No. 12 Tennessee faces a stern test on the road Saturday when the Volunteers battle the new-look Louisville Cardinals.
Both teams are coming off season-opening home victories on Monday.
Tennessee beat Gardner-Webb 80-64, while the Cardinals handled Morehead State 93-45. However, Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said he was not satisfied with how his team closed out the game, which Tennessee led by as many as 27 points in the second half.
“The last five minutes, I didn’t think we were very good,” Barnes said. “When too many guys weren’t aware of the clock and the situation. I don’t care what the score is. Just play the game the right way. We didn’t do that very well.”
Chaz Lanier, a fifth-year guard who transferred from North Florida in the offseason, led the Volunteers with 18 points and connected on 4 of 6 3-point shots. Senior guard Jordan Gainey came off the bench to make 7 of 9 shots in a 16-point effort.
Lanier is one of four players Tennessee landed in the portal to restock following the departure of three players from the roster that reached the Elite Eight in March. The graduates included Southeastern Conference Player of the Year Dalton Knecht, a first-round pick of the Los Angeles Lakers, and four others departed via the portal.
The turnover qualifies as significant change but pales in comparison to the roster upheaval Louisville went through in the offseason.
The Cardinals fired coach Kenny Payne after a disastrous 12-52 two-year stint and replaced him with Pat Kelsey, who arrived from the College of Charleston. Kelsey overhauled nearly the entire team, which has only one walk-on returning from last season’s 8-24 squad.
Louisville looked like a completely different team in its season opener against the Eagles on Monday. Five players scored in double figures, led by Kasean Pryor’s 18-point, 12-rebound performance, but the Cardinals’ defense also stood out in the win.
Kelsey’s team held Morehead State to just 3-of-28 shooting in the first half as Louisville jumped out to a 41-14 lead at halftime. The Cardinals also forced the Eagles into 21 turnovers throughout the game while committing just five.
The new coach told reporters after the win that he was taken aback by the crowd’s reaction and hoped to see something similar this weekend.
“This place, this arena, when it’s buzzing like it was tonight, is a difference maker,” Kelsey said of the KFC Yum! Center. “It’s a factor. Our crowd was a factor tonight, when we got those ovations and the place got really loud, it just absolutely changes things. So, I know our fans were phenomenal tonight. I know they’ll accept the challenge to make it one of the most hostile environments in college basketball on Saturday.”
Barnes moved up on the all-time career college coaching victories list on Monday. He has 807 wins and stands alone in 13th place, breaking a tie with Eddie Sutton. His next win will also give him 204 victories at Tennessee, which would tie him with Don Devoe for second on the school’s all-time list. Ray Mears, who coached the Volunteers from 1962-1977, holds the record with 278.
–Field Level Media
