'We're who they want': Tennessee has to come out fighting to end slump

A week ago, inside a sold-out Thompson-Boling Arena and in front of a checkerboard crowd, Tennessee was the hunter. The Vols were hosting Alabama, ranked No. 1 at the time, and eyeing their biggest win of the season.

But more often, the Vols have been on the other side.

Two wins over Tennessee might be the difference in Kentucky making the NCAA Tournament and being on the outside looking in on Selection Sunday. The Wildcats, as of last week, were a No. 11 seed according to ESPN’s Joe Lunardi, and the No. 44 overall seed in the 68-team field.

No. 25 Texas A&M (20-7, 12-2 SEC), up to a No. 8 seed in Lunardi’s current bracket projection, could bolster its own NCAA Tournament resume with a win over No. 11 Tennessee (20-7, 9-5) on Tuesday (7 p.m. Eastern Time, ESPN). 

Reed Arena in College Station will be blacked out as the Aggies look to win their 10th straight at home and keep climbing on the seed lines.

“We go into a lot of people’s gyms,” Tennessee assistant coach Rod Clark said before practice on Monday, “and we’re who they want. They circle the schedule. Like we’re going to play Texas A&M, they’re second in this league, but they’re on the bubble … they want us. We could help them get in the tournament. You know what I mean?”

The Vols of late are struggling to know what it means. 

After upsetting Alabama 68-59 in the most effort-filled, intense win to date, Tennessee came out flat at Rupp Arena. The Vols scored only 19 points in the first half. They trailed Kentucky by 20 at the break. They got no closer than eight points after finally finding life in the second half, losing 66-54.

“That’s been an adjustment for our guys,” Clark said. “I think it’s understanding that we can’t have lulls and not do what we do, especially early in games.” 

It’s either come out of the corner swinging or find yourself trying to get off the ropes.

“When we come into the game,” Clark said, “it’s not, ‘Ahh let’s see what punch Tennessee is going to throw.’ They’re throwing the first one if we don’t. So that’s the mentality that we have to have going in there in these games. We have to come out with our best shot and understand that they’re giving us theirs.”

Vols looking for answers after four losses over last six games

Rick Barnes puts it in his own terms: “We are the game.”

The response was there when Kentucky first took the game to Tennessee, beating the Vols 63-56 at Thompson-Boling Arena on January 14. It was a humbling, eye-opening loss after starting the season with 14 wins in 16 games.

Tennessee won the next four, going to Mississippi State and LSU and winning shorthanded, then returning home to throttle Georgia and beat Texas in the Big 12-SEC Challenge. 

Since then, though, responses have been fleeting. After the 67-54 loss at Florida, the Vols answered with a 46-43 home win over Auburn, only to lose the next two on buzzer-beaters at Vanderbilt and at home against Missouri.

The fine line Tennessee is trying to walk is not accepting losing, but also being able to move one from losses.

“I think it definitely is something that weighs on them a little bit,” Clark said of losing four of six games during the current three-week skid. “No different than any other guys at this point in the season. The thing with our guys is, it’s a blessing and a curse, they’re not the best losers. I’m an awful loser. I’ll be the first to admit that. 

“They’re not great losers,” he continued. “They don’t handle it always the best way. They’re really mad. They’re really frustrated when we lose because they know how hard we work.

“They know the time that they put in and as much of a family as we are, we all expect to win. That’s just what it is. When we don’t, it does wear on us.” 

Instead, all they can do is watch the film, talk everything through and try to figure out the answers for whoever is next on the schedule.

“And go out and play our butts off,” Clark said.

Senior forward Olivier Nkamhoua confirmed his coach’s diagnosis of this team. These Vols haven’t had the best response to losing because of how much they hate it.

“It’s always been true for as long as I’ve been here,” Nkamhoua said, “and every year we’ve gotten better it’s kind of come more prominent around the team. It’s just we have a lot of competitive individuals and we all are here to win and we want to win. Losing sucks.”

All Nkamhoua can do is personally do what the entire team is trying to do. Look at his problems from the last time out and try to fix them for the next time.

“I try to start looking at things that I could have done better, start looking at things that I should have done better,” he said. “Effort wise, shots that I could have taken better, passes I could have made better and defensively where I could have been more in tune with my team. Where I could have put in more effort where I was missing coverages.

“And then after that you start thinking about the next game and how you can get better and fix those things.”

Up Next: No. 11 Tennessee at No. 25 Texas A&M, Tuesday, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN

Tennessee needs a fix starting Tuesday night in College Station. The Vols are down to four games left on the regular-season schedule, returning home to host South Carolina on Saturday and Arkansas on Tuesday, before the finale at Auburn on March 4.

“Our goals and our mind are still in the same place,” Nkamhoua said, “and we just have to figure out how to get in rhythm. How to put all our pieces together because we’ve already show that we can compete with anybody in the country and we’ve already shown what we’re capable of. 

“The only thing we’re missing right now is that consistency on both ends of the floor. Every team goes through their tough stretches and we’re going through ours. I believe fully that we’re going to figure it out.”

The Vols are going to have to fight their way out of it. And they have to come out punching.

“I think just come out and worry about us,” Clark said. “Don’t let missed shots early in the game affect us on the other end of the floor and don’t let a couple breakdowns defensively affect us because you know, the reality is, we’re the No. 1 defense in the country, but we break down just as much as anybody else. We break down. It happens. 

“When it happens we have to handle it and come back the next possession and buckle down even more, and have our minds wrapped around getting even more stops.”