The Official #5 Tennessee vs. #22 Ole Miss Game Thread, 6:00 PM ET, SEC Network

[VOLINVONORE]

Stat of the night: 47 to 24 rebounds for us

Player of the night: Mashack (yes, Aidoo was great and ZZ controlled the 2nd half but man it felt like Mashack was the guy that made all the right plays--end of the half 3 was killer)

Pleasant surprise of the night: Barnes called a timeout to stop a run!

Mashack took the lid off the tree point-rim and everyone else started pouring it in. He had a really good game.

 

[StoneokeyVol]

Hey, this team is scoring a lot of points...
I like that.

 

[Tnphil]

Not to be that guy, but when does our superstar player get some home cookin' from the refs? Seems every other program gets favorable whistles at home, but not UT? Wonder who the refs were?

That's a great unanswered mystery.

 

[robcovol]

Watching Ziegler back at full strength makes me feel good.

 

[Orangeslide]

Vols best performance of the season against a ranked opponent. Vols out rebound the Rebs 47-22 with 19 offensive rebounds to ole miss’s 4. Great effort in that category. ZZ and Aidoo showed out tonight. Good to see Aidoo bounce back after his poor performance against Norfolk. On to Starkville Wednesday, road games can be tricky hopefully we take care of business. Go Vols!

 

[walkenvol]

We’re favored by 12.5 - maybe it’s not going to be as close a game as most are expecting? Let’s get SV & DK rolling again and run the rebels right out of TBA!

Looks like Vegas was more confident than VN, myself included and we did it without stellar games from SV & DK!

 

[D3Athlete]

We are 25th in offensive efficiency and 2nd in defense. Getting to 20th on offense puts you in national title type team.

I can’t remember the last time Tennessee has been top 25 in Kenpom since the 2018-2019 team.

 

[Kas232323]

Looks like Vegas was more confident than VN, myself included and we did it without stellar games from SV & DK!

Santi actually played a really, really good game.

 

[TheMookieMonster]

This is winning basketball right there. Our effort on the glass tonight was exceptional.

 

[65YearsAVol]

Monster win! Go VOLS!

 

[aWhiteLoftonChism]

I see a lot of comments about playing the 2nd string/young guys in the last 6-8 minutes of this game and I normally agree with everyone.
However, the top guys were playing so well, on both ends, that I think it’s good to let them feel what being locked in is like as much as possible. I mean they were clicking offensively, defensively, and on comms!
Moving forward I think it’s imperative that JP and Dillione are able to contribute 5-10 minutes without hurting team.

 

[walkenvol]

Also had 25 assists--and suddenly we have a center in beast mode: Aidoo leads the way with 24. That's a good thing.

He’s really developed his pick and roll game which are leading to point blank shots. That little left handed back to the basket shot is sweet also. Would much rather he focus on 10’ in instead of outside jump shots.

 

[Freak]

Appreciate that. Really looking forward to seeing this one on YouTube after Freak gets it up.

Should be posted tomorrow night. Been traveling a lot this past month but should be back to normal tomorrow.

 

[DC_Vol]

Watching Ziegler back at full strength makes me feel good.

He had some really good drives to the basket tonight.

 

[DooleyOrangePants]

Been a minute since I’ve watched an opponent’s absolute will to compete and play the game just completely melt away in real time. Just an amazing all around performance by the players and an even better job by the coaching staff preparing the guys for Ol Miss.

Attendance was great, support was not so much. Lots of sitting around on hands during stretches early on that we could have used that home crowd edge. Lower bowl was mostly quiet and apathetic, looked up at the 300 sections and people were going nuts. Need that passion and intensity to rub off on the 100’s! Student section was well represented even with class out - lots of kids came back for the game and went back home after. That’s a good thing to see, it’s not always been that way. But we really need a home court advantage when we are at TBA from the crowd and we aren’t getting it right now.

 

[therickbol]

Santi may have walked on the inbounds pass

There is no such thing as a walk as an inbounder. There is only a violation. And the rule is that you have a certain amount of feet in each direction (3 feet maybe). He was borderline. But there is no pivot foot as an inbounder.

 

[TheMookieMonster]

This team has some fun. Also love to see DJ in the middle there. Glad he’s been staying positive throughout the lack of playing time.

 

[CladInOrange]

Been a minute since I’ve watched an opponent’s will to compete and play the game just completely melt away in real time. Just an amazing all around performance by the players and an even better job by the coaching staff preparing the guys for Ol Miss.

Attendance was great, support was not so much. Lots of sitting around on hands during stretches early on that we could have used that home crowd edge. Lower bowl was mostly quiet and apathetic, looked up at the 300 sections and people were going nuts. Need that passion and intensity to rub off on the 100’s! Student section was well represented even with class out - lots of kids came back for the game and went back home after. That’s a good thing to see, it’s not always been that way. But we really need a home court advantage when we are at TBA from the crowd and we aren’t getting it right now.

This. It was as quiet as a crowd I’ve heard at TBA for a top 25 matchup I’ve heard. Look at these photos from tip off. Upper Vs. Lower.

 

[Drewbydoo]

Not to be that guy, but when does our superstar player get some home cookin' from the refs? Seems every other program gets favorable whistles at home, but not UT? Wonder who the refs were?

• Referees:
• Don Daily
• Patrick Evans
• Owen Shortt

 

[walkenvol]

As good as we looked, we still have upside.

This right here is what’s most exciting!

ZZZ is back full speed, JJJ is finally healthy and playing his best ball, Aidoo has taken a huge step forward, Mashack has improved yet again, Awaka has added an offensive game.

SV was shooting better from 3 tonight. When he regaines his top form and Knecht hits his grove then this is absolutely a top 5 team.

 

[The_Dude]

Bingo. The amount of people sitting down when big plays were happening. Shouldn’t be like that

Discussed this a few days ago. Experienced it, again.

 

[TheMookieMonster]

Typical Barnes just killing this team’s confidence on offense! He sucks the energy out of all our best players!

 

[turbovol]

I only saw a portion of the first half, and the only thing that seemed problematic was Gainey playing the point with Ziggy out.
He did not look comfortable in the role, lost the ball once, and nearly lost it two other times. A bit shaky.

Knecht's scoring and minutes are down. It isn't a problem because we're getting points production from a lot of people but we don't
want his game or production or confidence to fall off too much.

 

[D3Athlete]

Discussed this a few days ago. Experienced it, again.

Tennessee attendance is too good for the environment to be the way it is.

 

[TheMookieMonster]

Tennessee attendance is too good for the environment to be the way it is.

Well, if we’re to believe Chris Beard he said in the post-game presser the crowd got to his team tonight at times. Might just be coach speak since it sounded pretty quiet on TV, but Beard seems to disagree.