Tennessee basketball handed Virginia its first loss of the season and interim head coach Ron Sanchez first loss atop the Cavaliers program. The Vols used a dominant second half to coast past Virginia 64-42 in the Baha Mar Championship.
Following the game, Sanchez discussed Virginia’s turnover woes, Tennessee’s Igor Milicic and much more. Here’s everything Sanchez said.
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On what he felt changed in the second half
“I think they did a good job of changing their personnel. They played Igor at the five as a pick-and-pop five man against our five guys. He kind of opened up the game a little bit by hitting a couple of threes and making some timely plays. I think that was really well done. We tried to match it.
“Elijah (Saunders) couldn’t be on the floor. He was cramping a little bit today, so we couldn’t get him back out there. I think that was the opening of their lead.
“But I think in the first half, we did a really good job. We had the game where we wanted it. We played tough enough. Our mistakes came on the offensive glass and their physicality, their maturity showed on the glass today, the physicality showed on the glass. We did not do a good job taking care of the basketball. Those, in my opinion, were the two keys to the game.”
On Virginia’s 18 turnovers leading to 30 points for Tennessee
“A variety of things. I mean, I would take full responsibility for that. I got to prepare the guys better. We try to replicate, you know, their athleticism and quickness in practice. It’s really hard to replicate what another team does, but we did the best that we could, and obviously wasn’t good enough. So that’s something that we have to look at and improve and figure out a lineup that can help us really handle the basketball.”
On leading scorer Isaac McKneely scoring four points on 1-of-6 shooting
“We didn’t shoot the ball well as a team. We can’t be a team that just depends on three-point shooting in order for us to be in a game. We got to be able to score inside. Ran a couple of plays to get some post touches early in the second half. Some of those go in, maybe it’s a different feel for the game. We miss, you know, two literally post touches by our big guys that we wanted to convert. That would have really helped us, but that was about it.”
On what teams get out of playing in an event like this
“When you play against high-level competition, it really shows you where you are as a team. I wish we would have had a whole roster health. I wish Elijah would have been able to get a few more minutes, you know. But even when he was out there, you know, the physicality showed, the maturity showed. You can tell that’s an older team.
“I think Lanier, we did a really good job in the first half with him. Second half, we did not. He had eight (points) at half. And I think he ended up in the high 20s. I think he had 26 points. So we got to know our personnel. We got to know who the guys that can make those shots, and then we got to put 40 minutes together. 20 is just not enough.”
On if this is an event he wants to see the program continue to play in
“Absolutely. This is great. This is great for all of us. I mean, Coach Barnes, one of the best. Tennessee is one of the best in the country right now, and what else could you ask for.”
