KNOXVILLE - Tennessee men's basketball coach Rick Barnes has stuck with Jordan Bowden as a starter this season despite the guard's well-documented shooting struggles.
The team's lone senior has made just 36.7% of his shots from the field and 26.4% from 3-point range- the lowest success rates of his career - for the Volunteers (15-11, 7-6 Southeastern Conference), who completed a season sweep of Vanderbilt with Tuesday's 65-61 home win.
What's keeping Bowden in the lineup?
Outside of the trouble with his shots, he's having the best season of his Tennessee career.
As the Vols' only perimeter player to appear in every game this season, Bowden ranks in the top 10 of the SEC in points allowed per possession at .701, according to Synergy Sports. Opponents being guarded by him are making just 30.9% of their shots, and he is on pace to set a career high in steals, with 29 so far.
Despite his shooting struggles, Bowden has averaged 13.0 points per game, which is tied with John Fulkerson for the team lead. Bowden's per-game averages for rebounds (4.1) and assists (2.5) are his best as a Vol, and he recently became the first player since Chris Lofton to make at least 35 3s each of his four seasons in Knoxville.
AP photo by Wade Payne / Tennessee senior guard Jordan Bowden brings the ball upcourt during a home game against Kentucky on Feb. 8.Tuesday night he tied Fulkerson for the team lead with 17 points.
"The one thing that you really can't take away from him is that he's worked hard all year defensively, and we think he can make shots," Barnes said after the home win against the Commodores. "He's had a tough year obviously, we know that, but we've got some big games left to go,and we hope that he'll start knocking some more down. I did think he played with confidence. I thought he had a good pace about him on the offensive end."
Here are three other factors that have kept the Vols' postseason hopes alive this season:
1. Defensive improvement: With Tennessee's offense not where it was last season - when it was seventh in the country in points per possession - the defense had to be better for the Vols to be competitive, and it has been. The Vols lead the SEC in points allowed per possession at .807, and three of the team's perimeter defenders rank in the top 25 among league players in that category, with Bowden ninth, Yves Pons 17th and Josiah-Jordan James 24th.
2. Individual improvement: Fulkerson and Pons have made substantial jumps on offense. Fulkerson is the Vols' most efficient offensive player this season, averaging 1.15 points per possession to rank third in the SEC behind Vanderbilt's Aaron Nesmith and Kentucky's Nick Richards. Pons has done most of his work around the basket (his success rate is 57% on shots around the basket and post-ups) and he has averaged 11.1 points per game, which is five times his previous career best for a season (2.2 points per game as a sophomore).
3. Santiago Vescovi: The midseason addition of the point guard from Uruguay via Australia has brought the Vols a playmaker who can hit open shots. He has made 44% of his spot-up attempts and 38% from 3-point range, and he has per-game averages of 11.4 points and 4.2 assists. He's high-risk, high-reward on offense, though, averaging 3.7 turnovers per game, and he has struggled on defense, with opponents scoring nearly a point per possession while being guarded by the 6-foot-3 freshman, worst on the team. Vescovi has shown improvement already, though, and that will continue with an offseason of strength and conditioning. For now, he has done enough to keep the Vols in the fight.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3 or at Facebook.com/VolsUpdate.