Tennessee basketball ready for SEC play after strong nonconference run

It started with a charity exhibition on Nov. 5 at Clemson. Then it wound through a third-place win in the Battle 4 Atlantis against N.C. State, a road win at Georgia Tech and a hotly contested loss against North Carolina.

Last Saturday, it capped with a resounding win at Wake Forest, as Tennessee wrapped up a highly successful stretch against ACC teams in an overall solid nonconference showing.

“Kind of upset we dropped the one,” Williams said. “We’re confident in each other, confident in how hard we work. We were just trying to show it on the floor. We did our job.”

The No. 19 Vols stand at 9-2 after 11 nonconference games, buoyed by a 3-1 mark against the ACC in the regular season as they turn their sights on SEC opponents.

Tennessee opens conference play at Arkansas at 1 p.m. ET Saturday (SEC Network) after a week off following its win at Wake Forest on Dec. 23.

“We have to be prepared for them,” Williams said after the Vols beat the Demon Deacons. “I think they beat us the past five times. They’re always being aggressive. They have new guys with (Jaylen) Barford and they added (Daniel) Gafford, the 7-footer. Being prepared to play them at their place is huge to open SEC play.”

Williams said the Vols still have “a ways to go” as they get ready for the Razorbacks. Williams cited a need for a returned aggressiveness defensively that was present early in the season, but he says has lacked in recent weeks.

He also wants to see UT develop more offensive consistency.

“When we were running and picking up full court, we’re a hard team to stop,” Williams said.

Barnes also desires greater consistency, but praised the way numerous players have stepped up to help the Vols win games. He wants Tennessee to clean up turnovers he categorized as “really ridiculous,” rattling off four from UT’s loss to North Carolina and three from its loss to Villanova – the only two games the Vols have lost.

“What our goal has been from the time we’ve gotten here is to truly believe that every time we go on the floor that we have a chance to win,” Barnes said. “(Previously), we’ve had to be almost perfect. We had a chance to win the Carolina game and we weren’t anywhere near perfect. Same with the Villanova game, we weren’t anywhere near perfect.

“That’s where we’ve improved, but now we have to want to get better.”

Tennessee, which still has a nonconference game remaining at Iowa State in late January, hosts Auburn and former UT coach Bruce Pearl on Jan. 2. Then Kentucky comes to Knoxville on Jan. 6 before the Vols head to Vanderbilt on Jan. 9.

“We’ve got to improve,” Barnes said. “I don’t think there’s any coach today – after you play your non-league – that wants to think we’re as good as we can be. We know we’ve got to get better and I think our guys realize it.”