It was not long after the final buzzer sounded on his two-point performance against Georgia that Josh Richardson began moving along.
The 1-of-13 shooting performance in Athens forced the senior guard into the gym in an effort to fix the kinks that led to his worst scoring performance since a scoreless output in a 67-41 loss to the Florida Gators on Jan. 25, 2014.
As the bus destined for Nashville and Tennessee’s next opponent, Vanderbilt, readied, Richardson’s confidence, stemming from the excess work, radiated.
“I’ve been working out every morning trying to get my groove back,” Richardson said. “I feel good.”
Losers of four of their last five, the Volunteers could use a rebound performance much like the ones Richardson has delivered in recent single-digit scoring performances.
Following that scoreless outing versus Florida last year, the Edmond, Oklahoma native dropped 16 points against Ole Miss on 6-of-11 shooting.
After scoring nine against Marquette on Nov. 30, 2014, Richardson finished with a team-high 17 points to lead the Vols to a victory over Kansas State. In response to his latest single-digit outing — an eight-point performance versus Missouri — Richardson shot 5-of-6 from the field en route to a 13-point game.
And his teammates do not expect anything less of their senior leader.
“There’s been no difference (in him),” sophomore guard Robert Hubbs said. “He’s the same Josh. He’ll bounce back and he’ll be fine and we’ll build off of that.”
Inside Memorial Gym’s unique environment, though, Richardson will have to do much more than just be a scorer.
With Tyndall located on the end line instead of the sidelines, Richardson will have to serve as the Vols’ floor general in a greater capacity than before.
“We understand it’s a huge rivalry game,” said Tyndall, who stated on Monday that he would be sporting an orange blazer Wednesday night. “Both fan bases will be very excited. I am sure it will be a passionate and electric environment in there on Wednesday. We will have to play very well to give ourselves a chance to win.”
For Richardson, though, the environment that surrounds the in-state rivalry is something he looks forward to.
“I kind of like it,” Richardson said. “I think it’s fun, especially because of all the Tennessee fans that will be there and all the Vandy fans that will be there. It’s always a good battle.”
The Vols hold a 114-71 lead in the all-time series against the Commodores, dating back to 1922, but Vanderbilt leads the series in Nashville with a 53-38 mark versus Tennessee.
A victory would give the Vols their fourth SEC road win, which would mark the first time UT has attained its fourth conference win before the end of February since 2011. A win would also improve Donnie Tyndall’s record as a Division I head coach against teams from the state of Tennessee to 31-16 and prevent UT’s first three-game losing streak of the season.
Tipoff between the Vols and Commodores is scheduled for 9 p.m. EST and can be seen on the SEC Network.
