FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Tennessee led by three points midway through the second half with an opportunity to open SEC play with a statement top 20 win at Arkansas on Saturday afternoon. But the Vols’ quickly spiraled as Arkansas reeled off an 11-0 run on its way to earning an 86-75 victory.
If this sounds familiar to you, it should. Three of Tennessee’s four losses have followed similar scripts as the Vols crumbled in the final 10 minutes and let opportunities slip away.
“We did too many things that go into losing, and that’s why we lost,” Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes said postgame. “You got to call a timeout when you can get the ball in bounds. Little things like that. But free throws, I mean, it hurts because you could say, we make our free throws, but again, they made layups at the rim. We didn’t. They made their free throws, we didn’t. And they won. Again, they won it because they did the things that were necessary to win it and we didn’t.”
Tennessee went on a 5:17 scoring drought as Arkansas took control of the game with the 11-0 run. The Vols turned it over four times during the drought, including thrice with Ja’Kobi Gillespie on the sideline and Ethan Burg running the point.
“Taking care of the ball. We didn’t get a shot every possession,” Gillespie said postgame. “Just being too careless with the ball. Not getting a shot each possession. … We just have to clean that up and work at it in practice.”
Perhaps the biggest inflection point during the stretch came with Arkansas leading 61-58 with 8:14 to play. Nate Ament went to the line with a chance to stop the run and steady Tennessee. Instead, he missed the front end of the bonus and prolonged the run.
Free throw shooting continues to be a disaster for Tennessee. The Vols made just 12-of-23 attempts at Arkansas while Ament missed six himself. Comparatively, Arkansas shot 39-of-43 at the charity stripe and made all nine attempts during the 11-0 run. In its four losses this season, Tennessee is shooting a putrid 57.8% from the free throw line.
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“I don’t think we have a guy on a team that doesn’t think he can make them, but they’re going to have to make it when the lights are on,” Barnes said of the woes. “But that just puts so much more pressure on everything that you do.”
“It’s mental toughness. And that’s what I think it is. I mean, guys that can make threes should all be able to make free throws.”
Tennessee missed all five shot attempts from the field during the stretch. The Vols got just one offensive rebound. This roster is built on controlling the glass. It was their second worst offensive rebounding performance of the season, coming against an opponent that’s been bad on the defensive glass this season.
“If y’all watched the game last year at Tennessee, that was pretty much all the motivation we needed,” Arkansas forward Trevon Brazile said postgame. “We watched the film on that. They killed us on the glass.”
If Tennessee’s second half struggles were a one-time occurrence it would be far less concerning. Winning against quality teams on the road is challenging and Bud Walton Arena will be one of the toughest venues the Vols play in all season.
But the Vols’ losses against Kansas and Illinois followed similar trajectories. Tennessee led by eight points with 10:30 to play against Kansas. The Jayhawks went on a 17-5 run in 5:22 to take control of the game. Tennessee led 49-48 with 11:03 to play against Illinois. The Fighting Illini went on a 14-4 run in 4:08 to open up a double-digit lead.
“Inconsistency with guys that you’re counting on,” Barnes said. “You can’t win (with inconsistency from key players). I mean, this league is too good.”
The loss leaves Tennessee with many of the same issues they’ve had throughout the season. With road trips remaining to Florida, Alabama and Georgia this month, things aren’t going to get any easier for Tennessee away from home.
