Jahmai Mashack says Tennessee's offensive confidence is 'only growing'

Despite a lackluster performance from the offense this past weekend, Tennessee guard Jahmai Mashack isn’t worried. The Volunteers scored the lowest amount they have all season Saturday, escaping with a 46-43 victory against Auburn only because the Tigers were equally bad.

Tennessee shot just 17-of-63 (27%) and 2-of-21 (9.5%) against the Tigers. Asked Monday whether he thinks the offense is in a good place after that performance, Mashack showed no doubts.

“I think it is,” he said. “Usually, we don’t try to waver offensively. We’re starting to get more of our confidence back despite missing shots because we know how good we are. Especially in practice. We know how good we are. We know how much work we’ve put in. I think our confidence level is only growing as the games go on.”

The Volunteers rank sixth in the SEC with 72.3 points per game this season and fifth in offensive rating. A key bench player for Tennessee, Jahmai Mashack has averaged 3.7 points per game across 15.1 minutes.

It wasn’t just the game against Auburn in which the Volunteers struggled offensively. They also lost a game against Florida last week in which they shot 28%. Their season average of 43% suggests the past two games are just a case of falling into a slump, and things will improve soon.

The Volunteers at least have their defense to lean on amidst the offensive struggles, as they hold opponents to the lowest field goal percentage in the country (34.3%). That puts them on pace to become the all-time leader in field goal percentage defense, surpassing the 1999-00 Stanford team.

Tennessee will hope offensive improvement comes against the Commodores, as a loss could cause it to fall behind Texas A&M in the SEC standings. The Volunteers currently rank as the No. 4 team in the country and are currently listed as a two seed according to ESPN expert Joe Lunardi’s latest bracketology projections.

Tip off between Tennessee and Vanderbilt is set for 7 p.m. ET on Wednesday.