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I have to say today I was really impressed with how we played and some of the little things I saw. I saw a lot more ball screens today than I have in Barnes’ offense. Even though the three pointers weren’t falling early we didn’t go away from it. We pushed consistently and looked to score via pushing the pace. We didn’t push the pace so we can run more off ball screens for an extra five seconds. The guards were pushing to get in the opponent’s lane and create. And the biggest thing I saw was Barnes let Kennedy Chandler control the game. It reminded me a lot when DJ Augustin was at Texas. He let Chandler control the flow of the game, let him make a mistake or two and gave him the opportunity to dominate. And I thought Tennessee had great balance using Fulkerson in the post to start the second half when Colorado tried to extend the defense.
Now, as a caveat…we’ve seen Barnes let teams push the pace before and slow up by conference play. So, I still am hesitant that this will continue (and usually conference ball is played a little slower anyways, especially with the coaches in the SEC currently). But I loved that we still took 24 three pointers. I love that when Colorado got it within 5-6, Barnes let his team continue to push the pace. Those two things are changes from in the past where Barnes would have demanded post ups or drain the clock to find a mid-range shot.
While I don’t have the numbers in front of me, I would not be surprised if this was the most three pointers Tennessee has attempted as a team in any eight game stretch (maybe the first season). And we are top 100 in adjusted tempo according to kenpom as of today. That's a good number and much higher than we have been the last few years. I’m liking the philosophical changes. And having two point guards in Ziegler and Chandler play like this for 40 minutes really, really helps. If Tennessee continues to play this type of basketball, they’ll have a real chance in March to advance. Great work by Barnes and the team today.
Now, as a caveat…we’ve seen Barnes let teams push the pace before and slow up by conference play. So, I still am hesitant that this will continue (and usually conference ball is played a little slower anyways, especially with the coaches in the SEC currently). But I loved that we still took 24 three pointers. I love that when Colorado got it within 5-6, Barnes let his team continue to push the pace. Those two things are changes from in the past where Barnes would have demanded post ups or drain the clock to find a mid-range shot.
While I don’t have the numbers in front of me, I would not be surprised if this was the most three pointers Tennessee has attempted as a team in any eight game stretch (maybe the first season). And we are top 100 in adjusted tempo according to kenpom as of today. That's a good number and much higher than we have been the last few years. I’m liking the philosophical changes. And having two point guards in Ziegler and Chandler play like this for 40 minutes really, really helps. If Tennessee continues to play this type of basketball, they’ll have a real chance in March to advance. Great work by Barnes and the team today.