KNOXVILLE – The broad assessment from Tennessee men’s basketball coach Rick Barnes in the wake of his team’s 73-62 loss Saturday at Georgia stemmed from a straightforward theme.
“I think it’s understanding this time of year,” Barnes said. “If you’re not getting better, you’re getting worse. It’s that simple.”
As the No. 18 Volunteers enter the final two weeks of the regular season, their three games since an emotional win at Kentucky to sweep the season series with the Wildcats for the first time since 1999 have raised a question: Has Tennessee plateaued?
The Vols (19-7, 9-5 Southeastern Conference) followed the Kentucky win with a 28-point loss at Alabama, a 70-67 home win over South Carolina and Saturday’s loss in Athens, where Tennessee never held a second-half lead.
“Other teams in this league are continuing to get better,” Barnes said. “The question is are we going to get better? That’s the big question. Are we going to get better?”
To do so, Barnes said, everyone needs to do their jobs. Twenty-six games into the season, the Vols have yet to settle on a consistent rotation.
“The reason we don’t have one,” Barnes said, “is we don’t know night in and night out what we’re going to get.”
His criticism after the loss to the Bulldogs – who have won two straight but only three of their past nine – homed in on starting power forward and leading scorer Grant Williams, who fouled out late and finished with five points.
“What we’ve got to do, this time of year, your key players have to play,” Barnes said. “I mean, it’s February, almost into March. This is the time of year when the guys you count on, they have to deliver.”
In the loss to Alabama a week before, Williams scored 16 points. That night, it was the other starters – Kyle Alexander, Jordan Bone, Jordan Bowden and Admiral Schofield – who combined for just 16 points on 6-of-26 shooting as the Crimson Tide dominated in all facets.
Tennessee hosts Florida (17-10, 8-6) on Wednesday night and plays at Ole Miss (11-16, 4-7) on Saturday. In the wide view, the Vols have won 10 of their past 13 games and continue to hold sole possession of second place in the SEC standings.
It’s the past three games that have Barnes wondering if his players understand what this time of year is about.
“It’s nothing that is alarming,” Schofield said. “But it is for us because of the standard that we have and what we expect from ourselves. We are playing for a championship. We know that. In those moments, we’ve got to remember that. We have to go out and compete like that.
“We haven’t. We are going to fix it. We are going to come out on fire against Florida.”
Contact David Cobb at dcobb@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @DavidWCobb and on Facebook at facebook.com/volsupdate.