Indiana Defeats Tennessee 66-62 in Charity Matchup at the Food City Center: Should there be Concerns?

The offseason hype around Tennessee Basketball has been building pretty much since last season ended in the elite eight to Purdue. With the additions of guys like Chaz Lanier, Igor Milicic, and Felix Okpara, the Vols offense expects to be a lot better this season. After the performance against Indiana, fans began to ask the question: is this what we are to expect from Tennessee this year, or will there be a period of struggling before all the pieces come together?

Tennessee’s defense this season will still be elite just like it always is under Rick Barnes. Barnes has done a great job over the summer making sure the newcomers know that the standard for Tennessee basketball is to be elite on defense. Zeigler, Gainey, and Mashack are excellent defenders on the perimeter that highlight the defense, but the question coming in this season was how good the post defense was going to be. Okpara has taken that question away as he finished the game with 4 blocks. J.P. Estrella showed that he can be trusted to give good defensive minutes as well.

The offensive side of the ball is still a question, but the Vols had a lot of good looks in the game that just would not fall. Zeigler finished 2 of 10 from the floor, and all shots were from the three point line. Jordan Gainey finished 3 of 8 from the field, and 2 of 6 from the three point line. Chaz Lanier finished 3 of 16 from the field, and 2 of 12 from the three point line. Most of these missed shots were open shots, or good quality shots that should have been taken. It’s still early in the season, and I’m sure guys like Lanier are still trying to get comfortable in their role, so some of these shots should start falling as they get further along.

Coach Barnes also played 11 guys during this exhibition game. Although there is a chance that he plays this many guys during the season, odds are only 8 or 9 guys will be playing a consistent rotation during the meat of the schedule. Barnes is a veteran coach, and he knows that games like this are the perfect opportunity to get guys game reps to see how far they have come during summer workouts.

Is an October loss to Indiana in an exhibition game something that should concern Vols’ fans? The answer is no. Rick Barnes is a hall of fame coach, and he knows how to make adjustments as the season goes on. This is also the first court action against another team that most of the guys have had since March. There are going to be some hiccups that these guys will need to work through, but Tennessee will be just fine this season.

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Michael Allen

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