Tennessee Basketball faces Guard Depth, Turnover Issues After Syracuse Loss
Syracuse, NY – โ Tennessee suffered a 79-78 loss to Syracuse on Saturday, raising concerns about guard play and recurring turnover problems as the Volunteers’ schedule โintensifies. Theโ loss dropped Tennessee to 7-2 on the season.
Dalton Knecht โคled Tennessee with a career-high 22 points. Jonas Ament โcontributed with four points during a second-half comeback attempt, supported byโข post scoring from Tobeโ Carey.
The Volunteers where โwithout J.P. Estrella due toโ a right ankle injury sustained against Kansas.
Turnovers plagued Tennessee throughout the game, with 17 miscues resulting in 24 points for Syracuse. Ament committed aโฃ season-high โseven turnovers, exceeding his previous maximum of three.He committed back-to-back turnovers in the โfinal four minutesโ after briefly giving Tennessee a one-point โขlead withโ a three-pointer.
“Some of the turnovers we had was โฃridiculous,” said Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes.
Tennessee’s guard rotation is becoming increasingly thin. Barnes stated the team’s “guard play wasn’t very good,” specificallyโ citing struggles from backup guards.Ethan Burg saw limited playing โขtime and has โฃbeenโ struggling since the Players Era Festival. โAmari Evans received extendedโฃ minutes in โthe first โhalf due to foul trouble for Bishop Boswell and Ja’Kobi Gillespie, but struggled. Troy Henderson played only two minutes.
Amaree Abram โคprovided aโ spark withโฃ two three-pointers and played key minutes during Tennessee’s second-half rally, becoming the only backup guard demonstratingโค consistent performance. Theโ primary guard mix is currently Gillespie, Boswell, and Abram alongside Ament.
Mike Wilson covers โUniversity of Tennessee athletics. Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.com and follow him on X @ByMikeWilson. consider a digital subscription for full access to his coverage.
