Looking back, Kennedy Chandler’s breakout game with Tennessee may have done more harm than good.
Fortunately for the No. 17 Volunteers, the five-star freshman point guard is now assembling complete performances compared to his 27-point effort in the 69-54 victory at Colorado back on Dec. 4. In Tuesday night’s 80-61 thrashing of Missouri in Columbia, the 6-foot, 171-pounder from Memphis racked up 23 points on 9-of-12 shooting and also compiled eight rebounds, six assists and two steals while committing no turnovers.
“I’ve told him before that I thought in some ways the Colorado game was a curse because it looked so easy for him early in the year,” Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said on a Zoom call after the Vols improved to 20-7 overall and 11-4 in Southeastern Conference play. “I think he went out thinking every game was going to be like that, and he really struggled at times after that game. He thought each game was going to be a repeat of defenses – he looked over at me tonight and said, ‘Hey Coach, they’re switching 1 through 4.’
“I looked at him and said, ‘Well, you know what to do. Go take advantage of it.’ He’s talking more now, and he’s just matured so much in understanding that there is so much more to the game than he had thought.”
Chandler made 13 of 20 shots against the Buffaloes, but the rest of his stat line included a more modest three rebounds, two assists and a steal with two turnovers. In his next three games against Power Five opponents that followed the Colorado triumph, Chandler had nine points and five turnovers against Texas Tech, netted eight points on just 2-of-14 shooting against Arizona and posted six points and five turnovers against Ole Miss.