Next season will be here soon enough for the Tennessee men’s basketball team, but this year still has some promise – Chattanooga Times Free Press

KNOXVILLE With each game, there are fewer sure things for the Tennessee men's basketball team.

Aside from junior forwards John Fulkerson and Yves Pons, the Volunteers haven't had much to hang their hats on this season.

Sitting at the podium in the media room at Thompson-Boling Arena on Saturday after the Vols' 77-64 loss to 15th-ranked Kentucky, that was what coach Rick Barnes basically said.

"It is hard. It's really hard not knowing from night to night," admitted Barnes, whose fifth Tennessee team has had to deal with inconsistency on both the roster and the court on its way to records of 13-10 overall and 5-5 in the Southeastern Conference with eight regular-season games remaining.

Entering the season, one would have expected the duo of senior guards Jordan Bowden and Lamonte Turner to attempt to lead the way for a roster weighted with inexperience and youth. Turner was never right, though, struggling with a shoulder injury before electing to have season-ending surgery. Bowden has struggled with his shot, a surprise for the usually prolific scorer.

Along with a sextet of freshmen who all need a lot of work before they're ready to be counted on as regular contributors, that has made the Vols, not surprisingly, inconsistent. Two of those freshmen guard Santiago Vescovi and center Uros Plavsic were midseason additions to the rotation; another, Josiah-Jordan James, has missed the past three games due to a lower-body injury.

Tennessee's offensive efficiency is ninth in the SEC this season, with its defense slightly above average by ranking in the top half of the 14-team league in every category other than offensive rebounding. The trouble there is a by-product of too many poor attempts at blocking shots, which in turn has put the Vols out of position to get the ball if the attempts fail.

Fulkerson and Pons, the two consistent options for the Vols this season, have set the best standard. Pons leads the SEC in blocked shots per game, and Fulkerson has become the team's most efficient scoring option. The emergence of two players who were largely role players last season is a plus, but others must become factors for Tennessee to succeed.

Essentially, the Vols must quickly develop skills and strategy to counter their current weaknesses, but their effort and confidence aren't lacking.

"I don't think that anyone thinks that we are an easy out," Barnes said Saturday. "I know our guys think that we can win every time we take the court. I know our guys thought that we could win this game today. We do look at the big picture, and we are like a lot of people that are bunched up right there (in the postseason picture). We will see if we can get some (quality wins) down the stretch."

The Vols, despite their struggles, aren't completely out of the running mainly because of what lies ahead.

When it comes to boosting their postseason credentials, they have the chance for as many as seven Quadrant 1 quality victories: home wins against teams that are in the top 30 of the NET rankings, neutral-site wins against top-50 teams and away wins against top-75 teams.

Tennessee has two of those right now the last-second neutral-site victory over Virginia Commonwealth University on Nov. 30 and Tuesday's win at Alabama and six losses against that level of competition. The Vols' NET ranking of 67th shows that while there aren't many good wins on the schedule four against Quads 1 and 2 teams there aren't any bad losses, as they are 9-1 against Quads 3 and 4 opponents.

Aside from Vanderbilt's visit to Knoxville on Feb. 18, every game remaining is against at least a Quad 2 opponent, so while the road ahead seems steep, it's also ripe with opportunities.

That is, if the Vols, who host Arkansas (16-7, 4-6) at 7 p.m. Tuesday, can develop some level of consistency on the court and otherwise.

"We always talk about the big picture," Barnes said. "We start talking about the big picture in November and how important those games are. Our line has always been if you don't think that those games are important, then wait until March. We also understand that this is the month where we play the remainder of the month with top-50 teams. It is a great opportunity for us to do some things down the stretch."

Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3 or at Facebook.com/VolsUpdate.

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Next season will be here soon enough for the Tennessee men's basketball team, but this year still has some promise - Chattanooga Times Free Press