Rick Barnes' biggest concern about Tennessee basketball's loss at Florida

Rick Barnes’ first comment to the Tennessee basketball team on Tuesday was positive.

The coach told his players that the 30-point loss at Florida would ultimately be good for the No. 1 Vols.

“Now we’re going to learn what we need to do to get better,” Barnes said.

Barnes had a number of lessons to learn after Tennessee (14-1, 1-1 SEC) suffered its first 73-43 loss to No. 8 Florida (14-1, 1-1) in Gainesville this season , Florida. He expressed concerns about the team’s attitude, questionable shot selection, poor transition defense and more about the worst offensive performance in his 10 years with the Vols.

For Barnes, however, there was a big difference in the game.

“We need to play better from our front,” Barnes said. “I thought they came out on top, which I thought made the difference in the game.”

Tennessee was outscored by Florida’s interior players

Barnes and the Vols were aware of Florida’s strong perimeter scorers coming into Tuesday’s game. He was more worried about the Gators’ front line and his fears were justified.

“We knew they were physical,” Barnes said. “We think these guys really understand their role and what they need to do to not just get those (guards) open.”

Florida’s bigs put on a clinic against Tennessee.

Rueben Chinyelu, who stands 6-foot-9, grabbed 15 rebounds, more than 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 score double-digit rebounds against UT in nearly two seasons.

The Gators outscored Tennessee 55-38, a game after the Vols dominated Arkansas with rebounding so thorough that Razorbacks coach John Calipari called it mishandling. Florida had 19 offensive rebounds and 19 second-chance points.

Igor Milicic Jr., who had 18 rebounds against Arkansas, had seven. It was his lowest total since he had five in 16 minutes against Western Carolina on Dec. 17.

Barnes said the Gators “imposed their will” against Tennessee and rebounded in the matchup.

“When you get beat that badly on the board, it’s hard to win,” Barnes said.

Felix Okpara had one of his best games in Tennessee

Despite the struggles, Felix Okpara was the bright spot for Tennessee. He had eight points and seven rebounds, building on his 10-point, four-rebound game against Arkansas. He also blocked three shots against Florida, matching his season high of 29 minutes.

The 6-11 Okpara has struggled at times this season, but his start in SEC play has been in line with the Vols’ expectations for the Ohio State transfer. Okpara’s consistency is crucial for the Vols, who lost JP Estrella for the season after foot surgery in November.

Cade Phillips played a season-low three minutes

Cade Phillips was questionable on Monday night’s injury report but was available against Florida despite a left shoulder injury.

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The second-year forward played a season-low three minutes. He had a rebound. Phillips is UT’s best forward off the bench because the frontcourt is thin. 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 [email protected] and follow him on X @By Mike Wilson or Bluesky @bymikewilson.bsky.social. If you like Mike’s reporting, Consider a digital subscription This gives you access to everything.

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