Tennessee (8-6, 1-1) dropped the ball tonight at home against Arkansas (12-2, 1-1). The Vols built a 13-point lead late in the first half but couldn’t hold on as the Razorbacks erased that lead and controlled the the late stages of the game.
1 — Take it to them out of the gate…but don’t fold at the end — Tennessee played 16 of its best minutes of basketball of the season against Arkansas tonight. The Vols came out of the gate strong on both ends of the floor, shooting the eyes out on offense and completely flummoxing the Razorbacks on the defensive end of the floor.
Robert Hubbs made his first four shots from the floor on his way to 12 first half points and the Vols built what looked like a commanding 39-26 lead with 4:06 left in the half.
That’s when things just fell apart. Tennessee got sloppy in the last four minutes, missing its last eight shots from the floor. A good deal of that seemed to be attributable to the Vols losing some focus. Few, if any, of those final eight attempts could be described as quality looks for the Vols, which was at odds with the crisp and efficient manner in which they started the game on offense.
Meanwhile Arkansas caught fire, closing on an 11-0 run that cut the halftime deficit to 39-37.
That flurry completely stole some hard won momentum that Tennessee had generated with some exceedingly solid play to start the game. Those final four minutes turned out to be costly.
2 — Youth shows up — It seems abundantly safe to say that this team is going to be both entertaining and frustrating to watch in SEC play, sometimes both in the course of the same game. That was definitely the case tonight.
Tennessee started the game looking like the squad that ran Texas A&M off its home floor in last week’s conference opener. That changed late in the first half and bled over into the start of the second half as well.
One of the stumbling blocks for many young teams is a killer instinct and that seems to be the case with this group. Arkansas was ready for the kill in the first half, down 13 and looking clueless on both ends of the floor.
The Vols just lost their edge though and the start of the second half cemented things.
Tennessee turned the ball over just two times in the entire first half but doubled that up with four turnovers in the first 1:37 of the second half. All of those turnovers tuned into points for Arkansas on the other end, helping to fuel what was an ugly start for the home team.
Arkansas not only took the lead but pushed it all the way out to 53-46 in a hurry, a development that put the Vols on their collective heels and just totally changed the feel of the game.
All told, from the last four minutes of the first half, Arkansas went on a run that crested at 24-4, turning a 13 point deficit into a seven point lead.
The Razorbacks shot 54% in the second half, a strong comment on how badly the Vols’ defense fell apart.
That stuff happens in college basketball, but it especially happens to young teams that aren’t prepared to step on an opponent’s throat when the opportunity presents itself.
Tennessee still had an excellent opportunity here, up two at the half, but the Vols just couldn’t regroup at halftime and recapture the momentum they had worked so hard to win in those first 16 minutes of the game.
3 — Hubbs wakes up, Williams strong again — If you’re looking for some positives in individual play they were there, but not in abundance. Tennessee got a ton of inconsistent play all up and down the line-up tonight, but two guys who showed up consistently were Robert Hubbs and Grant Williams.
Hubbs had been largely invisible in the Vols’ two recent wins at ETSU and Texas A&M, scoring a combined 17 points on 6-of-19 shooting. He started off hot tonight, making his first four shots from the floor. He finished with a team high 21 points, and while it didn’t get the Vols over the hump, it was definitely a positive to get him back on track to some degree.
At least to start the game, he was notably aggressive and playing with some confidence. Tennessee desperately needs him to have that kind of mindset on a game-to-game basis. The Vols have proven that they have some guys who can score, but they haven’t proven they can score consistently.
Hubbs needs to be the guy this team can count on to produce on the offensive end every night.
Williams just continues to impress. In a recruiting class that looks like it could have several diamonds in the rough Williams is emerging as the biggest steal of the lot.
Arkansas’ Moses Kingsley was voted as the SEC’s preseason player of the year back in October and Williams more or less punked him for 40 minutes tonight, and that’s not hyperbole. Williams thoroughly outplayed the Hogs’ big man on both ends of the floor.
Kingsley was a force on the glass, finishing with 10 rebounds, but Williams (with some help) flustered him on the offensive end, holding him to just seven points on a 3-of-10 shooting night.
On the other end Williams was a consistent offensive force. He played within himself, didn’t look like he forced anything and finished with 15 points on 3-of-5 shooting. He was a warrior in the paint, earning himself 14 foul shots, making nine of them. He carried the Vols on the boards, finishing with a career high 11 boards to notch his first double-double.
Williams just keeps getting better and better, a development that certainly bodes well for this team.
4 — Guard play, guard play, guard play — We’ve certainly harped on this topic in this space before, but it’s worth a mention again tonight.
The Vols have done a fairly masterful job of masking their size shortcomings to this point in the year. Witness the job they’ve done in the last two games on Kingsley and Texas A&M’s Tyler Davis.
What the Vols aren’t doing as well is handling opposing perimeter players, particularly on drives to the basket. You an argue that there have been some offensive shortcomings as well, especially in terms of consistency, but it’s a safe bet Rick Barnes thinks the biggest problems are on the defensive end.
Tonight Arkansas’ guards took Tennessee’s (mostly) young backcourt behind the woodshed.
Arkansas got 66 of its 82 points from its top five guards and that group shot 58% from the floor. Tennessee, meanwhile, got just 31 points from its top five guards and the group shot 12-of-37 (32%). Those numbers were also largely skewed by 16 points from Mostella.
Tennessee had major problems in defending dribble penetration and Arkansas took advantage, especially in the second half. That’s an area that’s going to need get cleaned up in a hurry. With league play starting, there won’t be any secrets among teams and the Vols are developing a reputation as a squad that has a difficult time handling quality guards.
