Tennessee basketball coach Rick Barnes talks with Jordan Bone (0) and Lew Evans (21) during last Saturday’s win at Vanderbilt. The Vols followed that with a loss Tuesday night at Ole Miss.
Tennessee forward Lew Evans (21) is defended by Mississippi forward Sebastian Saiz (11) during an NCAA college basketball game in Oxford, Miss. on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2017. (Bruce Newman/Oxford Eagle via AP)KNOXVILLE – The review of the game video may have required a lengthy session, but there were no secrets to the Tennessee men’s basketball team’s loss at Ole Miss on Tuesday.
Why the Volunteers were outscored 41-17 in the final 15 minutes had little to do with X’s and O’s.
“We weren’t tough enough,” graduate transfer forward Lew Evans said before Friday’s practice at Thompson-Boling Arena ahead of tonight’s visit from upstart Mississippi State. “We got out-toughed. That was a big key going into the game, was who was going to be the toughest team, and they simply just out-toughed us.
“It is (hard to watch again), and Coach (Rick Barnes) made us watch a lot of it and watch different certain plays. It’s tough watching that as a senior, just seeing that someone really out-toughed and just gave it to you.”
From Barnes’ perspective, Tennessee set the tone for a dreadful second half with a sluggish start to the game. Within the first four minutes there were defensive breakdowns in which players didn’t follow the game plan. Not every player followed the scouting report.