Rick Barnes‘ first remark to the Tennessee basketball team was positive Tuesday.
The coach told his players that its 30-point loss at Florida would ultimately be good for the No. 1 Vols.
“Now, we are going to learn what we’ve got to do to get better,” Barnes said.
Barnes had a litany of lessons to pick after Tennessee (14-1, 1-1 SEC) lost for the first time this season in a 73-43 battering defeat against No. 8 Florida (14-1, 1-1) in Gainesville, Florida. He cited concerns wth the team’s poise, questionable shot selection, bad transition defense, and more in the worst offensive performance in his 10 years with the Vols.
There was one major difference in the game, however, to Barnes.
“We have to get better play out of our frontline,” Barnes said. “I thought they had their way in there on the frontline, which I really thought was the difference in the game.”
Tennessee was outdone by Florida’s interior players
Barnes and the Vols were aware of Florida’s high-powered perimeter scorers entering Tuesday. He was more concerned about the Gators‘ frontline and his fears were warranted.
“We knew they’re physical,” Barnes said. “We think those guys really understand their roles, what they have to do to not only get those (guards) open.”
Florida’s bigs put on a clinic against Tennessee.
Rueben Chinyelu, who is 6-foot-10, grabbed 15 rebounds, the most the Vols have allowed to an opponent this season. Alex Condon, who is 6-11, had 12 as the duo became the first pair to have double-digit rebounds in almost two seasons against UT.
The Gators had 40 points in the paint to Tennessee’s 14. They outrebounded Tennessee 55-38 a game after the Vols dominated Arkansas so thoroughly on the glass that Razorbacks coach John Calipari labeled it a manhandling. Florida had 19 offensive rebounds and 19 second-chance points.
Igor Milicic Jr., who logged 18 rebounds against Arkansas, had seven. It was his fewest since he had five in 16 minutes against Western Carolina on Dec. 17.
Barnes said the Gators “had their way” against Tennessee rebounding in the drubbing.
“You get beat that badly on the boards, it’s tough to win,” Barnes said.
Felix Okpara had one of his best games at Tennessee
Felix Okpara was the bright spot for Tennessee despite the woes. He had eight points and seven rebounds, building on his 10-point, four-rebound outing against Arkansas. He also blocked three shots against Florida and matched his season-high 29 minutes.
The 6-11 Okpara has struggled, at times, this season but his start to SEC play has been what the Vols expected from the Ohio State transfer. Okpara’s consistency is key for the Vols, who lost J.P. Estrella for the season after he had foot surgery in November.
Cade Phillips played a season-low three minutes
Cade Phillips was questionable on the injury report Monday night, but was available against Florida despite a left shoulder injury.
The sophomore forward played a season-low three minutes after battling first-half foul trouble. He had one rebound. Phillips is UT’s top forward off the bench as it has a thin frontcourt. He averaged 6.5 points and 4.4 rebounds in 17.1 minutes per game entering Tuesday.
Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.com and follow him on X @ByMikeWilson or Bluesky @bymikewilson.bsky.social. If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it.
