By SCOTT FELTS
The Ole Miss Rebels brought a three-game losing streak into Knoxville and the Food City Center to face the Tennessee Volunteers on Tuesday night. Tennessee dominated the second half and finished with four players in double figures on their way to a 84-66 win.
Tennessee (16-6, 6-3) struggled for most of the first half, with its only made field goal over the last 8:55 being a 3-point by Ja’Kobi Gillespie with 2:35 left. The Vols scored their lowest first half total of the season but still went to the locker room up 26-25. The Vols turned it around in the second half, hanging 58 on the Rebels (11-11, 3-6), who were playing on the road for the third straight game as part of four consecutive SEC games away from home.
Let’s dig a little deeper and go Beyond the Box Score to see how the Vols posted their fourth straight victory.
Award Winning Ament, Again: Tennessee freshman forward, Nate Ament set a program record on Monday when he was named SEC Freshman of the Week for a fourth time. With his 28-point outburst against the Rebels, Ament has scored 17 or more points in each of Tennessee’s last seven games while scoring 22 or more in four of those. He leads the team with 22.1 points per game over those seven games.
Ament landed awkwardly early in the first half and was seen sitting on the bench wearing a wrap on his right knee but he did return. In the second half he did more than return, he just might have walked on water if the melting snow outside would have leaked into the arena. Ament finished 9-for-15 from the field (8 of 10 in the second half) with six rebounds and four assists. He was 8-for-10 from the line.
More Like Least-ing Scorers: Senior guard AJ Storr came in leading the Rebels in scoring at 14 points per game but shoots just 43% from the field. Their second leading scorer, Malik Dia, had scored 11.5 points or more in seven of 11 games coming into Knoxville. Dia finished with 7 points on 1 of 6 shooting from the field. Storr did manage his average with 15 but needed 14 shots, hitting six, to get there. Both combined for only six points in the first half.
Pinkins Pacing Rebels: Freshman guard Patton Pinkins, who had a game-winning overtime tip in at Georgia earlier this season, scored 11 of the Rebels’ first 20 points, making 4 of 5 shots from deep and led all scorers at the half. Like most things in this game the second half was a different story. He finished with 15 points on 5 for 9 shooting.
Numbers Don’t Lie: In January, the Rebels struggled on both ends of the court. They finished the month 91st in offensive efficiency and 82nd in defensive efficiency. On Tuesday they shot only 42% and gave up 58 second half points. Ole Miss is now 0-8 against top 50 RPI teams and 2-5 in true road games.
Weak Where Vols are Strong: Ole Miss gives up rebounds on 36% of their misses. The Vols rebound 45% of their own offensive misses. This game was no different as the Vols out rebounded Ole Miss 40-23 and 14-5 on the offensive side. That discrepancy led to Tennessee outscoring the Rebels 23-7 in second chance points. The Vols have outrebounded the opposition by 15 or more 12 times this season, the most in the NCAA.
Defense Wins: Tennessee opponents settle for 3-pointers on 46% of their field goal attempts, making only 29% of those. On Tuesday, the Rebels shot 48% from 3 and only 36% overall. When a team does drive to the basket it shoots just 48% against Tennessee. That’s exactly what the Rebels shot on 2-pointers on Tuesday.
Balanced Boswell: Guard Bishop Boswell is shooting almost 56% from 3-point range this season (18–32). He only went 1-for-4 on 3s Tuesday but provided a very balanced effort with 10 points, eight rebounds, five assists, and three steals.
Foulpalooza: Ole Miss had nine fouls before the under 12 minute timeout in the second half. This followed an Ole Miss flagrant one and offsetting technical fouls after a hard foul on a Boswell drive to the basket. The Rebels finished with 25 fouls.
Yer Outta Here!: With 6:15 to go in the game Ole Miss coach Chris Beard got a double technical and was ejected from the game, becoming the first opposing coach to get the heave-ho at Food City Center since Mark Fox in 2012. ESPN announcer Jimmy Dykes remarked that Beard “loves the fight”. His former fiancee agrees…. allegedly.
Up Next: Tennessee travels to Kentucky (15-7,6-3) for an 8:30 tip on Saturday night. The Vols will look to avenge blowing their 17-point second half lead at home against UK earlier this season. Kentucky will host Oklahoma Wednesday in Lexington.
Tip Ins: Gillespie finished with 20 points, and has now scored 20 or more in four of Tennessee’s past five games. … With center Felix Okpara missing his second straight game with a calf injury, along with Amaree Abram inactive due to flu-like symptoms, the Vols started JP Estrella, Ament, DeWayne Brown II, Gillespie, and Boswell. … The Volunteers’ 80 wins over Ole Miss are the sixth most against any opponent… Rick Barnes and Beard are both former head coaches at Texas… For the last nine seasons, Tennessee leads all SEC programs in both total victories (217) and postseason victories (23). … Tennessee lost 78-76 last season against the Rebels. … Tennessee trailed Ole Miss by just 78 total seconds.