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Rick Barnes explains Jahmai Mashack's decreased minutes in second half vs. Mizzou

IMG_3593by:Grant Ramey•about 9 hours•

GrantRamey

Jahmai Mashack, Tennessee Basketball | Saul Young/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
(Saul Young/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images) Tennessee's Jahmai Mashack (15) moves the ball while guarded by Missouri's Tamar Bates (2) during an NCAA college basketball game on Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025, in Knoxville, Tenn.

Jahmai Mashack fouled Missouri’s Tony Perkins on a 3-point attempt with 19:03 left in the second half Wednesday night. Perkins hit two of the three free throws that followed, stretching the Mizzou lead to 11 points after back-to-back Tennessee turnovers to start the half. 

Mashack checked out after the foul, was on the bench for the next 12 minutes and played only two more minutes in the second half as No. 4 Tennessee rallied to beat No. 15 Missouri 85-81 at Food City Center. 

Mashack played 22 minutes, his lowest usage since playing 20 minutes at Texas on January 11.

“(It was) just the fact that I thought that the group (on the court) got going,” Barnes said when asked about Mashack’s decreased minutes before practice on Friday.

Rick Barnes: ‘Jordan (Gainey) kept the floor spread and that’s what was working’

That group was Zakai Zeigler, Chaz Lanier, Igor Milicic, Felix Okpara and Jordan Gainey, who checked in for Mashack at the 19:03 mark. Gainey played 34 minutes off the bench, helping spark the comeback with Tennessee scoring 31 points in an eight-minute stretch after he entered the game.

“They got going,” Barnes continued, “and Jordan kept the floor spread. And that’s what was working, that’s what we stayed with.”

The lineup of Zeigler, Gainey, Lanier, Millicic and Okpara has not only been the more productive offensive lineup — the offensive rating is 128.2 with Gainey and 115.9 with Mashack, with only a different of 0.2 on defense —  it has been Barnes’ most frequent lineup over the last five games at 17.3%, per KenPom.com.

The lineup of Zeigler, Mashack, Lanier, Milicic and Okpara is at 15.8% over the last five games. 

Up Next: No. 4 Tennessee at Oklahoma

No. 4 Tennessee (19-4, 6-4 SEC) goes on the road to face Oklahoma (16-6, 3-6) on Saturday (Noon Eastern Time, ESPN) at the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, where the Vols will look to avoid another slow start.

Missouri built a nine-point lead in the first half Wednesday after Tennessee committed eight turnovers and scored just 28 points. 

“I told our guys I thought we have done a good job following our game plan from a defensive standpoint,” Barnes said, “but all that we talked about from an offensive standpoint, game plan, we didn’t do any of it. It was there for us, but we didn’t, for whatever reason.”

Barnes said during his postgame press conference Wednesday night that he took the film from the first four minutes of the Missouri game and showed it to his team at halftime, pointing out that what the Vols wanted was there, they just weren’t taking advantage of it. 

“And if we would have,” Barnes said, “they would’ve adjusted obviously. But I think it’s the focus in terms of on both ends being ready. And we talked about where we wanted certain guys after missed baskets and we didn’t get them there. 

“And (in the) second half we were much more together in terms of execution.”

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