LAS VEGAS — A day after overcoming a double-digit deficit, Tennessee basketball blew a double-digit second half lead to end its run at Players Era in a 81-76 loss against Kansas.
Three quick takeaways on Tennessee’s first loss of the season.
Nate Ament Bounces Back
Five-star freshman Nate Ament’s first dose of high level college basketball did not go particularly well with Ament battling foul and making just one of eight field goal attempts. Rick Barnes often praises Ament’s maturity and he showed it by bouncing back against Kansas.
Ament quickly got it going, making two baskets to get Tennessee on the board in the game’s opening minutes. He got his three-point shot going later in the half, knocking down a pair of three-pointers on his way to 14 first half points.
The 6-foot-10 wing knocked down perimeter shots while also showing his ability to put the ball on the floor and score both in transition and in the half court. Ament finished the game with 20 points and nine rebounds after a more quiet second half. His zero made field goals in the second half will be something that needs to change moving forward.
Ament showing his ability to both bounce back from a bad performance and produce against strong competition bodes well for what’s to come. He also picked up Ja’Kobi Gillespie who struggled to find his shot, scoring just 11 points. That part was a reversal of the Houston game.
A Mixed Bag From Tennessee’s Front Line
The strength of Tennessee’s front line has typically showed itself this season with its ability to control the glass, particularly on the offensive end. But that wasn’t the case against Kansas. The Vols had by far their worst rebounding game of the season.
Some of that was to be expected. Kansas is one of the best defensive rebounding teams in the country so it was not surprising that they cut off the tap a bit. It was the defensive rebounding that was more costly as the Jayhawks scored 10 second chance points.
But while it was a mixed bag on the glass, the frontcourt did some really good things offensively and defensively. On the offensive end, JP Estrella went for 10 points on a perfect four-of-four shooting from the field.
Jaylen Carey built off his strong showing against Houston with another good performance. He scored 11 points while grabbing nine rebounds and dishing out four assists. Okpara scored seven points while Cade Phillips added four. Okpara also had a great day defensively. The quartet combined for 32 points on just 20 shot attempts.
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Scoring Drought Leads To The Game Slipping Away
Tennessee led 55-43 early in the second half and looked like it was in complete control on its way to a third straight win. But a brutal scoring drought opened the door for Kansas to get back in the game and the Jayhawks capitalized.
The Vols had a 3:48 scoring drought that saw Kansas cut their lead to just four points. But even after snapping the drought, Tennessee struggled to find consistent offensive success. Tennessee made just two baskets in a 12:38 stretch.
It felt like Tennessee let its struggling offense affect its defense down the stretch. The Vols struggled to guard dribble drive penetration as Kansas scored 47 second half points on 1.424 points per possession. At a critical point in the final minutes as the game got away from Tennessee, Kansas scored on six straight possessions.
The scoring drought sparked Kansas’ run back in the game, but Tennessee had a number of issues which kept them from stopping the bleeding.
Box Score
Up Next
After playing three games in three days, Tennessee has five days off before traveling to Syracuse to face the Orange on Tuesday, Dec. 2 in the ACC-SEC Challenge.
