Tennessee basketball survived its Round of 32 scare against Texas despite making just three-of-25 three-point attempts against the Longhorns. Finding a way to survive a NCAA Tournament game shooting that poorly says a lot about Tennessee’s culture and toughness.
But the Vols almost certainly can’t survive another NCAA Tournament game shooting that poorly, and their recent perimeter shooting woes date past the Texas game.
Tennessee shot 53% from three-point range in its win over Auburn thanks in large part to Dalton Knecht’s five-of-eight shooting from the perimeter. That was the Vols’ final game in February. In six games in March, the Vols have shot poorly from three-point range.
Over the last six games, Tennessee is shooting 53-of-178 (29.7%) from three-point range. Tennessee has shot under 35% from three-point range in four of the six games and under 25% from the perimeter in two games.
The Vols haven’t been an elite three-point shooting team this season but their 34% three-point shooting is far better than they’ve shot the last six games. That number was slightly above 35% before the six-game cold streak.
Every Tennessee shooter besides Josiah-Jordan James is shooting under his season average from three-point range over the last six games. Dalton Knecht’s numbers dropping are probably the most impactful because of how it compares to his shooting percentages the rest of the season.
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Knecht is shooting 39% from three-point range over the course of the season but is just 19-of-58 (33%) over this six-game stretch. Shooting guards Santiago Vescovi and Jordan Gainey aren’t attempting as many triples but they’re struggling to get shots to fall. Both are shooting under 20% from the perimeter over the stretch and are combining to shoot seven-of-38 (18%) from deep over the stretch.
The good news for Tennessee is they’ve bounced back from its worst shooting performances with its best shooting performances all season. In the three games the Vols have shot under 25% from three-point range this season, they’ve hit over 40% of their three-point attempts the next time out.
Rick Barnes’ ninth Tennessee team bounced back from a 25% three-point shooting performance against Georgia Southern with a 44% performance against North Carolina State, a 24% performance at home against South Carolina with a 40% performance at Kentucky and a 24% performance against Mississippi State in the SEC Tournament with a 46% performance against Saint Peter’s in the NCAA Tournament.
Tennessee needs to shoot better on Friday night against Creighton if it wants to advance to the second Elite Eight in program history. The Vols have struggled shooting from the three-point line in their win over Texas but there’s reason for optimism ahead of the Creighton matchup.
