Rising to the level of its elite competition, dropping down to the level of its less-talented foes, Tennessee has been through its fair share of ups and downs this season.
The highs have been divine. Saturday's upset victory over defending national champion Connecticut served as quite possibly the highest point Tennessee has seen since its 2010 trip to the Elite Eight.
The lows, though, have been a constant source of frustration. Wednesday's ugly overtime loss at Georgia simply shouldn't have happened for a team that's taken down ranked teams such as Florida and Connecticut and hung around with other squads like Duke and Memphis.
Finding the necessary consistency could lead to a postseason trip to the NIT.
"I think our defense gives us a chance to play with anybody," guard Skylar McBee said. "You play a lot of guys, especially in this league, that are really talented offensively. I think if we can neutralize them like we're doing, we're going to have a chance to win a lot of games. As long as we keep it (to a) low score, keep teams under 40 percent, we're going to give ourselves a chance to win."
The defense has been consistent. In its last five games, Tennessee has surrendered an average of 59.4 points. The problem: Tennessee is 2-3 in those five games.
Offense has been hard to find, but the emergence of freshman power forward Jarnell Stokes and the consistent production from point guard Trae Golden have all but guaranteed that the Volunteers will have a chance to win or lose at the end of the game.
No matter who they're playing.
"I think it's very important for them to understand it's how you win big if you play defense at a high level," coach Cuonzo Martin said. "I tell our guys, 'Let's hang our hats on the defensive side of the ball because you never know which shots will fall.' We ready this team for that level."
NOTES, QUOTES
The quick adjustments PF Jarnell Stokes has made through his first three collegiate games have caught just about everybody off guard, including Stokes. The freshman who should still be in high school has been better and better with every passing game. His latest performance against Connecticut, in which he picked up his first career start and scored 16 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, received praise from every corner of the college basketball world. Stokes, though, has remained humble.
"I was just pushing," Stokes said. "The one thing I hung my hat on was defense. I was actually a horrible defender in high school, but somehow Coach (Cuonzo) Martin worked that out."
Stokes' insertion into the Volunteers' starting lineup led to a trip to the bench for F Renaldo Woolridge, who has struggled since he became a starter at the beginning of SEC play. Woolridge played just three minutes off the bench in Saturday's win over Connecticut. In the past five games, Woolridge, one of the team's few seniors, has seen his minutes dwindle and has gone scoreless in the previous three games.
The Volunteers had been a good free-throw shooting team up until last week. In its past two games, Tennessee has made good on less than half of its opportunities, hitting 17-of-35. Those missed opportunities haunted the Volunteers against Georgia, as the game went to overtime and Tennessee ultimately lost. Against Connecticut, it led to some unnecessarily dicey moments at the end.
"I think you can't be scared. We've been in that situation so many times," said G Skylar McBee, whose two free throws clinched Tennessee's victory Saturday. "I've played basketball all of my life. That's a situation that I've practiced all the time, so I had a little bit of confidence going to the line."
QUOTE TO NOTE
"You're probably going to laugh, but I just think of Carmelo (Anthony). I know he always hits his free throws. If you see the way I dribble and bounce the ball, I do it like Carmelo." -- PF Jarnell Stokes, on how he approaches his free throws.
