The Tennessee Volunteers' poor play on defense during the second half of Saturday's game at Mississippi State figured largely in an 86-73 loss, their third straight defeat.
The Vols (12-9, 4-4 Southeastern Conference) struggled to stop the Bulldogs (14-7, 5-3), who scored 58 points in the second half and finished the game with the most points for a Tennessee opponent this season.
Tennessee is at Alabama (12-9, 4-4) at 7 p.m. EST Tuesday, then faces Kentucky at 1 p.m. Saturday at Thompson-Boling Arena.
Here are three observations from the Vols' loss at Mississippi State:
1. It's a start: Tennessee freshman forward Uros Plavsic had some good moments in his first start, which came with freshman guard Josiah-Jordan James sidelined by a groin injury. Unfortunately, all of those moments came on offense. The 7-foot-1, 240-pound former Hamilton Heights center scored 16 points and shot the ball well, which is encouraging, but he doesn't have minimal work to do on defense - he has a ton. Plavsic is rated as Tennessee's worst defender this season, and not all of that is rust from having to sit out the Vols' first 15 games while awaiting NCAA clearance. Some of that is just who he is as a player right now, and while he can be an offensive asset, he has a total of three defensive rebounds in 70 minutes so far. That's where he's going to be most needed heading into a tough stretch of games, and coach Rick Barnes won't be able to play him if he doesn't improve in that regard - he'll be too much of a liability.
2. Vols played soft: I wish there were a better way of putting it, but there really isn't. In the past two games, the Vols have been physically dominated inside. Maybe it's fatigue; maybe it's personnel. I don't know. But the Bulldogs dominated the interior, controlled the boards and - when they weren't hitting shots - got to the free-throw line. Like Kansas and Texas A&M before them, the Bulldogs got the ball inside and forced the Vols into foul trouble. Those three opponents averaged 30.7 free throws against Tennessee, and when teams are that dominant inside, it's because they realize you can't do anything to stop it. The Vols haven't done anything lately to prove otherwise, and that's going to have to change or things will only get worse.
3. Tempo: Lack of depth, lack of height, whatever. It's a good reason for the Vols to get out and run as much as they possibly can and get as many possessions as they can, because numbers prove they've been successful when they have the ball more. Tennessee is 6-1 this season when it has 68 or more possessions and 6-8 when it doesn't. The Vols had 62 possessions against the Bulldogs and 61 against Texas A&M, its two slowest games of the season. This team isn't good enough to play a half-court game. It's not big enough, either, but it is athletic enough to have a chance in transition. However, the Vols' point guards have played too slow - a point made on multiple occasions by Barnes, who has implored them to play faster. They should try whatever they can to speed up the pace immediately.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3 or at Facebook.com/VolsUpdate.