KNOXVILLE - Tennessee's roller-coaster men's basketball season resumes Wednesday night at Arkansas's Bud Walton Arena, with tipoff scheduled for 8:30 EST.
The game will be televised on the SEC Network.
Due in part to the roster's multiple reconstructions, the Volunteers have been extremely inconsistent this season. Six freshmen have taken the floor this year for the Vols - a recipe for disaster in itself - and the team's lone senior, Jordan Bowden, has had shooting struggles.
"I told (CBS basketball analyst) Clark Kellogg this," Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said Monday. "If we had this group from the very beginning and no injuries would have happened, we'd be way ahead; but that's not the way it played out this year. Santi's (Vescovi) been here (eight weeks), (fellow freshman point guard) Josiah (-Jordan James) has been in and out. We haven't had any consistency there, so I know that has a little bit to do with it; even though you get frustrated with it, you don't want to admit it.
"When I go see the team today and we watch tape, I'm not going to say that to them. I know it; we all know it. I've been doing it too long not to know that. We still expect them to figure this out right now. Is it frustrating? I think our guys would probably be frustrated with it, too, because they have made good effort to put themselves in good positions. The fact that we haven't finished some of these games that we should have is frustrating.
"The one thing I'll give these guys is that they have continued to work hard, they continue to play hard. Do we have some guys that need to play harder? Absolutely. I have seen some progress with some guys that we are pleased with, and obviously we're pleased that Jordan Bowden came back and I hope he can continue that going down the stretch. Again, I can sit here and go through the whole year and tell you it's pretty amazing that we have been able to put ourselves in some of these games from the beginning. When you're there and when you can't finish it, yeah, it's tough and frustrating."
Still, the Vols sit at 15-12 overall and 7-7 in the Southeastern Conference heading into Wednesday night's game against the Razorbacks (17-10, 5-9), with Tennessee already holding an 82-61 head-to-head victory on Feb. 11 in Knoxville.
Here are three keys for the Vols to secure the season sweep:
1. Stop penetration: Arkansas prefers to run offensively. With a lack of height in its primary playing rotation, it's really the Razorbacks' only way to win. Once in the half court, the offense turns into a bunch of penetration and attacks at the basket - Arkansas is below average on jump shots and runners in the lane but above average on putbacks - and Tennessee's defense is elite in the half court. Stopping penetration and rebounding is key.
2. Defend the 3: The Razorbacks don't shoot the ball particularly well from anywhere other than right at the basket, but that hasn't stopped them from taking 39% of their shots from long range. They've hit at least 10 3-pointers in seven games this season, and the recently stagnant offense has started to get back to its norm with the return of guard Isaiah Joe, who missed six games after having a knee surgery.
3. Be good in pick-and-roll: One of the Vols' problems offensively has been the point guard play, especially in pick-and-roll tries. And it's been unfortunate because Tennessee has John Fulkerson and Yves Pons who are good finishers at the rim. But Vescovi hasn't been good this season as a pick-and-roll ball-handler (turning it over 44% of the time), while James and Bowden rank average, according to Synergy Sports. But it's an area where the Razorbacks aren't good at defending, and if the Vols can get some solid decision-making from their guards in those situations, they'll be successful in the half court.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3 or at Facebook.com/VolsUpdate.