'That was the main thing lacking': Add energy to list of No. 10 Tennessee's inconsistencies

A week ago, while No. 10 Tennessee was coming back from down 17 points with 17 minutes left against Missouri, the energy was at an all-time high.

“That’s what brought us back into that game,” sophomore point guard Zakai Zeigler said on Wednesday. “… We played like it was the national championship game. So we need to bring that every single night.”

The Vols brought it Wednesday at Thompson-Boling Arena, taking down No. 1 Alabama in front of a capacity crowd in Knoxville while college basketball’s best defense put together its best defensive effort of the season.

“We spoke about it,” Zeigler said, “and knew that no matter what we had to get back to being the hardest playing team in the country. Whether that was on offense or defense we knew we had to get back to that.”

The hardest playing team in the country never showed up at Rupp Arena Saturday afternoon. Or if it did, it was too late.

Tennessee managed just 19 points in the first half against rival Kentucky and found itself down 20 at the break. The Vols showed life in the second half, but never got closer than eight points in the 66-54 loss.

Add energy to the list of inconsistencies plaguing this team in losses this season. Sophomore wing Jahmai Mashack said it was missing in the first half in Lexington.

Jahmai Mashack: ‘I think (energy) was the main thing lacking’

“There are a lot of great defensive teams in college basketball, including us,” he said, “but what separates us from other great defensive teams is our energy playing defense. Energy while playing defense is going to unlock everything else. Rebounding, offense, transition, post-ups, layups, free throws. 

“When you have energy … I think that was the main thing lacking. I think it was very visible in the second half that we brought that energy out there.”

Mashack was Tennessee’s most consistent performer, scoring a career-high 16 points. He scored seven of the Vols’ 19 points in the first half, then scored nine more in the second half. Senior guard Santiago Vescovi scored all of his team-high 17 points in the second half, after going scoreless on 0-for-3 shooting in the first half. 

If Rick Barnes knew the answer to solve the inconsistencies, he said Saturday night, he would fix them.

“It goes back — I don’t understand it, to be quite honest with you — as much time we spend with our guys talking about doing your job,” Barnes said, “playing your role night in and night out. Not letting emotion get the best of us at times.” 

There was too much emotion after halftime, as Tennessee was trying to dig out of the 20-point hole.

“When you’re coming back,” Barnes said, “emotion starts to kick in. You still have to make smart plays … they gave us chances, they did. They opened the door for us.”

Zeigler had 15 points and eight assists in the win over Alabama. He had eight points, three assists and three turnovers at Kentucky, battling foul trouble all afternoon. He picked up his third and fourth fouls 14 seconds apart with 15 minutes left in the second half. 

“It goes back to consistency, knowing what we’re going to get night in and night out,” Barnes said. “Certainly Zakai didn’t have a terrific game and he means a lot to our team, everyone knows that. His fouls hurt us.”

So did shot selection, Barnes said. Tennessee went 7-for-27 in the first half while Kentucky used runs of 12-2 and 8-0 to build its lead.  

“Not everyone is locked in the way we need to be,” Barnes said. 

Up Next: No. 10 Tennessee at Texas A&M, Tuesday, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN

Tennessee has four games left in the regular season — at Texas A&M on Tuesday, home against South Carolina and Arkansas and then at Auburn — before the attention turns to March. 

The Vols are running out of time to get locked in — consistently.

“We have a good basketball team and we’re going to,” Barnes said. “I’ve seen a lot of teams up-and-down with it. As long as we’ll get consistent with our effort. You saw defensively what we did. We’ve done it pretty much all year. 

“Everyone knows we do that, but in the first half (at Kentucky) we didn’t. We allowed them to get out there and we fought back quick, but we shouldn’t have spotted them 20 points like we did.”