Four quick takes on a damaging loss

Tennessee (15-13, 7-8) took a bad loss tonight against visiting Vanderbilt (15-13, 8-7), falling 67-56. Here are four quick takes on a loss that could be debilitating for the Vols’ postseason hopes.

1 — That start though…— In a high stakes conference game against an instate rival Tennessee came out as flat at the start of this one as at any point and time this season. (more n that below)

Tennessee fell behind 12-2 right out of the gate, missed its first five shots from the field and looked as disjointed as they have in a long time for the first 20 minutes of play tonight.

The Vols didn’t make their first shot until 14:59, started 2-of-17 from the floor and failed to even crack 20 points in the first half of the game.

For the half Tennessee shot a miserable 23% from the field and was 0-for-7 from three point range.

No player on the team outside of Admiral Schofield (3-for-8 for eight points) made more than one field goal in the first half and only on

The Vols only saving grace early was that after a mildly hot start themselves the Commodores really cooled off. Whether it was a result of some solid D from Tennessee or just some cold shooting from the ‘Dores the Vols kept the SEC’s best shooting three-point team in check.

Vandy was just 3-of-14 from beyond the arc in the first half or things might have gotten truly out of hand.

The real kicker for Tennessee is that Vandy wasn’t very good offensively themselves after that opening flurry. Had Tennessee just been able to keep pace in the opening 10 minutes, his one almost certainly has a different outcome.

Those opening minuets count too though, and this just didn’t look like a Tennessee team that was ready to go from the jump.

2 — Big guys have to produce and teammates have to get them the ball— Vandy made a concerted effort to get Tennessee out of its offensive comfort zone early in the game and it worked.

Vandy aggressively doubled the post to get the ball out of the hands of Robert Hubbs and Grant Williams whenever the touched it and Tennessee didn’t have an adjustment for the first 20 minutes.

The Commodores’ ability to render the Vols’ top two scorers virtually non-factors in the first 20 minutes was alarming for the home team.

Hubbs had just four points at the half and Williams was scoreless. Not only that, Williams didn’t even get what I would call a shot off in the paint, managing to squeeze off just two mid-range jumpers in the entire first half.

It looked like Luke Kornet’s 7-foot-1 length really bothered Williams, Hubbs and everyone on the home team all game long. He finished with seven blocks and altered numerous others. It was really the first time this season I recall watching Williams and thinking he was really struggling against an opponent’s length.

I’ll stop short of being overly critical of that duo that’s done so much for the Vols this season because their teammates certainly deserve some blame for that ugly offensive first half.

With Vandy expending so much energy to contain Williams and Hubbs there were ample chances for someone else to step up, yet no one really did. Admiral Schofield got it going a little bit late in the half, finishing with eight points in the half. The real breakdown came in the backcourt though Tennessee got just one field goal from a guard in the first half and the Vols were 0-for-7 from behind the arc.

Tennessee finished the game just 3-of-16 from behind the and none of those makes came from a starting guard.

Williams and Hubbs got it going at a higher rate in the second half, but it was too little too late.

Hubbs led the Vols with 16 points. Williams managed to finish with 11 but was just 3-of-12 from the floor and never appeared to find his comfort zone against Kornet.

3 — Do you know what’s at stake? — Tennessee hit the court tonight with everything to play for. With four games left in the regular season and the Vols knee deep in the bubble chatter from all corners of the media, there’s just no room for error.

Losing to Vandy at home qualifies as an error.

Look, I’m clearly not in the locker room or the sideline huddles, but for one of the few times all season long the guys just didn’t look like the hit the court with the sense of urgency you need in conference play in February.

Is that a result of youth? Are the young kids hitting a wall? Were the Vols coming in a little too confident after an easy 20-point win over Missouri on Saturday? Did the fact that Tennessee had its way with Vandy in winning the first meeting 87-75? Is the pressure of trying to play themselves into the NCAA tournament getting to them?

I don’t know what the answer is, but since the earlier four game winning streak that put Tennessee in position to do something special they’ve gone 2-4 with losses at Kentucky and Mississippi State, at home to Georgia and Vandy offset by wins over Missouri and Ole Miss.

This was a bad one.

The 56 points represented the lowest scoring output of the season for this team and the 29% Tennessee made from the floor was also the worst shooting performance of the year. The Vols also killed themselves at the foul line, going 17-for-25 (65%) and just 11-of-17 in the second half.

Lastly, when the Vols had battled back to give themselves a chance by cutting the lead to 44-43 with 6:01 left they crumbled, allowing Vandy to score on five straight possessions to clinch the win.

Execution was spotty, effort early on looked suspect and in general this may have been the worst the Vols have looked this season with the possible exception of last week’s 25 point loss at Kentucky.

4 — If you’re looking for a positive… — It’s hard to find a positive after that one, a home loss to your in-state rival on the line with so much to play for, but we’ll try.

I would go with the defense after a tough start. Tennessee was down 18-4 with less than nine minutes of game time gone by a blowout looked imminent. That didn’t transpire, at least in the first half.

Tennessee never got on track itself offensively but they at least made things tough enough on Vandy that they didn’t get run out of their. Tennessee limited Vandy to just 10 points in the final 11:14 of the first half, which was a necessity considering how much Tennessee struggled on its own offensive end.

In fact, Tennessee never got it going on offense.

That’s poor consolation for losing what will almost certainly be a costly game for their NCAA tournament chances. However, it says something about the grit of this young team that on a night when they almost couldn’t buy a basket they still dug in their heels on defense and kept themselves hanging around on a night when the offensive stats suggest they had little chance of doing so.

We’ll also take this time to give Kwe Parker a nod. The freshman has had a hard time carving himself out a niche in the rotation this season, but he earned himself a season high 18 minutes tonight and was one of the best defenders on the floor.

With Jordan Bone out tonight due to illness and Barnes obviously displeased with what he was getting from Jordan Bone and Lamonte Turner at the point, Parker got a shot.

He didn’t bring a great deal to the table offensively, making his only shot, a three-pointer, and he had one assist with no turnovers, but he brought some much needed intensity on the defensive end. Given how much of a problem that’s been for this team at the point, he may have a chance to play himself into a larger late season role.