Like a communications major (read: me) on a math test, Tennessee had no answer for Florida on Saturday.
The Gators broke their three-game losing steak to the Vols in resounding fashion trouncing Tennessee 67-41.
Let’s take a look at a couple of stories that developed during the beat down.
Offensive Offense/ Florida’s Defense
Teams have off nights shooting the basketball. It happens. But Tennessee’s offense against Florida Saturday was on a whole ‘nother level of bad. The Vols made 15 of the 56 shots they took amounting to season-lows in points, 41, and field-goal percentage, 27. And that season low of 41 points? Well the Gators scored that many points in the second half.
Jarnell Stokes was the only Vol to score in double figures dropping 16 points to go with his ten rebounds, which gave him his tenth double-double of the season. Fellow big man Jeronne Maymon was the next-closest Vol to double digits scoring eight points on 4-8 shooting.
And for Tennessee’s offense that was about it.
The Vol guards didn’t show up. I mean, they were there. Like, they did play in the game. But their impact for Tennessee was negligible. Jordan McRae, the Vols’ leading scorer, compiled just five points on a paltry 1-15 shooting. This was the first time McRae’s been held without a single two-point field goal since the South Carolina game last February, and it was easily his worst offensive performance of the season. It’s difficult to blame McRae, entirely, for his poor shooting night. Yes, he was forcing shots. But McRae was forcing the issue because the rest of the Vols were so damn ineffective.
The Vols two other starting guards, Antonio Barton and Josh Richardson, shot 1-14 from the field and scored two points. (Fun fact: It was Richardson’s first scoreless game since prior to the 2012 season.) Six fouls, two turnovers and two points. From TWO starters. I talked before about Tennessee needing output from Barton and Richardson and that need is magnified on nights when McRae’s shot isn’t falling. Altogether, against Florida,Tennessee’s guards were outscored 42-7. Yikes. And here are the combined stats for Richardson and Barton in four of Tennessee’s last five losses: 14 points on 6/44 shooting and zero 3-pointers. Double yikes.
You can’t talk about the Vols offense without giving due credit to Florida’s defense. It was suffocating. The Gators were the first team to employ a full-court press for the majority of the game, and more teams will likely use that strategy against the Vols from here on out.
“The thing we talked about as a staff was getting across the court and attacking the rim,” Martin said. “Put pressure on their defense because they don’t have shot blockers. We didn’t do a very good job of attacking their press and trying to score.”
When Tennessee did advance the ball across half court Florida doubled the post, sagged off the Vol’s perimeter players and dared the Vols to shoot it from deep.
“I thought they did a great job defending, pressing and speeding us up and forcing us to take tough shots in the half court,” Martin said.
“I thought they had a good game plan with Jarnell (Stokes) and Jeronne (Maymon) in really doubling those guys and forcing our guards to beat them. And, it went well for them.”
Tennessee stayed in the game early thanks primarily to its offensive rebounding but never established any sort of sustainable offense. It didn’t “attack the press,” and once Florida’s half-court defense was set, UT struggled to do, well, anything.
The Oldest Trick in the Book
The pick and roll is one the simplest plays in basketball. It works with just two guys, the ball handler and, typically, a big man. The big man sets a pick, or ball screen, and the ball handler goes around the pick, nearly touching the screener’s shoulder as he passes by. The screener then rolls to the hoop. The ball-handler then reads the defense and attacks based on the D’s reaction. Nothing fancy, yet, it’s one of the core offensive philosophies for offenses in the NBA, the peak of the hoops hierarchy. Why? Because its simplicity is surpassed only by its effectiveness.
Florida toasted the Vols on basketball’s bread and butter time and time again. I guess my biggest issue is that Florida used the pick and roll effectively in the first half, and Tennessee did nothing to counter it in the second half. Instead of being proactive in their defense, the Vols were reactive. No traps, no hedges. Just bleh.
“Being down the whole game, and it was so loud, I think guys were confused as far as what assignment they were supposed to be in with which players,” Stokes said. “I think we had certain players we forced to go through the screen and certain players we downed the screen. We just didn’t do a good job with that today.”
Florida’s strategy of using the pick and roll early in the shot clock was just fantastic. Tennessee typically plays good half-court defense. But Florida was running the pick and roll before the Vols could get that half-court defense set. The Gators forced the action and had Tennessee out of sorts. Great game plan from Billy D.
Up Next
The Vols come back home to Thompson-Boling Arena to host Marshall Henderson and the Ole Miss Rebels. Henderson dropped 32 points his last game in Knoxville as the Rebels waxed the Vols by 18, and the Rebels have won four-straight. The Vols are in a dangerous spot, likely reeling after the Florida loss, sitting at 3-3 in the conference with a volatile Ole Miss team coming to town. Gut check time, fellas.