Vols have to address 3-point ‘D’ for Kentucky
Rick Barnes was ready to turn his focus to Kentucky late Wednesday night — just not fully ready yet.
The Tennessee basketball coach first wanted to address what the Vols did not do well against South Carolina and how to fix it. Specifically, Barnes was focused on an issue that has bubbled for the No. 1 Vols in SEC play.
“We still weren’t as good as we needed to be guarding the 3-point line,” Barnes said.
No. 1 Tennessee (23-1, 11-0 SEC) allowed a season-worst 14 3-pointers in its 85-73 win against South Carolina (1212, 7-4) on Wednesday night. The Gamecocks made seven in each half and shot 60.9 percent from behind the arc.
It was the sixth time in 11 SEC games that the Vols allowed double-digit 3pointers and the third time they allowed 12 or more.
Senior Admiral Schofield, who had a team-high 21 points against USC, believes the reason is two-fold. He stressed Tennessee has to do better to limit the number of 3-pointers opponents are making. But he also pointed to teams coming with extra effort against the top-ranked Vols.
“It would be a concern if we were not ranked No. 1,” Schofield said. “Everybody comes to play when you’re the No. 1 team in the country. I’m telling you, scouting report, our coaches do a great job with scouting report and guys are just hitting shots. It’s basketball. Everyone comes to play when you are playing a top team like we are. That’s not an understatement on their work ethic or their shooting ability. That’s just how it goes sometimes.
“But at the same time, we have to do a better job of guarding the 3-point line. We haven’t done a great job of that either. A lot of them were pretty open, but if they are knocking down shots, they are knocking down shots.”
SEC opponents are shooting 36.8 percent from 3-point range against the Vols, who held Missouri and Florida to eight 3-pointers in wins last week.
Barnes praised UT’S defensive strides in those wins — both 12-point wins in lower-scoring affairs. He was far less effusive Wednesday before Tennessee faces No. 5 Kentucky (20-4, 9-2) on Saturday (8 p.m. ET, ESPN).
“I thought in transition we weren’t very good,” Barnes said. “They all bother you.”
Barnes rattled off a trio of areas the Gamecocks had success shooting on Tennessee, including transition. He also pointed to giving up 3-pointers after offensive rebounds and not following through on defensive plans on USC’S inbound plays.
But transition defense was the focus for Barnes, who was particularly irked by the Vols not hustling back.
“In the first half we were jogging back in transition,” Barnes said. “I thought we were celebrating and that's not who we are to be honest with you. We addressed that at halftime — the fact that you have to play. It goes back to understanding that there's a lot of basketball left to play and that we can get better.
“You can never jog in this game, especially when you score."
Kentucky is shooting 35.3 percent from 3-point range. The Wildcats made only five in a 73-71 loss to No. 21 LSU on Tuesday.
But that means little to Tennessee. The Vols have accepted that teams are going to play up a level or more against them now, which South Carolina did Wednesday.
“Like everybody says, you are going to get everybody’s best shot,” senior center Kyle Alexander said. “But we weren’t locked in 100 percent all the time.”
Schofield and Alexander — both seniors heading into their final game at Rupp Arena — stressed the need to focus for 40 minutes every game.
That certainly is the case Saturday and will be an emphasis in the coming days.
“We have to eliminate as many opportunities to score as we can,” Schofield said. “That’s our job. That’s what defense is. It’s trying to steal possession away from them and try to create more for ourselves.”