KNOXVILLE – The primary reason for Tennessee’s inability to play well away from Thompson-Boling Arena this basketball season is not a complicated one, at least from the point of view of first-year coach Rick Barnes.
Saturday’s loss at lowly Missouri dropped the Volunteers to 1-11 away from Knoxville this season, and the final six games on the schedule include trips to Kentucky (Thursday), South Carolina (Feb. 24) and Vanderbilt (March 1).
“Toughness. It’s toughness,” Barnes said on Monday’s SEC coaches’ teleconference.
“If you’re going to be a good road team, if you’re going to be consistent on the road, you understand – and I’ve always said it – it’s defense and being aggressive and being in that attack mode.”
Too often this season the Vols have looked timid or overwhelmed by the moment, and that’s gotten a team that’s been a tough out at home this season to play toothlessly on the road.