What bothered Rick Barnes most in Tennessee basketball's win vs Georgia Southern

Rick Barnes got what he wanted from his young players before Tennessee basketball hosted Georgia Southern on Tuesday.

The four freshmen responded to Barnes' challenge to prove themselves in practices and the Vols' coach was going to reward them by playing the group together in the second half. He never got the chance.

"Our older guys just didn’t do what we expect them to do night in and night out," Barnes said.

No. 10 Tennessee (7-3) disappointed Barnes in droves in the second half of its 74-56 win against Georgia Southern at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center. There was bad rebounding. There was poor defense and an atrocious turnover rate.

Nothing frustrated him quite like the way his veteran group performed against the 0-10 Eagles.

"We have to know what we are going to get from those older guys for 40 minutes not just for 20 minutes," Barnes said.

Rick Barnes wanted better from fifth-year senior pair

Josiah-Jordan James got caught on the wing and left the baseline open. Georgia Southern's Nate Brafford took it and ran right around James, who appeared to think there would be help defense waiting. Neither guard Zakai Zeigler or forward Jonas Aidoo was there.

James checked out less than two minutes later and did not return, sitting out the final 13:55.

"I think those minutes are precious," Barnes said. "I am telling you, I don’t care who it is. If they are going to be out there, they are going to appreciate them and play. From the get-go in the second half, it just wasn’t good basketball."

James played a season-low 19 minutes. He had eight rebounds and three points with four turnovers, which matched Zeigler for a team high. Barnes stressed he counts on James and guard Santiago Vescovi the most as fifth-year seniors. He said neither was ready Tuesday after both had strong games against Illinois on Saturday.

Excluding Aidoo, Tennessee's starting group of James, Vescovi, Zeigler and Dalton Knecht combined to to shoot 6-for-23 and 2-for-10 on 3-pointers. They had 11 of UT's 19 turnovers with a level of play that prevented Barnes from getting to put in the younger players as he hoped.

Barnes has the utmost confidence in his upperclassmen, but they still need to prove they can be consistent. They haven't been this season and delivered one of the worst halves of the season.

"It goes back to being consistent, disciplined and mental toughness and all that," Barnes said.

What else went wrong for Tennessee basketball against Georgia Southern

Tennessee beat Georgia Southern handily in the first half, taking a 49-21 lead. Barnes believed the Tennessee coaches were honest with the players about how a letdown can be natural against a team performing as poorly as Georgia Southern.

The Vols instead played poorly and had that exact letdown but only in the second half.

"The way they came out and started the second half, honestly, it is extremely disappointing," Barnes said. "They should have come out the same way we started the game."

Barnes didn't like the way Tennessee approached offense in the second half, saying the Vols were just shooting the ball and "weren't playing with a purpose." They had 12 second-half turnovers, 11 of which were steals by Georgia Southern. The defense was terrible, giving up too much to the Eagles who trimmed a 28-point lead down to 13. UT allowed a 10-0 run in that stretch.

The Vols shot 1-for-12 on 3-pointers and were 8-for-28 shooting in the second half.

"It is not about making shots," Barnes said. "It's about playing good basketball."

Barnes highlighted a concern that he deemed a major flaw for inconsistent teams. He felt the Vols didn't respect themselves and view the game as a chance to get better. Respecting your opponent is one thing, Barnes said. But having respecting for yourself matters. He said that is done by how a player handles the game and takes care of it.

MASHACK: What did Jahmai Mashack do well for Tennessee basketball vs Illinois? It's a long list

That is part of the consistency that Barnes talked about.

"We regressed in the second half," Barnes said.

The consistency was missing Tuesday, when it couldn't cost the Vols against likely the worst opponent they will face this season. Barnes especially didn't get it from the older players. That left him frustrated and with three nonconference games remaining to find it.

Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.com and follow him on Twitter @ByMikeWilson. If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee basketball: Rick Barnes unhappy in win vs Georgia Southern