Tennessee Comeback Over No. 1 Zags Led By Admiral

Let’s flashback to just a few weeks ago, when I was jumping on the Gonzaga bandwagon after the Zags’ thrilling win over No. 1 Duke and making a case for Mark Few to be considered one of the best coaches in college basketball.

Well, the No. 1 Zags disappointed me in Sunday’s 76-73 setback to Tennessee, to say the least. Not so much losing to Tennesee, which came into the contest ranked No. 7 nationally and is definitely a team with Final Four potential. It was mainly the ways which Gonzaga mentally fell apart down the stretch that left me dumbfounded.   

Two mistakes, Dumb and Dumber, cost the Zags in the final minutes. And no, I seriously doubt it had anything to do with the coaching of Few, whom I still consider to be one of the best in college basketball.

Mistake No. 1 took place when the Zags went up 66-60 on a Rui Hachimura lay-up with just under five minutes remaining. What happened in the ensuing seconds was something you would never expect from a No. 1 ranked team in crunch time. The Zags, converting back to their 2-3 zone which they had been playing virtually the entire second half, somehow had their wings, Hachimura and Corey Kispert, running to the same side of the floor.  Remember, this was on a made basket when finding the right spots on the other end is Basketball For Dummies simple, especially when playing zone! Tennessee efficiently pushed the ball up the floor and found Jordan Bowden on the left wing for a wide open 3, with Kispert scrambling over way too late to contest the shot. If the Zags set up the right way and get a stop on this possession, the game is close to being over.

Mistake No. 2 was even more mind-boggling. With the game tied at 73 and 27 seconds remaining, Tennessee Coach Rick Barnes took a timeout to draw up a play. Everybody knew the Vols were going to look to free Admiral Schofield for an open jump shot. In the previous few minutes, Schofield had made two 3’s, including a banker up top with 1:12 left to put Tennessee ahead, 73-71. During the Tennessee timeout, Few was surely telling his team to stay attached to Schofield under any circumstance. 

Tennessee ran a high ball pick for Jordan Bone, with Schofield setting the screen. Bone dribbled toward Schofield’s screen up top, then went the other way, refusing to use the ball pick. It looked like the Zags’ Josh Perkins had Bone under control, but inexplicably Hachimura, who was guarding Schofield, dropped a few steps below the free throw line to help his teammate. Making a quick jump stop, Bone snapped a pass back up top to Schofield, who swished this shockingly wide open 3. No need for Schofield to call glass on his sixth 3-pointer of the game.

During the timeout, Few had probably signaled for all ball screens to be switched, the best way to keep Schofield from getting a clean look. With Schofield setting the ball screen, Hachimura would have switched onto the dribbler Bone, and Perkins would have been right there to pick up Schofield. But Bone didn’t use the ball pick, which confused Hachimura on the coverage. Give Tennessee coach Rick Barnes credit for this little wrinkle to cause confusion. Still, this was a boneheaded mistake (no pun intended) for a player with Hachimura’s talent and experience. With the ball screen not being used, Hachimura (who scored a team-high 21 points along with Brandon Clark) should have been guarding Schofield closely on the catch.

Okay, despite proving the Zags did their part to help give this one away, let’s give Tennessee some well-deserved love. Aside from the pivotal Gonzaga mistakes, this was a game played at a Final Four level. Certainly, a gritty Tennessee comeback that will be remembered in Knoxville for years to come.

Tennessee had fallen behind 64-55 with just under six minutes remaining when the Vols turned to their Rear Admiral to march from behind. Without question, Tennessee has one of the best frontlines in the country, with Schofield and junior power forward Grant Williams. When Williams, who finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds, fouled out with 2:30 remaining, it looked like the Vols were in trouble. But Schofield, who finished with a career-high 30 points at the most opportune time, wasn’t going to let this one get away.

Now let’s ponder just how close Tennessee was to gaining only its second No. 1 ranking in school history. Just a few weeks before, the Vols had lost an 87-81 overtime thriller to No. 2 Kansas in Brooklyn after leading most of the second half. Tennessee is a fun team to watch for obvious reasons. First off, there are no Top 100 recruits and sure-fire NBA prospects on this egoless team. The Vols play with high energy, and it’s a big bonus that their two best players, Williams and Schofield, play as hard as anybody else on the team. And Tennessee is an unselfish team that moves the ball exceptionally well. The Vols are averaging more than 21 assists, third in the country, while committing just 12 turnovers. It’s a big bonus for Tennessee that Williams is maybe the best passer on the team from a frontline position. It’s hard to imagine there being a better passing big man in the country. In fact, there aren’t many players better than Williams, period. Williams’ averages of 20 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 assists are numbers that should have him competing for national player of the year honors.

Finally, it’s time to give Barnes the credit he deserves. Entering his fourth season at Tennessee, he has built an experienced team that has a chance to make a deep run in March. If Few makes our list among the best coaches in college basketball, Barnes is not far behind and might just be the most underrated. With 668 careers wins, he is one of just nine active Division I coaches with more than 600 victories. During his 32 years as a college coach, Barnes has taken his teams to the NCAA’s 22 times. Barnes’ last three jobs have been at schools better known for football — Clemson, Texas and Tennessee — and he has been successful at all three places, an almost impossible task. All three of those schools have won national championships in football but never in basketball. When Barnes made his only Final Four appearance with Texas in 2003, he had star point guard TJ Ford with the ball in his hands most of the time. Now, with a team that has five players touching the ball on many possessions, Barnes is hoping to match something that wasn’t done at Texas — raise a national championship banner at Tennessee as the football program did years ago.