Rick Barnes breaks down change in Jordan Gainey recently

Jordan Gainey played the best game of his junior season to this point on Wednesday during Tennessee‘s 88-68 victory over LSU.

Gainey scored a season-high 18 points on 26 minutes off the bench for Rick Barnes’ squad against the Tigers. Averaging just 7.7 points per game on the year, Gainey has ripped off a strong stretch that has seen him bump that average to 12 points per game over Tennessee’s last four wins.

“The last couple of games, I think he’s had a really good rhythm, a really good feel,” Barnes said of Gainey’s progress postgame. “I think he’s settling in more. I think he’s working hard, moving without the ball, but he also is understanding, you know, that if he gets his feet set — there’s not guy on our team, that (if) they get their feet set and we want rhythm shots. We don’t think anybody’s has to force any shots unless it’s a special situation. We hate getting down against the clock. That shouldn’t happen, but when it does, you might have to do that.

“But again, I go back as much as he’s scored, I think why he’s scoring is he’s not thinking about it. He’s just naturally gifted at shooting the ball and you got some other things he can do, but it’s how hard he is working defensively and I think that when you get lost in the game like that, it makes everything better. Certainly helps you get out and run. You can spot up. He’s good with a one-dribble, two-dribble pull up. He’s not afraid to go in and try to get fouled and make a layup.”

Gainey has served as Tennessee’s sixth man for the 2023-24 season, but has been making the most of it as of late. He started the season off by scoring in double figures in six of the Vols’ seven games to start the season. From Dec. 5 until Jan. 20, however, Gainey struggled to find his shot and his minutes dwindled until his most recent run.

Now, Gainey can have a new sense of confidence after his season-high performance against the Tigers. He’ll take that mindset down to College Station where the Vols take on Texas A&M on Saturday night. The opening tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET and will air live on ESPN. Tennessee currently sits 0.5 games back from first place in the SEC.