Rick Barnes shares what Tennessee missed most from Zakai Zeigler

Tennessee got its first taste of a full game without Zakai Zeigler on Saturday. A road trip to Neville Arena against the Auburn Tigers is not exactly the easiest task, even with Zeigler in the lineup. Head coach Rick Barnes and his team found out quickly things are going to be tough moving forward by dropping a close one.

Offensively, Tennessee was limited, with Santiago Vescovi being the main source. Even so, Barnes believes Vescovi was put in uncomfortable positions at times when dribbling the ball. Zeigler played such a huge part for the Vols as a ball handler, leaving a major void in the flow.

“We were concerned (Vescovi) might get in a situation where he overdribbled a little bit,” Barnes said. “Some of it was because we weren’t executing the way we were needing to all the time on offense. I thought he played as hard as he could possibly play.”

Vescovi played all but one minute on Saturday afternoon and was Tennessee’s leading scorer. He finished with 21 points, five rebounds, and four assists. Even if Zeigler was in the lineup, you would expect Vescovi to play well, being one of the Vols’ top players this season.

Unfortunately, there will be no off nights for Vescovi moving forward. If Tennessee is going to make a deep run in the postseason, he will have to continue to provide. But for now, it’s still a learning curve for everyone in Knoxville.

Rick Barnes not impressed with second half defense

When the first-half buzzer sounded, Tennessee sported a four-point lead, only allowing 30 points. The second half did not go as well, with Auburn dropping 49 points. Barnes was critical of how his team played defensively in the final 20 minutes, saying it was the difference.

“We just had way, way, way too many defensive breakdowns in areas that we haven’t in a long time,” Barnes said. “I thought coming out of halftime, our defense wasn’t very good at all.”

Defense has been the key for Tennessee this season, being one of the best in the country. However, a letdown was the determinant on Saturday.

Tennessee is now off to the NCAA Tournament, squandering an opportunity to get a double-bye in Nashville. They will get the winner of Wednesday’s Ole Miss–South Carolina game. While they will be an absolute lock to make the big dance, Barnes will have some work to do.