With Oklahoma cutting into Tennessee basketball’s lead in the second half Wednesday night, Nate Ament consistently came through with clutch baskets in the Vols’ 89-66 victory over the Sooners.
There was an old fashioned three-point play to end a 9-0 Oklahoma run. He got to the foul line to push Tennessee’s lead back to double digits for good and earned three the old fashioned way again on a 12-foot jump shot to all but put the game away.
As the Sooners tried to make it a game, Ament consistently delivered. Oklahoma had no answers for Ament all night.
“He’s a multiple-threat player,” Oklahoma head coach Porter Moser said postgame. “I mean his length off the dribble, his length to shoot, he’s got a mid-range game. … He’s every bit as advertised.”
The advertisement for Ament is that of a lottery pick who will play in the NBA for a long time. He’s starting to look more-and-more like that type of player. Ament tied a career-high 29 points on an efficient nine-of-17 shooting against Oklahoma.
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It was one of Ament’s most complete performances of the season, scoring throughout the game and playing through contact in a way he struggled to earlier this season.
“I didn’t look at him as non-physical,” Moser said. “I mean, I know Coach Barnes and their staff, and being in this program, I thought he was physical. I thought he could take a bump on him and still score through contact. You know, I thought he scored through contact tonight. Just a tough matchup. You could just see the kid’s confidence going (up). Unfortunately, we added to that confidence.”
Ament did more than score. Tennessee put the ball in his hands throughout the second half and he consistently made the correct play. Rick Barnes has consistently praised Ament’s passing this season. The freshman totaled just two second half assists but made had two passes that led to free throws for his teammates and a give-and-go where he went down the lane and dunked.
“That is him seeing the game in a totally different way than he did a month and a half ago, a month ago,” Barnes said. “I mean, it started at Florida. But he is seeing the court. And he’s an all-everything player, and he can play anywhere on the court.”
Ament has totaled 28-plus points in four of Tennessee’s last eight games. Over that eight-game stretch, Ament is averaging 24.3 points per game. He’s been one of the SEC’s best players in conference play and continues to get better-and-better.
