One consistent thing about the Tennessee men’s basketball team in the month of February was the team’s inconsistency.
If the defense was great, the offense went lacking. If the offense produced, the Vols couldn’t close out games. Wins over ranked opponents were followed by losses to unranked opponents.
As the calendar flips to March, Tennessee hopes it can find a steadier pace for a deep run in the postseason.
The Vols play their final regular-season game Saturday on the road against Auburn before the SEC Tournament at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville March 8-12. The defending champion Vols are fighting to secure a top-four seed and a double bye in the tournament.
Tennessee won the tournament title last season for the first time since 1979 after finishing second in the regular-season standings.
The Vols recently endured a February stretch in which they lost five of seven games against teams lower in the SEC standings, including back-to-back buzzer beaters against Vanderbilt and Missouri. One of the wins came against then-No. 1 Alabama.
If there is a positive for the Vols, it’s that the puzzling results aren’t just restricted to them. It’s happened across the country in men’s college basketball in a volatile season with no clear-cut favorite to cut down the nets as the NCAA champion.
“I wish I knew. If I did, we would fix it,” Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes says of his team’s inconsistencies. “I don’t understand it, to be quite honest with you – as much time we spend with our guys talking about doing your job, playing your role night in and night out. … I wish I knew the answer to that, I really do.”
Part of Tennessee’s issues have come on offense, where the Vols lack a go-to scorer who can create his own shot in any situation. It’s been a glaring hole down the stretch of close games and offsets some of their sterling defensive abilities.
“While there is much to like about Tennessee’s commitment to defense, there is a lot to dislike about the Volunteers at the other end of the floor,” observed Sports Illustrated senior writer Pat Forde. “In an era when offensive proficiency matters more and more, the Vols are inspiring less and less confidence. They don’t shoot well from 3-point range, they don’t shoot well from two-point range, and they don’t shoot well from the foul line. They also don’t get to the foul line enough lately.”
The fluctuations in Tennessee’s lineup haven’t helped. The Vols played without several key players in February because of injuries to senior guard Josiah-Jordan James (ankle) and freshman forward Julian Phillips (hip).
Adding to their problems, sophomore point guard Zakai Zeigler injured his knee early in Tuesday night’s 75-57 win against Arkansas and will not play again this season.
James, who missed eight games earlier in the season with a knee injury, returned to the floor in UT’s win over South Carolina last weekend. He scored 18 points in just 21 minutes, shooting 7 of 11 from the field with four 3-pointers.
Barnes believes James being on the floor alleviates pressure from his teammates and gives them a sense of comfort.
“Really, we’re all happy for Josiah,” Barnes said after the game. “We know what he means to the program. He dealt with a lot. He came back to practice after we got back from A&M and probably did more than we thought, but he wanted to do it. Today, he was terrific. And his presence has such a major impact on our team because he’s been in so many big opportunities, big-game situations.”
Enduring struggles before the postseason arrives could be a benefit to the Vols once the stakes get even higher. It’s shown Barnes how his players respond to adversity during a time when a loss doesn’t end the season.
“I am really proud of these guys. They know that we have had opportunities. They know that we had games. But this team has been resilient,” he says. “With all of the things they’ve had to deal with. We love them. I can tell you this, through this time, we haven’t had a bad practice. We haven’t had a bad preparation for a game.”
Although Barnes wants to see more consistent offensive production, he knows the season is fluid and progress happens in fits and spurts. Roles have evolved over the last few months and players have tried to learn from mistakes.
But Barnes says he feels like his team has a chance to win every game it plays and knows his players care about winning and each other more than anything. Whether that leads to another SEC Tournament title remains to be seen.
“I think you have seen some guys emerge we know that we can count on at any point in time,” Barnes says. “You have to really feel like when you are going through the valley you are growing maybe your most. Getting the other guys back I think will just continue to give guys confidence they don’t have to try to do too much. They’ve got guys that can help them.”