come back to bite him.
The Vols got a much-deserved break when it comes to shooting disparities in the NCAA Tournament, and it’s why they are heading to the Sweet 16. Lanier, Mashack, Gainey and even Zakai Zeigler balled out from beyond the arc, and that ended up making the difference.
Now, you could point out that Tennessee’s athleticism shut down UCLA’s shooting on the perimeter, and you could add that Cronin’s matchup zones allowed for more three-point shots. It doesn’t matter. The Vols hit the threes they needed to hit, and finally in March Madness, the breaks went their way.
Unfortunately for the Vols, that will have to continue into the Sweet 16, where either the Illinois Fighting Illini or Kentucky Wildcats give them their toughest matchup yet. However, they are clearly capable of it, and in typical March Madness fashion, a Sweet 16 win likely gets them to the Final Four because of their matchups. As a result, celebration is more worthy than it is for other teams, but it’s not worthy yet for the Vols.
