Rick Barnes happier with Tennessee’s defense over offense in Alabama win

It was a solid performance both offensively and defensively for Tennessee basketball in a 91-71 victory against Alabama on Saturday. Vols coach Rick Barnes, however, was most proud to see their effort on defense.

Tennessee held the Crimson Tide to just 4-of-21 (19%) and forced 22 turnovers off of 15 steals in the win. It was particularly impressive because Alabama entered as one of the best offensive teams in the country, averaging 90.2 points per game.

So even on a day where Tennessee put up the second-most points it has all season, Barnes had to give the nod to the defense postgame.

“Defense, because, you truly, today, we played against one of obviously the best offensive teams in the country and Nate (Oats) does a great job,” the coach said. “He puts these guys in position. The schemes are great. They spread (you out). They’re really a difficult team to guard from the time they get their hands on the ball.”

Tennessee jumped out to an early lead and never trailed in Saturday’s win against Alabama. The Vols already held a double-digit advantage at halftime as the Crimson Tide trailed 50-37. They continued to pour it on in the second and led by as many as 24 points on their way to victory.

Dalton Knecht poured scored 25 points in the win as Tennessee shot 32-of-66 (48.5%). It marked the fourth straight 25-point game from the senior guard. Jonas Aidoo also had a big day to finish with 19 points and four blocks.

The Vols also did a good job sharing the ball to finish with 21 assists compared to only seven turnovers. Barnes made sure to shout out the offense as well, but it was the defense that really stood out in his estimation.

Obviously on the offensive (end), being happy with the fact that we shared the ball well,” he said. “I think we had 21 assists on 32 baskets. But defensively, a lot of guys, I’m proud of all those guys defensively. But they can score so many different ways with different people and it takes a team effort. Jonas (Aidoo) certainly had some terrific plays in there today, Jahmai (Mashack). And again, they’re really, really difficult to guard. But I’m just proud of the effort the guys put into it, both mentally and physically.”

With the win against Alabama, Tennessee has now won 10 of its past 11 contests and is off to a 4-1 start in SEC play. The Vols will hope to keep their hot streak alive on both ends when they next face Vanderbilt at 6 p.m. ET next Saturday.