By all metrics, the Tennessee Volunteers are one of the best teams in the country. Kenpom, the AP Poll, and the NET Rankings all love the Vols. While Rick Barnes has churned out elite defenses like butter at Tennessee, he’s only ranked twice in the top 35 in offensive efficiency. This is one of those years, where the Vols sit at 21st. However, boasting several performances shooting under 40 percent from the floor, while also shooting above fifty percent on several occasions really with no correlation. With SEC opponents Alabama and Kentucky looking elite offensively, it’s time to look at what keeps Tennessee from joining them in the top ten offense club.
Tennessee Volunteers Offensive Woes
Tennessee’s offense has had several elite showings this year. Scoring 92 in North Carolina’s house, which I touched on here, and 90 against Ole Miss tops the list. However, you also find the 36 percent shooting night against Tarleton State and the 16 turnovers against a Mississippi State team that isn’t known for forcing turnovers.
Tennessee ranks 152nd in the country in effective field goal percentage, slightly above average. The worst games of the season for Tennessee’s offense were shooting under 35 percent against Tarleton State at home, against Purdue on a neutral floor, and against Kansas on a neutral floor, as well as having 16 turnovers at Mississippi State. With a wide variety of venues and levels of competition, it seems to come down to more than just the offense stalls against great opponents.
Tennessee’s biggest problem is its lack of identity. On offense, Tennessee is the 27th in free throw percentage, yet just 19.6 percent of points come from the line. That is 150th in the country. On top of that, their opponents foul on just 24.3 percent of possessions. That comes in at 167th in the country. Despite being a great free-throw shooting team, Tennessee just does not put pressure on the rim, which means they aren’t getting to the line.
A team that is not putting pressure on the rim should be either shooting or making a lot of threes. Tennessee does neither. They are 172nd in the country in percentage of shots that are threes while being 100th in three-point percentage. Tennessee is also 281st in percent of points coming from twos. Tennessee is going into every game not knowing the style they want to play.
Fixing the Vols Offense
Compare this to 2019, Tennessee was third in offensive efficiency, by far Barnes’s highest at Tennessee and his highest overall since 2008. In this season Tennessee was 29th in percent of points from two-point range. They had an identity, they were going to play inside the perimeter and do it efficiently. Tennessee does not have that this year and as a result, they’re struggling. It’s far from panic time, 21st in offensive efficiency is good, and the defense can bail them out when they’re struggling. North Carolina is eighth in defensive efficiency. That’s the highest the Vols faced all year and they hung 92. Tennessee’s offense can be lethal, they just have to find what they do best and make it their identity.
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