Rick Barnes tries to explain Tennessee's struggle at the free-throw line

It wasn’t just that shots weren’t falling in the first half for No. 10 Tennessee Saturday afternoon at Rupp Arena. The Vols warmed up with a quick start to the second half, cutting what was a 20-point halftime deficit down to eight, only to see free throws become the issue down the stretch.

Tennessee went to the free-throw line six times in the second half. Not a single one was made. The Vols finished 4-for-14 for the game, missing the front end of four one-and-one situations at the line and missing their final eight attempts in total.

Rick Barnes didn’t have an explanation for the misses after Tennessee’s 66-54 loss. He looked behind the Tennessee bench trying to find a fix during the game, though.

“You know, it’s funny, during the game I turned around and saw Kyle Macy, said, ‘you want to go shoot these?’” Barnes said afterward. “He made a bunch of them.”

Macy in four seasons at Kentucky from 1976-80 shot 89.0 percent at the free-throw line, making 331 of 372 attempts. Right now, the Vols can only dream of those kind of numbers.

Vols shot season-worst 27.6 percent at free-throw line in loss at Kentucky

Tennessee (20-7, 9-5 SEC) connected on just 27.6 percent of its attempts on Saturday, the lowest of the season by 21.4 percentage points. The 6-for-12 performance against Austin Peay on December 21 was the previous worst. 

The Vols have now shot under 60 percent at the foul line in five times this season. They’ve shot 70.0 percent or worse 13 times in 27 games. 

“Free-throw shooting,” Barnes said, “can be a lot like putting in golf. You’ve gotta have your routine and you have to go up there confident that if you put your stroke on it’s going to go in. I think that’s the key to it.”

If free throws are like golf, Tennessee has the yips. The Vols are now 192nd nationally in free-throw percentage, shooting 71.5 percent for the season. They’re 157th in free-throw point distribution, with the foul line accounting for just 18.7 percent of their total points. 

Santiago Vescovi missed free throws in the closing seconds of both buzzer-beating losses to Vanderbilt and Missouri, leaving the door open for both teams to stun Tennessee at the horn in back-to-back losses.

Tennessee missed eight free throws in the 86-85 loss to Missouri. There were just three free throws shot in the 66-65 loss at Vanderbilt, with the one miss setting up the fatal blow on the other end. 

Zakai Zeigler was 2-for-3 at the line Saturday, with his lone miss coming on the front end of a one-and-one. Jahmai Mashack scored a career-high 16 points, but left four more at the line, going 1-for-5. Uros Plavsic was 0-for-3, Tobe Awaka was 0-for-1 and Tyreke Key was 1-for-2.

“Guys can get it in their head,” Barnes said, “and it can be torturous for them mentally. It goes back to mental toughness, knowing that all you can do is rely on your practice habits. Trust your routine and truly believe it that you’re going to make the majority of it.”

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

Mashack agreed with his head coach. It takes focus and toughness to make free throws, and the Vols didn’t have enough of either at Kentucky. 

“It is adrenaline,” he said. “A lot of it is adrenaline.” 

Too much adrenaline, really. The intensity that Tennessee plays with on both ends of the floor has to take a backseat at the foul line. 

“When you are going down and you are playing tough defense,” Mashack said, “trying to rebound to rebound and run, getting bumped and trying to go through screens and you are playing hard, then you get to the free-throw line, that is when you have to let everything go. 

“That is still something I am getting into and I think a lot of my teammates. We play so hard on both ends that when we get to that free-throw line, I think the main thing is just relaxing.”