With 12:13 remaining in the first half, Lamonte Turner hit a three-pointer as the shot clock expired to give Tennessee a 17-9 lead over the Missouri Tigers. The offense looked to be in a rhythm.
After Turner’s basket, the Vols scored 10 points for the remainder of the first half in what quickly turned into a defensive struggle.
That defensive struggle continued in the second half, the Tigers leading 13-2 by midway through. That put the Vols in a tough position that they weren’t able to fully climb out of.
The Vols were eventually defeated 59-55 in Mizzou Arena by the Tigers in their first game against former head coach Cuonzo Martin since his departure.
Coming into the game, the Vols and Tigers were each two of the best three-point shooting teams in the SEC. Neither team shot over 24 percent from threes in this game, as both defenses seemed focused on taken-away threes.
Usual sharp-shooter Jordan Bowden and starting point guard Jordan Bone both struggled offensively against the Tigers, with a combined three points on 1-of-13 shooting.
So far in SEC play, when the Vols have struggled on the perimeter, the inside has picked up the slack.
On Wednesday, the front-court was able to do some damage but not as much as they have in past SEC games.
While the Vols got another encouraging effort from Kyle Alexander, their two leading scorers weren’t able to score at the rates they normally do.
Alexander finished 6-of-6 from the field while scoring 12 points, but Admiral Schofield and leading scorer Grant Williams were held to 11 and 15 respectively.
While Barnes would’ve loved for those players to score more, a need for rebounding improvement stood out even more. All season, Barnes has constantly stressed the importance of rebounding, and the Vols were out-rebounded 31-28 by the Tigers.
After trailing 53-43 in the second half, the Vols showed growth as a team by answering with a 9-0 run and cutting the margin to one.
The run was led by an impressive defensive effort, as the Vols held the Tigers without a field goal for the last six minutes of the game.
Trailing 55-54, the Vols had a chance to take the lead. However, Williams’ turnover off of a double-team gave the Tigers the ball back and empowered them to put the finishing touches on the game from the free-throw line.
The game was the first of a tough two-game stretch away from Thompson-Boling Arena. For the second game of the stretch, the Vols will take on the South Carolina Gamecocks Saturday, a team fresh from a Final Four appearance last season.
