Tennessee’s Sunday night in Knoxville was all about first impressions. With nine newcomers suiting up for the first time, Coach Rick Barnes was eager to see how their retooled roster would measure up against one of the nation’s best, the No.5 Duke. The Blue Devils ultimately claimed the 83-76 win. Tennessee sure came out swinging early, holding a 43-37 lead at halftime. But once Duke settled in, its size and relentlessness on the boards began to tell. The Blue Devils outrebounded the Vols 48-39, pulling down 16 offensive boards that turned into second-chance points and momentum-shifting possessions.

For Rick Barnes, now entering his 11th season at the helm, that stat line told a lot. Physicality has long been the foundation of his teams, and Sunday made clear there’s still work to be done in that department.

“I thought both teams really competed. Physical game this time of year. I think they wanted to come and play against a physical team and I thought they did a great job being physical. I thought we—we’re not as physical as we were a year ago. We’ve got to get there. We do need to get there. We’re not there yet.” Rick Barnes admitted.

Further, he added, “I did not like—I didn’t think we executed. I thought we let our offense dictate what happened on the defensive end. Guys came out and they weren’t making shots. Got away, gave up way too many baskets on things that we covered in practice.”

Nate Ament and Ja’Kobi Gillespie might’ve walked away with the biggest lessons of the night. Duke’s defense zeroed in on Tennessee’s top scorers, forcing both into uncomfortable territory. Now, Ament is still adjusting to the college game, and Gillespie is learning the grind of one of the country’s toughest conferences. Each has a different challenge ahead, but both got a taste of what those growing pains will look like.

“It is good for them,” Barnes said. “It’s good for them, because people are going to go after them like that. I think our guys have worked really hard being physical with Nate this summer, which I think is going to continue to help him. We’ve got to understand the whole different level we’ve got to get to. We know right now we’re nowhere near where we need to be defensively.”

The duo still led the Vols with a combined 35 points, though it came on a rough 10-for-40 shooting night, including 3-for-18 from deep. Gillespie, stepping into Zakai Zeigler’s old role, carried much of the load with 21 attempts, finishing with 19 points, eight assists, and just two turnovers. He knocked down all six of his free throws but couldn’t find much rhythm from long range, going 3-for-13.

Duke clearly did its homework. After scouting his Big Ten tape, the Blue Devils locked in on Gillespie and made him earn every look. He opened with nine shots in the first half, only two of which dropped. By the second, he was forced to take on even more of the offense, firing up 13 more, but just three went down. Hence, Tennessee’s six-point halftime lead didn’t last long. Duke came out of the break on an 8-2 run, flipping the momentum within minutes and reminding the Vols how quickly things can turn against elite competition.

Rick Barnes’ expectations for Nate Ament after Tennessee’s loss

Rick Barnes knows that the Tennessee Volunteers’ exhibition against Duke was the most physical game Nate Ament has ever been part of. Moving ahead, he expects the five-star freshman to build on that experience.

In his first outing for No. 17 Tennessee, Ament put up a double-double. He finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds in the 83-76 loss at Food City Center.

Despite those numbers, Rick Barnes felt the most impressive part was Ament drawing a team-high seven fouls. In fact, Barnes believes he could have earned twice as much with how aggressively he played.

Per his analysis, Rick Barnes laid out how Ament can really make it happen.

“I think he could be one of the best in the country at drawing fouls. He needs to get to the free-throw line more than he did. And it’s his first (game).” Barnes said.

The fifth-ranked Blue Devils made the most of their trips to the line, shooting 25-for-27 on free throws. Tennessee, on the other hand, didn’t really get nearly as many chances. They finished 10-for-14, with Ament knocking down four of his six attempts.

For Ament’s credit, where it’s due, he handled the physical play well for most of the night. He didn’t pick up his first foul until the 7:44 mark in the second half. That’s in fact a solid sign for a freshman in his first big test.

His fourth foul came in the final 30 seconds to stop the clock. And guess what? Each of his fouls sent Duke to the line, where the Blue Devils made all eight free throws.