NASHVILLE, Tn. — Tennessee basketball had not scored more than two points consecutively in the second half, failing to create a run and cut into Auburn’s lead. Then the game flipped. Tennessee went on a 20-0 run in 6:17 that saw the Vols turn a 10-point deficit into a 10-point lead.
“On the court, you would hear them saying some things and you could tell that they were frustrated,” sophomore forward JP Estrella told RTI postgame. “Just making sure we continued doing what we were doing and making them a little more frustrated was beneficial for us.”
The Vols never flinched from there, knocking off Auburn 72-62 to advance to Friday’s SEC Tournament Quarterfinals against Vanderbilt. Tennessee would not have gotten past the desperate Tigers without the behemoth run. Here’s how it happened
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Tennessee Switched Up Its Ball Screen Coverage And Slowed Down Tahaad Pettiford
The Vols’ run started with defense and specifically started with their ability to slow Tahaad Pettiford down. The Auburn guard had 25 points with 10 minutes left in the game. Not only did Pettiford not score over the next six minutes, he didn’t even get a shot off.
A key to the defensive flip? Tennessee mixing up its ball screen coverage.
“We were either hard hedge or kind of like in a drop coverage,” freshman DeWayne Brown told RTI postgame “We kind of switched back-and-forth and I think it probably got to them a little bit. He didn’t know what to expect coming off and like I said, Bishop and Ja’Kobi just playing hard and fighting over screens.”
“Really just telling our guards, Bishop and Amari, you got to stop getting hit and start getting over,” Tennessee assistant director of player development Riley Collins said. “Be a little more physical with them and make them call it. Push them out to half court and see if he keeps getting down hill. He ended up not and it worked out in our favor.”
The end result was 11 straight empty possessions for Auburn. Over that stretch, Auburn missed seven shots from the field and turned the ball over four times.
Ja’Kobi Gillespie And The Vols Got Out In Transition
Tennessee didn’t just force Auburn turnovers, but they found a way to get out in transition and score. It was extremely important on a day when the Vols’ half court offense was so often stuck in the mud.
The play of the 20-0 run came when Pettiford threw a half court alley-oop to Elyjah Freeman. Felix Okpara —who was at the top of the key when Pettiford released the pass — sprinted to the rim and blocked Freeman’s dunk attempt and stared him down for good measure.
“I don’t think there’s one other (player who can make that play),” Collins said. “That was the best block that I’ve ever seen in person. And it changed the game.”
Nate Ament grabbed the rebound and passed it to Ja’Kobi Gillespie who got downhill and scored through contact to tie the game for the first time since the 16:24 mark in the first half. Steven Pearl called the first of his two timeouts of the run after that basket.
The second timeout came just over two minutes later when Gillespie swiped the ball from Pettiford and went coast-to-coast for a layup to make it a 15-0 run. It was an important stretch for Gillespie who remains in a shooting slump but still scored 15 points in the win.
“He can definitely make an impact in different ways,” Brown said. “He was all around the court, getting steals, getting deflections. Doing things like that. We all know Ja’Kobi can see the floor and being able to make passes, being able to space the floor. People know that he can shoot it so him being on the floor is definitely going to give us a way to make space.”
Nate Ament Did What Nate Ament Does
The run doesn’t happen without Ament, who sparked it by scoring 10 straight points for Tennessee. Over the 6:17 stretch, Ament scored 11 points on two-of-four shooting from the field while also knocking down six-of-seven free throw attempts.
When Tennessee’s offense has been at its best this season, Ament has been a second half spark. It’s something few other Tennessee players are capable of doing.
“That’s just what he does and who he is,” junior power forward Jaylen Carey told RTI. “That’s what we need him to continue to be. When things aren’t going for me, Kobi, JP and other guys. We need him to be that. And he was tonight.”
In the second half, Ament scored 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds. When Auburn finally ended the run with a Pettiford triple, Ament answered with one of his own on the other end. He came through for Tennessee and showed how much they have missed him.
“He’s back,” Amari Evans said. “We needed him back. You could see what he can do to help us every single night.”
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