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Sneaky-good No. 18 Tennessee hosts Ole Miss (Feb 02, 2018)
While most of the attention in the SEC has been on Kentucky's roller-coaster ride, Florida's inconsistency and Auburn's improbable rise to the top, the Tennessee Volunteers have been flying under the radar most of the season.
But if the SEC's best-kept secret keeps winning, the Volunteers won't be sneaking up on anybody, especially now that they are predicted to land a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Coach Rick Barnes will gladly trade the anonymity for success. But first things first as the No. 18 Volunteers host Ole Miss on Saturday at Thompson-Boling Arena.
If consistency is the mark of a good team, then Tennessee (16-5, 6-3 SEC) is pretty darn good. The Volunteers are coming off an 84-61 victory over LSU at home, their second straight 23-point win after beating Iowa State 68-45 last Saturday.
Stellar defense and outstanding point guard play from Jordan Bone and James Daniel III have fueled the Vols, who equaled last year's win total with the LSU victory.
"When you have two point guards out there, it allows you to play a little faster," Daniel told The (Nashville) Tennessean after he and Bone combined for 29 points in the win over LSU. "Either one of us can get it, and both run and both shoot. I feel as though we both are good passers."
Barnes agreed with Daniel but added something else he enjoys seeing even more.
"What I like best is when they are really locked in defensively," Barnes said. "That's what I like. The fact is both of them can shoot the ball and they can get going. They can shoot it pretty deep."
Tennessee's success also has been a result of stellar defensive play. The Volunteers are holding opponents to 58.7 points in the last six games.
Tennessee has the third strongest strength of schedule and is ranked in the top 30 in offensive (27th) and defensive (seven) efficiency.
There's no denying that Ole Miss has won six of eight against Tennessee. Andy Kennedy's team does have explosive players, including Deandre Burnett, who averages 15.7 points per game.
Burnett is the only player in the SEC who is in the Top 10 in assists, 3-point percentage, free-throw percentage and assists-to-turnover ratio.
Ole Miss (11-11, 4-5) has yet to win on the road this season and they're coming off a loss to Auburn that they gave away. The Rebels turned the ball over 17 times and committed 25 fouls. And they were horrid from 3-point range as well.
"We're disappointed, and justifiably so, everybody is. I get it. We've just got to keep fighting," Kennedy told the Clarion Ledger. "We've got a game against a ranked team (Tennessee) on the road on Saturday.
"You hang your head and four of five (losses) is going to turn to five of six and six of seven. Nobody is letting us off the mat, so we've got to find our way out."
So it will be up to Burnett to help establish consistency and toughness with teammates like Mustapha Heron, who had 16 points and 11 rebounds in the loss to Auburn, and Markel Crawford and Terence Davis.
"Everybody's got to play with a sense of urgency," Crawford said. "Everybody's got to come in here and play hard every play and not relax. For us, man, we've just got to come together and make this push as a team."
