Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes chats along with his staff throughout a males’s school basketball recreation between Tennessee and Vanderbilt at Thompson-Boling Enviornment at Meals Metropolis Middle, 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) must 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 ultimate 10:24 and was plain within the paint.
“We discuss having confrontation. We play like we had been — that is smooth, actually. That is being smooth. That is you not likely attempting to go in and make performs on the ball.”
Within the ultimate 20 minutes, Tennessee constructed an eight-point lead however squandered it with almost 16 minutes left earlier than Brakefield occurred.
“They made pictures on us,” mentioned Barnes, whose staff misplaced the factors within the paint battle 46-20 and the offensive rebound tussle 15-8.
“However once more, you let a staff get comfy and you are not as aggressive and you are not enjoying sensible. Offensive rebounding can simply take the wind out of your sail.”
Although its hopes of a No. 1 nationwide seed had 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. Staff 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.
Relationship again to 2017-18, the Rocky High program has received 11 of 13 towards South Carolina and is 31-10 all-time at dwelling.
No matter its consequence 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 dwelling 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 facet 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 staff’s fashion of play and what happens within the 20-minute halves.
“I assumed we had been higher defensively within the second half,” Paris mentioned. “It is exhausting. Our recipe for profitable usually does 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 method, and thought the fellows did job combating 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 pulling down 58.9 % from the ground.
–Area Stage Media
