University of Tennessee Athletics
Vols Must Rebound To Meet UK Challenge
February 16, 2015 | Men's Basketball
By Brian Rice and Katie Van Veghel
UTSports.com
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- The results and the emotions on the basketball court ran the full gamut for Tennessee in a period of 72 hours last week.
After a road win against Vanderbilt, keyed by a furious comeback in the final 15 seconds to force overtime, all signs pointed to momentum being in UT's favor against LSU on Saturday.
After an effort against the Tigers that head coach Donnie Tyndall did not mince words about following the game Saturday, and again at his weekly press briefing on Monday, the Vols now have to move forward for their toughest test of the season.
Tennessee must rebound, both figuratively and literally, against the top-ranked and undefeated Kentucky Wildcats, a team that has played close road games in a recent stretch, but has found a way to pull each of them out.
"Well you just have to be opportunistic," Tyndall said of the best way to counter Kentucky. "The problem is that they don't make a lot of mistakes, and by that I mean you have to be yourself and throw the ball to the post."
It is an even bigger challenge for Tennessee's frontcourt, which has to find a way to compensate for a lack of size against perhaps the best front line in the country. Tyndall was honest about the matchups, but said the Volunteers cannot focus on what they lack, rather how they can use what they have.
"The ball still has to go [inside] to converge the defense a little bit and go inside-out," he said. "You emphasize driving the ball because it is so important to get paint touches, but at the end of the play, you have to finish over three 7-foot guys. A lot of times, it is going to be penetrating to pass in hopes you can find an open teammate or be opportunistic if they help up, then you play with the guy behind the defense for a dunk or layup."
Beating Kentucky does not require a perfect game, but it does require teams to execute the things that they do well to perfection and put the Wildcats outside of their comfort zone.
"You have to make this team score in the half court," Tyndall said of Kentucky. "We will still press, but it may be a little bit containment-type press. You have to shrink the floor and do the best job you can of putting yourself in rebounding position, which is easier said than done, because they have guys that can make shots at 22 or 23 feet. Then you have to take care of the ball on the other end. You are better off getting a 35-second shot-clock violation and they have to take it out of bounds than take a bad shot or turn it over and now they are playing in the open floor."
Though the weather forecast is calling for winter weather conditions, Tyndall hopes fans will still make it to Thompson-Boling Arena to support the Vols.
"This game is probably as important to our fans as any game we play all year," Tyndall said. "I'm pretty sure they will find a way to make it,"
Bouncing Back
After Tennessee's loss to LSU on Saturday, the Vols are working to move forward and prepare for their next opponent.
"We have played 25 games and have had one bad half from an effort standpoint, that's pretty good," Tyndall said. "Yet, on the flip side, even one bad half is not acceptable."
The Vols struggled from 3-point range Saturday, making just two of 14 attempts. The Tigers made nine of 19 3-point attempts, including three in a row from Keith Hornsby in the first ten minutes of the game put to Tennessee in a tough spot.
Tyndall related the team's performance against LSU to its performance against VCU in the season-opener back in November.
"Even against VCU the first game of the year, we didn't play well the first half," Tyndall said. "Yet, the second half we come out, respond, play the right way, cut it to eight two or three times and had a chance."
Despite their 13-0 run in the second half Saturday, the Vols could draw no closer than 15 points. Tyndall isn't letting this loss impact the team's mentality.
"That has been the M.O. of our team all year--to never give up and to scrap and claw when things have not gone our way," Tyndall said. "I won't expect anything but 100 percent effort with a great energy level tomorrow."
Countering Size With Effort
Tyndall stated that size has been a concern for the team all year. Though Tennessee may struggle with it, Tyndall has noticed that Armani Moore and Derek Reese have stepped up and put up a fight to rebound the ball.
"When you watch the tape, they are giving unbelievable effort, wheeling off guys and going to grab it with two hands," said Tyndall.
Though they may be underdogs in size, Tyndall believes the team can still compete with the Wildcats.
"As long as they play hard for the most part, I am comfortable we will win enough of those battles against Kentucky," Tyndall said. "It really is a whole different ball game with five guys 6-10, 6-11. They aren't just big stiffs. They are all really, really athletic guys."
