Tennessee basketball hit a low point in the Rick Barnes era against Florida

The top seed is no longer in Knockville, a Tennessee basketball was ousted by Florida on Tuesday. Although the No. 1 seeds have lost periodically throughout the basketball season, the manner in which they lost was embarrassing. After the first defeat of the season, the Volunteers were nowhere offensive.

ESPN’s Jeff Borzello said, “Tennessee’s 4-for-29 shooting performance the first half tonight had the worst field goal percentage of any half since Rick Barnes took over in 2015. While teams all over the country have rough shooting nights, this one was for the record books.

Losing by 30 points to one of the SEC’s top rivals is not a good look. While Florida basketball was a top program, a 30-point shutout isn’t good. To add insult to injury, this game for the Volunteers was one of the worst in school history.

“It’s Tennessee the only Division I team of this century to shoot 30% or better on 2-pointers, 15% or better on 3-pointers and 60% or better on free throws in one game (min. 25 attempts in each category),” according to OptaSTATS. The offense didn’t click out of nowhere on Tuesday.

The Rick Barnes era for Tennessee basketball will be fine

While Tuesday’s performance was forgettable, that’s no indication of Barnes’ impact on the university. He has a 216-102 record through his 10 seasons in Knoxville. He has been to the NCAA Tournament in the last four seasons. In all of those seasons, Tennessee basketball finished in the top 10 or higher in the AP poll at least once in those seasons.

However, that doesn’t mean they didn’t look suspicious. for example, Tennessee basketball had a buzzer beater that ruined Illinois’ upset dream. Before that, people speculated whether the Volunteers were playing any legitimate competition. That’s no disrespect to Illinois, but the SEC is on a roll this season.

Teams like Florida, Kentucky, Alabama and Auburn highlighted the top conference. Six SEC teams are in the top 10 of the Jan. 6 AP poll. Plus, the Volunteers suffered their first loss of the season against the Gators and their first loss in the conference.

Tennessee basketball will once again hit the road to take on an unranked Texas basketball team. After an embarrassing loss, there will likely be more motivation to hurt a new SEC opponent. However, one game does not define the Barnes era of Tennessee basketball. How they respond will be crucial and could determine the rest of conference play.