The Tennessee Volunteers rank among the top teams in the nation on every category. The Vols are highly regarded by Kenpom, the AP Poll, and the NET Rankings. Rick Barnes has only been listed twice in the top 35 in offensive efficiency, despite producing butter-like defenses while at Tennessee. The Vols are ranked 21st in this particular year. Nevertheless, he boasted a number of performances in which he shot less than 40% from the field and, on some occasions, more than 50%, with no discernible pattern. It’s time to examine what prevents Tennessee from joining SEC opponents Alabama and Kentucky in the top ten offense club, given how impressive their offensive performances are.
Tennessee Volunteers’ Struggles on Offense
Tennessee’s offense has had several elite showings this year. Scoring 92 in North Carolina’s house, which I touched on here, and 90 against Ole Miss tops the list. However, you also find the 36 percent shooting night against Tarleton State and the 16 turnovers against a Mississippi State team that isn’t known for forcing turnovers.
Tennessee ranks 152nd in the country in effective field goal percentage, slightly above average. The worst games of the season for Tennessee’s offense were shooting under 35 percent against Tarleton State at home, against Purdue on a neutral floor, and against Kansas on a neutral floor, as well as having 16 turnovers at Mississippi State. With a wide variety of venues and levels of competition, it seems to come down to more than just the offense stalls against great opponents.
The primary issue facing Tennessee is its identity crisis. Tennessee’s offensive free throw percentage is 27th, but just 19.6% of their points are scored from beyond the arc. That ranks 150th in the nation. Furthermore, only 24.3% of their opponents’ possessions result in a foul. That ranks 167th in the nation. Tennessee is a fantastic free-throw shooting team, but they just don’t put enough pressure on the hoop, which prevents them from reaching the line.
A team that is not putting pressure on the rim should be either shooting or making a lot of threes. Tennessee does neither. They are 172nd in the country in percentage of shots that are threes while being 100th in three-point percentage. Tennessee is also 281st in percent of points coming from twos. Tennessee is going into every game not knowing the style they want to play.
Fixing the Vols Offense
Compare this to 2019, Tennessee was third in offensive efficiency, by far Barnes’s highest at Tennessee and his highest overall since 2008. In this season Tennessee was 29th in percent of points from two-point range. They had an identity, they were going to play inside the perimeter and do it efficiently. Tennessee does not have that this year and as a result, they’re struggling. It’s far from panic time, 21st in offensive efficiency is good, and the defense can bail them out when they’re struggling. North Carolina is eighth in defensive efficiency. That’s the highest the Vols faced all year and they hung 92. Tennessee’s offense can be lethal, they just have to find what they do best and make it their identity.
