Tennessee basketball followed a lethargic first half with a dominant second half, exploding for 58 points in the final 20 minutes to coast past Ole Miss 84-66 on Tuesday night in Knoxville. It marked the Vols’ fourth straight win as Nate Ament continues to emerge as a star.
Here’s three quick takeaways on the win.
A Tale Of Two Halves Offensively For Tennessee
Much like a week ago at Georgia, the Vols put together a true tale of two halves offensively, scoring 26 points in the 20 minutes followed by 58 points in the final 20 minutes.
Ironically, Tennessee started relatively well offensively, scoring 18 points in the game’s first 7:32 before scoring eight points in the final 12:17 of the first half to enter the locker room with a season-low 26 first half points.
There were a number of contributing factors, chief amongst them was Tennessee’s inability to finish at the rim. The Vols shot an abysmal one-for-seven at the rim in the first half. Ole Miss had a couple nice blocks, but Tennessee also missed some point blank layups.
From the jump, the second half was different for Tennessee. The Vols scored on their first five possessions of the second half to stretch out the lead just a bit. And unlike the first half, Tennessee sustained its offense much more throughout the second half.
When Nate Ament hit a step-back triple with 9:25 to play in the game, Tennessee had eclipsed its first half points in the second half. The offense didn’t slow down after that with Tennessee keeping its foot on the gas.
Ja’Kobi Gillespie And Nate Ament Lead The Way For Tennessee
Tennessee star point guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie had a rare quiet game while battling foul trouble in the Vols’ win over Auburn. Gillespie bounced back in a major way, propelling Tennessee’s offense through an ugly first half.
The bulk of Gillespie’s shooting success came from deep where he made four of his first five attempts and five total from deep. At one point, 12 of Tennessee’s 29 points had come from made Gillespie triples. On the night, Gillespie finished with 20 points and three assists.
No one was a better example of Tennessee’s tail of two halves offensively than Nate Ament. The five-star freshman struggled to get to his shot in the first half, as Ole Miss packed the paint and frequently sent double teams at him when he drove.
But the freshman wing improved as the game went on. He started making the right play more, totaling three assists in the second half after totaling just one in the first half. And after scoring just two points in the first half, Ament went for 26 second half points on an incredibly impressive eight-of-10 shooting from the field.
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The Run Where Tennessee Put The Game Away
Tennessee was on a 9-3 run and had extended its lead to 16 points with six and a half minutes to play in the game when Ole Miss head coach Chris Beard’s eruption began.
The third-year Ole Miss coach sprinted onto the court imploring the officials to call a foul on Bishop Boswell after he stripped the ball from a Rebel player. Beard was well on the court with the game still going on, earning him his first technical foul.
Once the game stopped, Beard erupted on multiple officials in anger. They officially awarded Beard a second technical foul leading to his ejection. After nearly walking off the court, Beard sprinted back to the huddle to yell at his team.
If that was in hopes of firing them up, it was unsuccessful. Tennessee followed up the technical foul with a 12-1 run that extended its lead to 27 points and put the game away. Overall, it was an extended 21-4 run where the Vols turned a comfortable lead to a blowout victory.
Box Score
Up Next
Tennessee basketball heads on the road Saturday night to face rival Kentucky at Rupp Arena. Tipoff between the Vols and Wildcats is at 8:30 p.m. ET. ESPN is broadcasting the game.
