KNOXVILLE – The Tennessee men’s basketball team took its second loss of the season Saturday, falling 51-47 to 13th-ranked Memphis at Thompson-Boling Arena.
The Tigers (9-1) snapped Tennessee’s streak of home wins – which had been the longest active run in the nation – at 31. The No. 19 Volunteers will go for their eighth win overall this season when they return to competition Wednesday with a 7 p.m. game at Cincinnati (6-4).
Here are three observations from the loss.
1. Not ready for the moment: Rarely do largely hyped games live up to their billing, and Saturday was no exception. Memphis was rattled in the beginning, shaken by a huge crowd supporting the Vols and some stifling defense by the home team. The Tigers committed absolutely horrible turnovers, stepping on the out-of-bounds line three times in addition to inbounder D.J. Jeffries taking off running on what was supposed to be a spot infraction, giving the ball back to the Vols. With chances to put away the visitors early in the game, though, Tennessee failed. Early foul trouble took starters Jordan Bowden and Yves Pons out of the game, which led to the freshman class getting some minutes early in the first half. There were bright spots, such as a trio of 3-pointers by Josiah-Jordan James that helped give Tennessee a 17-5 lead. There was also Drew Pember, who six seconds after entering the game in the first half tried to dunk on Malcolm Dandridge. Davonte Gaines had a few quality minutes in the first half, but Olivier Nkamhoua – given multiple opportunities to attack Memphis’s press – instead played passively. John Fulkerson isn’t much of a ball handler, so he wasn’t a good option, but he and Nkamhoua were probably the two best options available. With a chance to put Memphis away, Tennessee played passively, a sign of not embracing the moment.
2. Defensive promise: Tennessee – which hasn’t allowed 70 points in a game this season – is only going to be able to go as far as its defense and rebounding will take it. There are height concerns, but solid positioning will take care of some of those. The Vols’ defensive prowess kept them in this game, because a team that lacks enough consistent offensive options doesn’t have a backup plan for when it shoots 25% from the field and its primary scorers – guards Jordan Bowden and Lamonte Turner – combine to shoot 3-for-21 from the field and 1-for-11 from 3-point range. Memphis shot just 34% from the field and turned the ball over 17 times. Relying on good defense will have to be plan for now for a Tennessee team made up of younger players with potential but not experience and older players who have filled smaller roles in the past, at least until they become comfortable with more responsibility.
3. Now it begins: The 5-0 start to the season was nice for the program. There were some good feelings for the Vols and little reminders of last season’s success. But the part of the schedule when the Vols could just stack up expected wins is over, aside from a Dec. 21 game against Jacksonville State. This team is going to be judged by how it fares against the bigger names on its schedule, and as of right now the Vols are 2-2 going into their first true road game, with wins against ranked foes Washington and Virginia Commonwealth University coming at neutral sites. The creation of this season’s schedule has been a mastery, because there were easier games that allowed the Vols to get their feet wet, a trio of neutral-site matchups and a big-time showdown against an in-state rival. The hope for coach Rick Barnes and his staff is that the Vols are ready for what lies ahead. Only time will tell.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3 or at Facebook.com/VolsUpdate.