It’s no secret that Tennessee sports one of the smaller lineups in the SEC, and that disadvantage in the post has led to problems for the Vols all season. On Saturday, Ole Miss took that to another level.
The Rebels pulled down 21 offensive rebounds, the most given up by Tennessee this year, leading to 28 second chance points as the Rebels blew by the Vols 83-60 on Tennessee’s senior night in Thompson-Boiling Arena.
“I think that when you’re not executing, players don’t know where the shot is going to come from,” Tennessee coach Rick Barnes. “I just didn’t think we were really sharp from the beginning.”
The Vols held the conference’s leading scorer, Stefan Moody, without a point in the first half, due in part to foul trouble, but the Rebels had more than enough production to take his place. Sebastian Saiz pulled down four of his seven offensive rebounds in the first half, leading to 12 points before the break.
He finished the game with 23, grabbing 11 total rebounds and bullying any Tennessee defender that attempted to guard or box him out.
“We didn’t know that (Saiz) was going to step up like that,” senior guard Devon Baulkman said. “The big man stepped up really big and we didn’t defend him. We’re really small in the post and he really hurt us inside.”
Ole Miss started the game just 3-of-9 from the field, and Tennessee jumped out to a quick seven point lead in the first couple of minutes. Then the Rebels started crashing the glass, scoring five of their first seven points off of second chance opportunities.
Martavious Newby knocked down a 3-point shot after a Saiz offensive board, and two possessions later the big man called his own number after pulling the down the board, going up strong to tie the game. It was all Ole Miss from there.
The bright spot in the post for Tennessee was Ray Kasongo, who didn’t make his first appearance in the game until mid-way through the second half. The 6-foot-8 forward hadn’t played in three of the Vols’ last five games, but made an impact on Saturday.
He showed off his freak athleticism early by throwing down a one-handed put-back dunk over two Rebel defenders, and recording an acrobatic block on the defensive end. He finished the game with six points and four boards in just 16 minutes.
“When I say Ray can be an NBA draft pick, I mean Ray can be an NBA draft pick,” freshman forward Admiral Schofield said. “He’s just got to really put stuff together. His athleticism is really unbelievable, as you saw tonight.
“He just jumped over a couple guys like it was nothing, and he makes plays like that in practice. One of the things he’s got to learn is the game. He’s having a little harder time than others, but he’s starting to get it. I’m very proud of him for coming out and competing.”
Press problems: Ole Miss opened the game in an active full court press, determined to trap Tennessee’s young guards and throw off their offensive rhythm. It was nothing that Barnes and his team didn’t expect, but it was effective nonetheless.
The Vols turned the ball over 17 times and 11 of those came from Shembari Phillips and Armani Moore, the team’s two primary ball handlers. Many times a full-court press is designed to make a team play too fast, but that’s what Barnes wanted his team to do.
“We knew they were going to get in their little press and do that,” Barnes said. “We were just walking the ball up the floor and they were just backing up and backing up. There aren’t going to be any outlets until you attack it. We just kept walking it up and walking it up.
“Then you can’t step across half-court or get in those areas where you know you’re going to be trapped. We just weren’t aggressive.”
Barnes pointed to Phillips body language throughout the game, saying the freshman looked too timid to try and attack the press, and Ole Miss picked up on that early as he turned the ball over five times for the second game in a row.
His teammates, however, pointed out that there are five players on the floor and none of them did their job.
“We let their pressure get to us,” Schofield said. “Bringing the ball up the floor is just one thing we have to work on. I can’t blame Shembari. He’s a young guy and he’s trying to learn a new position… He let the pressure get to him a little bit, and it’s our fault as the other four guys on the floor because we’re supposed to help him alieve that.”
The other guys: Four players scored in double figures for Ole Miss, led by Saiz (23) and Tomasz Gielo (16). Moody added 12 and Newby added 10 and both he and Saiz recorded double-doubles.
By the numbers:
18: Ole Miss scored 18 points off of 17 Tennessee turnovers. The Vols converted just nine points on 15 Rebel turnovers.
57.1: The Rebels shot 16-of-28 in the second half, good for 57.1 percent from the floor.
14:04: Tennessee went 14:04 without a field goal, before Schofield finally knocked down a 3-point shot to end the drought.
