J.P. Prince

KNOXVILLE — Bruce Pearl and his staff plugged up the holes in the University of Tennessee’s defense last week.

Now water is leaking out of the offense.

Welcome to the frustrating world of college basketball coaching.

UT gave up just 54 points to in-state rival Memphis in Thompson-Boling Arena on Saturday afternoon.

And the Volunteers lost.

“To give up 54 points to a team like Memphis and lose ... I don’t know what to say other than we’ve got to make some shots,” junior forward Wayne Chism said. “Fifty-four points, man.”

UT surrendered 54 points in the second half at Temple, 52 points in the second half at Kansas, 51 points in the second half against South Carolina, 49 points in the second half to Kentucky and 48 points in the second half to Gonzaga.

Kentucky’s Jodie Meeks scored 54 points by himself against the Vols.

To that end, Saturday was unquestionably a sign of progress.

“Defense and rebounding win championships, and we’ll win a lot of games like that,” Pearl said. “Over the last three ballgames, this team has defended.”

But shots outside the paint still aren’t falling, and that was a problem against Memphis’s formidable, often impenetrable defensive wall.

UT junior forward Tyler Smith couldn’t crack that wall, forcing several tough shots and finished 5-for-18 from the floor. Two of those misses came in the final two minutes, and either would have given the Vols a lead.

Pearl was clearly peeved at Smith’s lack of attempts (four) from the free-throw line, despite a game that Memphis coach John Calipari called “hand-to-hand combat.”

But the Vols attempted nine more free throws than the Tigers, and Memphis was whistled for four more fouls. Tigers big man Shawn Taggart fouled out with 2 minutes and 34 seconds left, too.

“We’re closer than we think (to being contenders),” Smith said. “We’ve just got to make shots. If we would have made those shots, there’s no telling what the outcome would have been. But we probably would have won.”

One more jumpshot would have been the difference.

Any jumpshot from the backcourt would have been big.

But the Vols didn’t get any.

Junior point guards Bobby Maze and Josh Tabb and freshman shooting guards Scotty Hopson and Cameron Tatum went a combined 2-for-16 from the floor, and 0-for-4 from behind the 3-point line.

Hopson and Tatum shot a combined 0-for-9 in 45 minutes.

UT is 58-for-211 from 3 in the past 10 games..

That’s marginally better than 27 percent. That’s not good.

“All we’ve got to do is just make shots,” Smith said. “Our offense is there. We’ve just got to make shots. Last week, they were falling, and everybody was jumping around and hollering.

“(Saturday), they didn’t fall in, and now we’ve got questions about whether our guards can make shots.”

Pearl said offense will probably remain problematic until “we find some way — any way — to make shots.

“Teams are going to keep collapsing on us just like that,” Pearl added. “They’re going to sink, they’re going to put a body on us, and until we start making jumpshots, it’s going to be difficult for Wayne and Tyler in there.”

Vols junior wing J.P. Prince said penetration lines are “night and day” different from last season, when UT’s senior shooters extended defenses well beyond the 3-point line.

“It’s definitely different for myself and Tyler and even Wayne,” Prince said. “We’re going to the hole, and there’s just always guys there. Guys are basically just giving us 3s right now. That’s pretty bad.

“Our shooters just have to make shots. It comes down to that. It’s just, if they make shots, we win games. When we play defense like that, we usually win games.”

Few teams possess Memphis’s length and potential matchup potholes, but UT’s next opponent might be one of them.

LSU, which comes to Thompson-Boling Arena on Wednesday night, has exceeded most expectations under first-year coach Trent Johnson. The Tigers (15-4, 3-1 SEC) have piled up wins against a relatively mild schedule, but they scared No. 15 Xavier before falling 80-70 on Saturday night.

“LSU is long,” Pearl said. “They’re huge, too. They’re bigger (than Memphis). They’re longer, so we’re going to have to develop.

“Against LSU, we’re going to have to develop some outside offense. We’re going to just have to.”