Why Rick Barnes was 'most pleased' with Tennessee's offense in 90-64 win over Ole Miss

There was nothing wrong with the shots. No. 5 Tennessee was getting one open look after the next at the 3-point line against No. 22 Ole Miss Saturday at Thompson-Boling Arena. The Vols just couldn’t buy a bucket.

First it was Santiago Vescovi. Then Zakai Zeigler. Then Josiah-Jordan James. Jordan Gainey and Dalton Knecht got it on the misses later in the half.

“Early in the game,” Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said during his postgame press conference, “we had some great look, didn’t go in.”

Over the first 16 minutes, 38 seconds of the first half, Tennessee was just 1-for-12 from the 3-point line. Then Zeigler hit one with 3:22 left in the first half and the flood gates opened. 

The Vols made their final four 3-point attempts of the first half, with a pair from Jahmai Mashack on the final two possessions, to take a 40-31 lead at halftime. The streak continued in the second half with two more made threes as Tennessee was well on its way to a 90-64 rout to start SEC play.  

‘When we missed shots early, guys kept taking them’

The Vols dominated Ole Miss in rebounding, winning 47-24 on the board overall and 19-4 on the offensive glass. They had 25 assists, second most this season, on 34 made shots, too. 

But after the game, Barnes focused on the 3-point line — both how it started and how it ended. 

“The thing that I’m most pleased with,” he said, “is that when we missed shots early, guys kept taking them. Because that’s where we had bogged down. That’s the one thing, again, talking about the confidence, keeping these guys confident that they’ll continue to shoot the ball when they’re open. 

“And (if) we do that, it will help us to move forward.”

Tennessee’s offense as a whole has seemingly taken a big step forward this season.

The Vols have scored 80 or more points eight times through 14 games this season. They scored 80 or more points nine times in 36 games last season. 

“I keep talking about our defense,” Barnes told his team in the locker room after the game, “but like I told you last night, we got to keep getting our offense. We can get 80 points every night if we want to do it.”

Tennessee is ranked No. 24 in KenPom.com‘s adjusted offensive efficiency — points scored per 100 possession — at 116.3. Last season the offense finished 64th in the category at 111.3.

Since finishing No. 4 in adjusted offensive efficiency in 2018-19, Tennessee’s offense has averaged a ranking of No. 70 the last four seasons. 

The Vols are averaging 78.7 points per game so far, up from 70.7 points per game last season. 

Up Next: No. 5 Tennessee at Mississippi State, Wednesday, 7 p.m. ET, SEC Network

Mashack, who finished with 10 points, four rebounds and four assists against Ole Miss, said afterward that it’s hard to compare the offense from this season to last. 

“Because there’s stuff here and there,” he said, “it’s different strengths I think that we had over the past couple years. I think from a perimeter standpoint, we’ve been shooting the ball a lot better.

“And I’m proud of that because we put in the work, so we just got to keep being confident with the shots that we’ve gotten.”

Tennessee’s 11 3-point field goals Saturday were the second most of the season. The Vols made 12 against Tennessee Tech on November 6 and 12 against Norfolk State on Tuesday. They’ve shot 43.5% from the field in seven of the last eight games and have shot 34.0% or better from the 3-point line in four of the last seven.

“It’s definitely come a long way,” Mashack said. “We’ve definitely come a long way from the summer to now, but over the past few (games), I think our offense has been good. It’s just getting those sets and getting those guys who we want to shoot, to shoot more and to be more efficient.”