KNOXVILLE – Tennessee was among just three Southeastern Conference men’s basketball teams ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 on Monday, the day after the Volunteers suffered a dramatic 78-73 loss to now fifth-ranked North Carolina.
For a team that was picked to finish 13th in the 14-team SEC during the preseason, nonconference play has gone well to this point, with the only exception being a lingering trend that flared up against the Tar Heels again.
The 21st-ranked Vols (7-2) are just 4-8 the past two seasons in games decided by five points or less.
What’s the solution?
“They go from talking about it to doing it,” Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said. “All of the teams say the right things. We said all of the right things during the Villanova game during halftime, but you have to go do it.”
Tennessee forward Grant Williams (2) is defended by North Carolina forward Garrison Brooks, left, in the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Sunday, Dec. 17, 2017, in Knoxville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Crystal LoGiudice)The Vols led by 12 at halftime against No. 1 Villanova before losing 85-76. Similarly, they led North Carolina 38-32 at the break Sunday.
Tennessee has edged Purdue, North Carolina State and Georgia Tech in single-digit games this season, but maintaining leads in games decided by the slimmest of margins is coming into focus as a priority for a team with NCAA tournament aspirations.
“I don’t know if we’ll be the team we want to be until we learn to talk and coach each other and understand situations,” Barnes said. “Like clock situations.”
Barnes pointed to three shot-clock violations Sunday as an example. Senior guard James Daniel offered another example. With just under a minute to go, the Vols led 70-69 when North Carolina’s full-court press forced a Lamonte Turner turnover that the Tar Heels turned into a go-ahead basket.
“I feel like that comes with experience,” Daniel said. “Being in these games late, you learn what to do, what not to do. You learn that when Lamonte is in that trap, we have to get open for him. We left him out to dry a little bit on that. I haven’t looked at the play, but we all have to take that one on the chin.”
North Carolina went 5-1 in games decided by five points or fewer last season. That included a two-point win over Kentucky in the Elite Eight and a one-point win over Oregon in the Final Four. The Tar Heels won the national title with a 71-65 victory over Gonzaga.
Villanova also went 5-1 in games decided by five points or fewer during its national championship 2015-16 campaign.
There’s little shame in losing to those teams – both still among the nation’s elite – but the Vols are ready to start taking more than just moral victories from tight contests.
“In those situations, it’s supposed to be hard and you want it to be hard,” Barnes said. “We show our emotion too much, and I don’t like the way we carry ourselves sometimes when we have a lead and people cut into it, which you would expect them to a little bit. (The Tar Heels) are not ranked where they are and they haven’t won games because they aren’t any good. They’re going to keep pushing back and we’ve got to learn that when people do that, how will we show our composure? That’s a matter of saying that’s who we’re going to be.
“We’re still working on that. We’re not where we need to be. We’re a lot further than where we were a year ago, but we’re still not there.”
Contact David Cobb at dcobb@timesfreepress.com.