There were a lot of bad things about last night’s 82-71 loss at Tennessee, but defense has to be at the top of the list. When Tennessee is able to shoot 57%, score 82 points, and hit 11 three-pointers with Chris Lofton sitting injured on the bench, it’s not a good defensive performance.

It doesn’t help that Georgia insisted on attempting 26 three-pointers despite hitting only one in the first half and shooting under 25% for the game.Takais Brown only had eight attempts in 34 minutes. I think we need a new rule of thumb until Mike Mercer breaks out of whatever slump he’s in: if Brown is attempting fewer shots in a game than Mercer, it’s not a good thing.

This is life in the SEC, and even a team missing its biggest star can have its way with you when you leave the defense and the strength of your offense at home. While Georgia is having a good season and can win several more games, the hype has gotten a bit ahead of itself. Georgia is going to be in a fight to finish with the conference record they need to make the NCAA Tournament, and we’ll see what they’re made of in February.