Three straight losses have sent Rick Barnes’ Tennessee Volunteers tumbling down the AP Poll to No. 20. And now, with the No. 11 Louisville Cardinals on the horizon, the veteran coach is reaching back to his legendary Hall of Fame mentor for answers.

Speaking to reporters during a recent pregame availability, Barnes was asked whether the Volunteers’ recent struggles were more mental or physical, and his answer made it clear that effort hasn’t been the issue.

“Coach (Bob) Knight always talked about how the mental to the physical is four to one,” Barnes explained his tactical understanding. “That’s exactly right. Physically, these guys have worked hard. They’ve worked hard for us from day one.”

“But understanding basketball the way it needs to be played, they want to do it,” Barnes said of his team’s intent. “There’s no doubt they want to do it. But they have to do it. And it’s a matter of just understanding the importance of each possession, the details that go into it, and just simply passing the ball the way it needs to be passed. Things like that, and not being sloppy.”

The Volunteers, in their three straight losses to the Kansas Jayhawks (76-81), Syracuse Orange (60-62), and Illinois Fighting Illini (62-75), struggled to find offensive consistency, faltering under pressure and failing to produce enough points against elite defenses. Scoring droughts in their last two games, combined with inconsistent three-point shooting, left the team scrambling in half-court sets and without a go-to scorer to break through dry spells.

Turnovers have also been a problem. Against the Orange, the Volunteers committed 17 turnovers to the Orange’s 16, but the opposition converted these lapses into 24 points, compared to just 10 for Barnes’ team. In recent games decided by just a basket, each careless possession magnified the impact of these mistakes.

The Volunteers’ defense also stood out as a key area for improvement. They committed as many as 21 fouls against the Kansas Jayhawks. When you total the last three losses, the count rises to 59. Barnes’ team is averaging 17.7 fouls per game this season, which isn’t a good sign.

Turnovers and sloppy execution are the type of mistakes Knight would never allow, and this combination of execution errors is exactly what Barnes’ reliance on his philosophy seeks to address. Against the Cardinals, the Volunteers will need to fully channel that mindset if they hope to reverse the downward trend.

Rick Barnes’ No. 20 Tennessee vs. Pat Kelsey’s No. 11 Louisville game preview

The Volunteers (7-3) will host the Cardinals (9-1) on Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET at the Food City Center, with fans able to catch the action on ESPN and the ESPN App. For the home team, the main goal for this game is to shake off an unwanted three-game losing streak, and Rick Barnes is leaning on lessons emphasizing mental focus, attention to detail, and disciplined execution. The only loss the Cardinals have suffered so far was against the No. 14 Arkansas Razorbacks.

This matchup will mark the 22nd meeting between the schools, with the Cardinals winning 12 of the last 15.

While the Volunteers have had recent success under Rick Barnes, claiming victories in 2018 and 2024, this is the first time both teams have entered the contest ranked in the AP poll.

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With Barnes’ star junior forward Cade Phillips set to miss the remainder of the season with a shoulder injury, Barnes will depend on his freshmen.

Senior guard Ryan Conwell leads the Cardinals with 19.4 points per game, posing a key challenge for the Volunteers’ defense. If they commit defensive lapses as they did against the Orange, they would stand no chance.

“There was a lot that we had to work on and keep working on, and I do think we made some progress,” Barnes said after practice. “But we’ll see if we keep moving forward here. I thought their attitudes were really good. We just broke down everything where we felt like we had to make the biggest jumps.”

The Volunteers are 5-0 at home this season. On the other hand, the Cardinals are 0-1 on the road. According to ESPN Analytics, though, this game is projected to favor the visitors by 57.8%. But the result of the game will ultimately depend on how well the Volunteers have addressed their shortcomings.