Tennessee Basketball: Vols need to find rhythm before a tough final stretch
With the regular season dwindling down, the Tennessee Volunteers will need to find their rhythm before this tough five-game stretch to end the season off.
The Tennessee Volunteers recently put together a 19-game winning streak, which started on November 28th against Eastern Kentucky and ended on February 16th. After putting together the longest win streak in Tennessee basketball history, the Volunteers have looked sluggish the past two games.
Plain and simple, the Volunteers got manhandled on Saturday night against the Kentucky Wildcats in Rupp Arena. Tennessee got dominated in the paint against P.J. Washington and Reid Travis. Not only did the Volunteers struggle on the defensive end all night long, but they also looked very stagnant at times on the offensive end, especially at the start of the second half.
Many thought the Volunteers would respond from the beatdown against Kentucky with a stellar performance against Vanderbilt on Tuesday night. It was quite the opposite of a stellar performance offensively. In fact, it was the lowest scoring performance of the season for Tennessee, but they were still able to come out with a win over a struggling Vanderbilt squad, winning 58-46. The defense looked excellent though, holding Vanderbilt to their lowest scoring output this season, including just 19 points in the second half.
While there’s no reason to freak out, the Volunteers will need to find their identity before this tough five-game stretch, as each of the five teams they face are currently in the top seven on the SEC standings.
The tough stretch starts off this Saturday when Tennessee travels down to Baton Rouge to take on No. 13 ranked LSU. It doesn’t get any easier for the Volunteers, as they have to head down and take on a tough Ole Miss squad next Tuesday, before hosting No. 4 ranked Kentucky next Saturday.
They then host Mississippi State on March 5th for Senior Night before traveling to Auburn on March 9th to finish regular season play.
Related Story. Tennessee Basketball: Kentucky ends Vols 19-game win streak. light
The Volunteers will need this break, as they played three games in a six-day stretch, which included a game this past Wednesday against South Carolina, Saturday against Kentucky, and Tuesday against Vanderbilt.
While a good number of fans might be worried about the little slump the Volunteers seem to be having, head coach Rick Barnes isn’t worried about this slump.
He had this to say after the win against Vanderbilt on Tuesday night:
#Vols coach Rick Barnes: I’m never worried about this team making shots. We all know this team usually makes shots. We’ll be fine.
— Wes Rucker (@wesrucker247) February 20, 2019
#Vols coach Rick Barnes: This was our third game in six days. And it’s February. You have to grind in times like this, and these guys can do that.
— Wes Rucker (@wesrucker247) February 20, 2019
This team is still one of the best teams in the country, so I wouldn’t be worried about this little slump they might be in. The Volunteers have responded in the past. Look for them to do the same in this upcoming five-game stretch.