Rick Barnes credits team for defensive efforts this season

Tennessee‘s elite defense has willed the Volunteers to an impressive 9-1 start to the season. They keep teams off the scoreboard, and is a major reason head coach Rick Barnes sees his team ranked No. 6 in the latest AP Top 25 poll.

“I do think our guys play hard. I think they know they have to. I think they understand that we’ve talked about it a lot, what we want to do,” Barnes said Thursday. “The identity, being a defensive team. Hopefully we can get our offense going the way we’re capable of doing it. But we’ve got a group of guys that have bought into each other and trying to be the best defensive team, best rebounding team we can be.

“If you do that, we truly believe it gives us a chance to be in most games, win most games. There are nights where you run up against people that you can guard, but they still make some shots. Arizona is certainly capable of doing that.”

As a group, the Vols rank third in the SEC in rebounding efforts. They’ve grabbed 268 collective rebounds (26.8 per game), while also ranking third in steals with 112 on the season (11.2 per game). The most eye-popping stat – Tennessee has forced 141 turnovers this year, good for tops in the conference.

That defensive prowess has been on full display all season long. They’ve held their last five opponents to 53 points and under, including wins against ranked Maryland and Kansas squads. Tennessee has only given up more than 60 points twice, and they’ve gone 1-1 in those games.

The Vols will look to add to their eight-game win streak this Saturday in a top-10 matchup on the road at No. 9 Arizona. Tip is scheduled for 10:30 p.m. ET live on ESPN2.