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Tennessee Basketball: 5 Things the Volunteers need for Christmas in 2018

By Adam Childs

PHOENIX, ARIZONA - DECEMBER 09: Jordan Bowden #23 of the Tennessee Volunteers celebrates after defeating the Gonzaga Bulldogs in the game at Talking Stick Resort Arena on December 9, 2018 in Phoenix, Arizona. The Volunteers defeated the Bulldogs 76-73. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
PHOENIX, ARIZONA - DECEMBER 09: Jordan Bowden #23 of the Tennessee Volunteers celebrates after defeating the Gonzaga Bulldogs in the game at Talking Stick Resort Arena on December 9, 2018 in Phoenix, Arizona. The Volunteers defeated the Bulldogs 76-73. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /
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KNOXVILLE, TN – NOVEMBER 9: Jordan Bone #0 of the Tennessee Volunteers shoots the ball during the first half of the game between the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns and the Tennessee Volunteers at Thompson-Boling Arena on November 9, 2018 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Tennessee won the game 87-65. (Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN – NOVEMBER 9: Jordan Bone #0 of the Tennessee Volunteers shoots the ball during the first half of the game between the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns and the Tennessee Volunteers at Thompson-Boling Arena on November 9, 2018 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Tennessee won the game 87-65. (Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images) /

3. Better three-point shooting

Tennessee is not built like some other teams where they rely on the three ball to win them the game. But even with that, they would still like to shoot the ball better from the outside then they have. They currently only have two players, Schofield and Jordan Bowden, who have hit double-digit threes. Schofield has hit 23 of them and Bowden 13.

The Vols, as a team, are hitting just 35% from downtown. They have only shot 192 for the year so they have at least realized that it is not the strength. There will come a game, though, where they are going to have to come back and win by hitting the three. Schofield has shown he can get hot, but the rest of the team has yet to really show that on a consistent basis.

The biggest example of that is Junior guard Jordan Bone. He has his just seven of his 36 attempts this year. That comes out to just over 19% for the year. For someone who is not afraid to shoot it, they need him to hit more. He even went 0-6 against Eastern Kentucky. Fortunately, they did not need him to hit many shots in that game to win, but it could bite them later on in the season.

In a season where so much has gone right for the Vols, it is tough to find faults, but the outside shooting has been a struggle. Teams might start to dare Tennessee to beat them from the outside. Will they improve enough to do it?

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