Before most games, especially games against teams that Tennessee played earlier in the season, Rick Barnes and his basketball team will sit down and watch film on their opponent.
For Tennessee’s Tuesday night matchup with Vanderbilt (TV: SEC Network 7 p.m.), Barnes doesn’t really see a point.
“I was talking to our coaches this morning about the game,” Barnes said. “And I don’t think there is much I can show him from our game here that we did well. There’s nothing we could show that we could take advantage of something, because they just had their way with us from the very beginning.”
The Commodores beat Tennessee in Knoxville 88-74, and the game wasn’t nearly as close as the final score indicates. Five Vanderbilt players scored in double figures and the Dores hit 13 total 3’s in the game.
Vanderbilt then lost four of its next eight games, seemingly eliminating itself from NCAA Tournament contention after blowing a 17 point lead in a loss to Mississippi State. The past two weeks have given the Commodores new life.
The Dores come into the game on a three game winning streak, including a win over Florida and an upset over No. 16 Kentucky on Saturday.
“It looks like they’re playing obviously the best basketball in the league right now,” Barnes said. “It looks like too that they’ve kind of cut back their bench. I think they’re playing four or five guys over 30 minutes per game right now. They’ve obviously gotten themselves in a pretty good rotation.”
What makes this Vanderbilt team so dangerous is the way it spreads the ball so evenly amongst the players on the floor. Any player can score at any given time, as shown by the fact that five different players are averaging at least nine points per game.
NBA Lottery projection Damian Jones has been the key for the Dores during this winning streak, averaging 19 points and 10 rebounds over the stretch. His play opens the floor for his teammates, as opponents have to spend most of their time trying to limit the 7-foot center.
One of the more unique buildings in the country, the Vanderbilt University Memorial Gymnasium offers a different kind of challenge than teams are used to.
It is the only gym in the in the nation where the benches are on the baseline under the baskets, rather than on the sidelines. That, combined with the difficult home-court advantage Memorial provides, can make life difficult for opposing teams.
“It’s going to be a hostile environment,” guard Armani Moore said. “But as long as we just stay poised and don’t speed ourselves up, we’ll be fine.”
With two of Tennessee’s top three scorers unlikely to play in Nashville on Tuesday, Tennessee is once again turning to its freshmen for production. All three of the Vols’ eligible freshmen, Admiral Schofield, Shembari Phillips and Kyle Alexander, started in Saturday’s loss to Arkansas.
Barnes wants to see those freshmen build on that experience, and take the next step going forward.
“I think the next step for them is understanding that you have to keep pushing forward, you have to keep going,” Barnes said.
“Even if you think you’re there, you have to keep going. That’s typical of a young guy. He starts to get a success and starts feeling good about himself. He doesn’t prepare himself for the game.”
