By Wyatt Stroupe
The Tennessee Volunteers have been less than stellar to start the season.
Tennessee lost its two preseason exhibition games to Xavier and Duke before beating Wofford and adding another win tonight against Radford, 70-47.
Although the Vols are 2-0 in regular-season play, this Tennessee team has been inconsistent, raising concerns about competition down the road.
The Volunteers struggled in the first half against the Highlanders. Tennessee led by only a few possessions for much of the first half until it pulled away in the final four minutes with two field goals from guard Terrence Hill Jr. and a dunk from guard Jalen Haralson, putting the Vols up by seven.
While Tennessee played well defensively in the first half, holding Radford to 24 points, the Highlanders out-rebounded the Vols. Tennessee improved its defense in the second half, grabbing 26 rebounds, with 7 from forward DeWayne Brown II.
“We kind of shut their water off and they ran out of things they wanted to run,” said Jalen Haralson.
The Volunteers couldn’t make the most of their scoring opportunities in the first half, shooting less than 50 percent from the field and sinking only about one-third of their 3-point attempts.
These shooting issues would carry over to the second half for the Volunteers. Tennessee’s field goal percentage was roughly the same as in the first half, but its 3-point percentage plummeted to 12.5%. Juke Harris made the Volunteers’ only 3-pointer in the second half, but didn’t contribute much more, scoring only one field goal.
Starting Guard Tyler Lundblade also had a rough second half, going 0-for-4 from the field. Overall, the sixth-year transfer scored five points.
However, there are some bright spots. Guard Terrence Hill Jr. led the scoring in tonight’s matchup with 18 points. Hill leads the Vols in scoring this season, with 17 points in Tennessee’s matchup against Wofford. While the Vols offense has been lackluster, Hill is shaping up to be Tennessee’s biggest asset.
Even though the Volunteers didn’t play to their full potential, head coach Rick Barnes is optimistic Tennessee can improve offensively and turn things around.
“I think that people think the only way they can impact the game is by scoring,” said Barnes. “I think there’s a bunch of guys who have to rewire their DNA… I don’t think they understand what goes into winning, but they’re getting closer.”
UP NEXT: The Volunteers take on Tennessee State at home on Friday night.