Tennessee Falls to Arkansas in Poor Offensive Performance Further Hindered By Foul Trouble

Tennessee's SEC winning streak is snapped on Saturday afternoon

FAYETTEVILLE, AK.– The No. 16 Tennessee Vols fell to the No. 23 Arkansas Razorbacks 58-48 on the road Saturday afternoon.

Tennessee's worst offensive performance of the season and controversial foul (notably charge) calls led to the Razorbacks snapping the Vols' eight-game conference winning streak.

Notable Vols who found themselves in foul trouble with several minutes remaining in the second half were Tennessee's backcourt stars Kennedy Chandler, Santiago Vescovi and Josiah-Jordan James.

"It changes a lot," James said of the offensive strategy since charges were called left and right. "There was a good bit of charge calls that I guess you could say were questionable, but you have to be able to adjust. And today we weren't able to. We couldn't shoot the ball from inside or beyond the arc, but calling the game like that today was especially tough in this environment."

The number of calls on Tennessee's backcourt led the Vols to spiral out of rhythm offensively in the second half. The Vols struggled on offense in the first half, too, but foul trouble thwarted Tennessee's hope of turning their day around.

The Razorbacks weren't lighting the goal on fire, either, but the Razorbacks ultimately made enough plays Tennessee couldn't. The Vols shot 4-24 from three on Saturday with an abysmal 10% deep shooting percentage in the second half.

The Hogs shot 10 percent better than Tennessee in the second half, albeit still a mere 37 percent, which allowed Eric Musselman's squad to achieve yet another impressive win.

Below are three storylines from a setback performance on the road for the Vols:

Foul Calls Hinder Offensive Potential, Affects Mental Game

In addition to Tennessee yet again showing they can go completely cold on offense at any given moment, especially on the road, the amount of foul calls on Tennessee is the story of Bud Walton's loss.

The Vols didn't do anything on offense to do themselves any favors but received so many bullets at the worst times possible.

UT's offensive success as of late has been because of the success of the guards, and in the blink of an eye, Kennedy Chandler, Josiah-Jordan James and Santiago Vescovi all had four fouls.

"Today was really tough," James said when asked about finding a groove in foul trouble. "I think it was the first time of the year we had so many people in foul trouble. We had to implement a defense we never have before, and I do think we adapted well defensively. But it was definitely tough on offense to find a groove when the guys who were on the floor are on the bench the most of the time. And, you second guess yourself constantly when it comes to attacking the rim and being aggressive on offense."

Tennessee's slower start combined with having to second guess everything they did offensively in the second half is detrimental when attempting to come back on the road. The Vols hung tight with Arkansas until an 11-1 Razorback run began with eight minutes remaining in the game.

The Vols have had cold offensive performances other times, especially against Texas, Texas Tech. No matter the number of fouls called, the Vols did not hit enough open looks. And it shows no matter the recent stretch they've had, Tennessee has work to do with shooting consistency.

"There were seven straight possessions where we couldn't have gotten a better look at the basketball, but we couldn't get it to go down," Barnes said.

"We just didn't shoot the ball well today," James said. "We're not going to hang our head. We got the looks we needed, and we've been playing well, but we just didn't shoot well today. It's good we got the looks, but we have to hit those. Not much else to say."

The poor offense and amount of foul calls combined for one of the worst outing the Vols have had all season. Tennessee was far from sharp Saturday, but the calls defeated a struggling Vols team that is now third in the SEC with a 19-7 record. 

"It changed the entire game for us," Barnes said about the calls. 

Vol Veterans Josiah-Jordan James and Santiago Vescovi Cannot Pick Up the Slack

James was one of the Vols who struggled mightily on the road, shooting 4-13 from the field and 0-6 from three.

"I wasn't myself to start the game, and wasn't for the entire 40 minutes," James said.

James got a few open looks that he alluded to two quotes above, but the junior couldn't make anything happen. It didn't help that Josiah was among the trio of Vols in deep foul trouble.

Fellow junior Santiago Vescovi also struggled against the Razorbacks, shooting a poor 2-13 and 1-9 from three. There have been games this season where Vescovi or James have been off, but against Arkansas, neither showed a hint of explosiveness.

But it wasn't a lack of effort from Tennessee. The Vols grabbed 14 offensive boards but only mustered 12 second-chance points. The execution just wasn't there for the orange and white in Fayetteville like it has been, especially from James and Vescovi.

Lack of Ball Movement

Elite ball movement has been a significant reason the Vols have been able to turn the corner offensively after the Kentucky loss in January.

Vescovi, Zeigler, Chandler and many other Vols have excelled in being able to find the open man recently, but UT posted only five assists against the Hogs.

"I didn't like the way we got the game started, too much over dribbling and guys going away from what we talked about in the scouting report," Barnes said.

Barnes also discussed how the team was too 'east and west' and not enough 'north and south' in their ball movement, which contributed to the lack of flow the Vols experienced.

What's to Come

The Vols have another road battle coming up against Mizzou on Tuesday, February 22, at 7 p.m. ET. Tennessee will look to return to the win column after dropping to third in the SEC after the loss, as Kentucky took care of business against Alabama in Lexington on Saturday.Photo Credit: Tennessee Athletics