University of Tennessee Athletics
Postgame Quotes: Vanderbilt 88, Vols 74
January 21, 2016 | Men's Basketball
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Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes
(Opening statement)
"Tonight, we played like the team everybody picked to finish 13th in the Southeastern Conference. We came out and did not do very much of anything of what we talked about. We never were able to really put any game pressure on them. We had a chance a couple of times where we could have gotten it (the lead) down around 11 or 12 points. We ended up taking some bad shots.
"When we got down in the first half, we just didn't execute. Guys were putting their head down and trying to go one-on-one. We just didn't give ourselves a chance. Not to take anything away from Vanderbilt because they present problems for us. They can obviously create problems inside with their size. They can also shoot it the way they can. With their size, they are able to pass over us too. We were trying to double some to start the game but weren't doing very good."
(On if he thought Vanderbilt's size influenced the game)
"I do, and again, I thought we go in there and we want to drive them. We took some bad shots around the rim. We got timid, and we weren't looking for our shots, but we didn't run our offense, either. We would drive, but you have to drive and kick them. We thought we could drive them, but look to make the right play. We just didn't look to make the right play out of them."
(On what he told the team at halftime)
"A lot of things. You can break it down to them, but the fact is that we just didn't do anything that we talked about. I didn't think we played with that kind of energy. I thought we played like a team, too, like we had a nice win Saturday. Like it was going to be easy, but it's never going to be easy. It's never going to be easy for us. I thought we were very immature. I think when Armani (Moore) is getting technical fouls out of frustration and those types of things, and we obviously didn't shoot the ball well in the first half, but I didn't think we looked to take the shots that we should be taking when we were driving. We were not kicking the ball out and doing things we have talked about for the last couple of weeks. They beat us, and the way it was we deserved it because we didn't give ourselves a chance."
(On Vanderbilt having 20 assists on 23 field goals)
"They moved the ball. When you're scrambling around like that you expect to score off of passes too because you're flying at people, and you're going to pass the ball. There's going to be a lot of assists in a situation like that. I think they're efficient. I think they know how they want to play, and I'm disappointed. We sure didn't look like we knew how we wanted to play. Vandy's had some injuries, but they present problems for us unlike a lot of teams because they can really shoot the ball from the three. In college, the only guys that may be able to go in there and stand tall with them and take up a little bit of space were skipping the ball over us, even when we were double teaming them, just to get the ball where they wanted it to go."
(On the team not having energy)
"It goes back to what I said the other day, 'proud peacock today, feather duster tomorrow.' I said it to them when we came back: 'What you do today looks big to you. You haven't done anything today.' I can't tell you why. We just didn't execute. You could say with the building not being what it has been, but when you walk between those lines you have to play. We didn't.
"I thought Kevin Punter took as many bad shots as he has all year. We got down, and instead of staying together, and executing, and trying to grind it out, we didn't do that. Bad offense will lead to bad defense. In the second half, we were going to come out and try and mix it up, run at them, prolong it. Just try and get some fight back in the game. We got it down. There were a couple of times where maybe we could have put a little bit of pressure on them, but we didn't because we took some tough shots."
(On overcoming a deficit in other games this season compared to tonight)
"This reminds me of the Nebraska game. We didn't put up a fight in that game. I didn't think we put up a fight tonight when we got down. Whether it was at Butler or Gonzaga, I thought we showed some fight, showed some pride. I didn't think we had any of that tonight."
(On Vanderbilt getting open looks because of their size)
"Some of it is. Then they screen. They run their stuff. It's the same guys getting screened, the same guys that are slow getting into their gaps, or out of their gaps. They didn't do one thing today that we didn't think they were going to do. It looked like we still had too many guys thinking offense, offense, offense. We keep talking about taking it to another level defensively, and we really went backwards with that today."
(On getting Vanderbilt center Damian Jones in foul trouble and how that affected the game)
"We were just awful today. I don't know what else to tell you. We didn't do anything that we wanted to do offensively. We didn't run anything in transition other than one or two sets maybe, and we have four or five things we can do. We just came down, did the same thing, never got the ball moving. The ball stuck too much. Guys would get the ball and dribble, dribble, dribble. You go back to the games when we are best, the ball is just popping. It's moving.
"I'm not surprised with Detrick (Mostella). I told coach today that it would surprise me that because he had a big game, like most young players even though he's played a little bit - Admiral (Schofield) went through it - thinking it was going to be easy every night and he doesn't stay locked in the way he needs to. We didn't deserve to win. That was the team that everyone expected us to be at the beginning of the year."
Tennessee guard Kevin Punter Jr.
(On shots not falling affecting his whole game)
"Yes, just a little bit. Sometimes you can get into a little bit of a funk defensively just because of the simple fact that you're not making the shots you usually make."
(On Vanderbilt not letting Tennessee back into the game)
"Once the season keeps going, teams are good enough, and they're not going to let you back into the game. You have to stay close with them the whole time and try to win it at the end."
(On playing No. 24 South Carolina on Saturday)
"We definitely have to bounce back. Those guys are tough. Those guys are hard-nosed. We have to be ready to come to play Saturday."
Tennessee guard Robert Hubbs III
(On Tennessee's shortcomings on Wednesday night)
"We played a lot of one-on-one ball. We were not executing on offense and we didn't have energy on defense."
(On Coach Barnes' halftime message)
"He told us to just come out and fight, we were already down so he just wanted us to fight."
(On Vanderbilt's offensive efficiency)
"They were picked second in our conference so we knew what they were capable of but we just didn't match their intensity tonight. We know that they are a tough team. We know that they are known for hitting three point shots. We just had to execute but we didn't do any of that. We left their shooters wide open and didn't get to them at all so they were just shooting threes. We just have to sit down and adjust and execute on offense because they really got after us. "
(On falling behind early)
"We came out here and we didn't play Tennessee basketball, we had no fight in us. It was everybody, including me. I took some questionable shots."
Vanderbilt head coach Kevin Stallings
(Opening statement)
"Second half, defensively, I didn't think we were nearly as good. But by that time, we kind of had the game under control. (Armani Moore) didn't really play like it, but it didn't seem like or sound like Moore was 100% for them. It sounded like he's been banged up. We caught them on a night where they didn't shoot it very well, which was fortunate for us. Just a different atmosphere with the weather and the crowd and that sort of thing. So there were probably some things that happened that were conducive for us to play well. But nevertheless, we feel good to come in here and win. It's always a hard place to play, and they've been playing very well, so we feel good to get out of here with a victory."
(On Vanderbilt making more 3-pointers than Tennessee)
"Well, that I think was just a function of them just not having a good shooting night on their part. For us, we made some in the first half and we made a lot of them because we've got a good threat inside with Damian (Jones). So, when we can throw him the ball, then they have to collapse on him, and it comes back out and we can make shots. Wade (Baldwin IV) gave us some really good penetration. I thought he was outstanding tonight. Matthew Fisher-Davis obviously came off the bench, as did Cam Justice in that first half, to really spark our three-point shooting. So, actually, a lot of it was off the bench. But anyway, you look down here and Luke (Kornet) gets 14 rebounds and blocks five shots. He's so important to what we do. Jeff Roberson with another double-double. So we've got some guys that are playing pretty well for us right now."
(On the difference for Vanderbilt during the last three games)
"I think just getting some guys healthy. Riley (LaChance) has been under the weather. He was outstanding on Saturday but he still looked under the weather tonight. Matt (Fisher-Davis) has been hurt. Matt's foot is starting to feel a little better and hopefully that will continue to be okay. I just think it's a matter of we've gotten healthy and had some time to practice and play together as a unit again and so we're getting a hold of it better."
(On Cam Justice making three 3-pointers in a row in the first half)
"I'm not surprised at all. Cam Justice is a bona fide, terrific shooter. He just hasn't had as much of a chance lately and hasn't shot as many lately, but that kid can really shoot the basketball."
(On if this win helps make up for Vanderbilt's home SEC loss against LSU)
"I don't know that anything that makes up for a loss at home, but if you lose at home, you better go win some on the road. So you have to go win some and we broke through here and won and now we've got to go to Lexington, so it doesn't get any easier. But we're sure grateful and happy to win."
(On what he told the team after their third straight SEC win)
"Just got to keep getting better. Going into last week, I said we have a chance to be better at the end of this week than we were at the end of January last year, because we won our first conference game a year ago and lost seven straight. So when we won two, we'd already won more than we won last January. But we just have to keep getting better as a team and trying to progress and stay healthy and get better at the things that we need to get better at. Right now, we've practiced well. You could kind of see this coming. We've been good in practice. I'm a firm believer that you play like you practice and we did tonight."
(On the team building a lead despite Damian Jones going out early with two fouls)
"That was real helpful for us. That usually doesn't happen, but it was very helpful for us. Damian is kind of snake-bit with the foul thing right now, so we've got to work to keep him out of foul trouble."
(On if the weather worked in Vanderbilt's favor)
"Well, certainly the crowd - it was almost ominous. It just didn't feel like the normal environment, and understandably so. The roads are horrible. It kind of had a funky feeling to it all the way around, but nevertheless, you have to play. You have to perform. They're not an easy team to play and they're not an easy team to beat, so we're happy to get in here and get a victory."
