Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes chats together with his group throughout a males’s school basketball recreation between Tennessee and Vanderbilt at Thompson-Boling Area at Meals Metropolis Heart, Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025. Tennessee prides itself on protection, however coach Rick Barnes is looking on the Volunteers to convey the “confrontation” mentality to the regular-season finale on Saturday afternoon.
After a 78-76 defeat at Ole Miss, the No. 4 Volunteers (24-6, 11-6 Southeastern Convention) have to beat last-place South Carolina in Knoxville, Tenn.
“It is ridiculous,” Barnes mentioned after the Rebels’ Jaemyn Brakefield scored all 19 of his factors within the upset’s closing 10:24 and was plain within the paint.
“We speak about having confrontation. We play like we have been — that is comfortable, truthfully. That is being comfortable. That is you probably not making an attempt to go in and make performs on the ball.”
Within the closing 20 minutes, Tennessee constructed an eight-point lead however squandered it with practically 16 minutes left earlier than Brakefield occurred.
“They made photographs on us,” mentioned Barnes, whose group misplaced the factors within the paint battle 46-20 and the offensive rebound tussle 15-8.
“However once more, you let a group get comfy and you are not as aggressive and you are not enjoying good. Offensive rebounding can simply take the wind out of your sail.”
Although its hopes of a No. 1 nationwide seed have been critically broken, Tennessee can assure itself a double bye within the SEC match in Nashville by defeating the floundering Gamecocks (12-18, 2-15).
Vols main scorer Jordan Gainey netted 19 factors on Wednesday to eclipse 1,500 profession factors. Crew chief Chaz Lanier (17.7 factors) swished 3 of 8 from distance to place him at 102 made 3s, becoming a member of the North Florida switch with Chris Lofton and Santiago Vescovi as the one Volunteers to breach the century mark in a season.
Courting again to 2017-18, the Rocky Prime program has received 11 of 13 in opposition to South Carolina and is 31-10 all-time at residence.
No matter its end result within the Appalachian Mountains, South Carolina is aware of its scenario within the Music Metropolis subsequent week.
The Gamecocks are locked into the convention’s final spot after Tuesday’s 73-64 loss to Georgia and can open the tourney by going through the No. 9 seed in Wednesday’s first matchup. A subsequent setback ends the season for Lamont Paris’ crew.
In opposition to the Bulldogs of their residence finale on Senior Evening, the Gamecocks solely put up one thing of a menace to open the second half whereas trailing 40-29.
The house aspect stormed out on a 12-4 run to get the deficit to inside three after which later to 2 at 9:24 on Nick Pringle’s free throw. Nevertheless, it couldn’t maintain the push for the total comeback.
Paris understands his group’s model of play and what happens within the 20-minute halves.
“I believed we have been higher defensively within the second half,” Paris mentioned. “It is arduous. Our recipe for profitable sometimes would not contain 40 factors in a half. I do not know many individuals’s does, however ours definitely doesn’t. We dug a gap that means, and thought the fellows did a great job preventing within the second half.”
Sophomore sensation Collin Murray-Boyles continues to be a one-man wrecking ball within the put up for Paris.
Averaging 28.7 factors over the previous three outings, the hometown product generates 17 factors, 8.3 rebounds and a pair of.5 assists whereas flattening 58.9 % from the ground.
–Discipline Stage Media
