There have been two things that have haunted Tennessee basketball over the last two week:

Saturdays and road games.

The Vols last two road games both ended in losses to Alabama and Georgia, respectively.

When the Vols headed to Ole Miss on Saturday, they made sure that the third time was a charm, defeating the Rebels, 73-65.

“We had a chance to maybe break it loose earlier, but they stayed after it,” Barnes said. “Then we were able to build the lead back up and get a win. This time of year, a win is a win.”

In their first game without former head coach Andy Kennedy, the Rebels used a jolt of energy to upset the Missouri Tigers. This is something that Rick Barnes was aware of and wanted to make sure his team didn’t fall victim to, either.

The Vols wasted no time taking away that energy boost, jumping out to a 33-13 lead in the first 15 minutes of the game.

At the time, everything was clicking for the Vols. The defense’s effort was turning into offense, resulting in easy baskets.

Earlier in the season, the Vols had trouble in some games holding onto leads into the second half, and that problem nearly crept up again.

After having a 41-26 lead at the half, the Vols’ lead was cut to as low as four points early in the second half as it looked like they had reverted to their old ways.

But there was a notable difference from earlier in the season to now: Tennessee’s response.

The defense held the Rebels scoreless for over three minutes as the Vols’ lead grew to 16 points.

“There’s no lead big enough, especially early in the game,” Barnes said. “The fact that we did respond when they cut it to four is a good thing for us, and hopefully, we can continue to build off of.”

It wasn’t the prettiest half of basketball, but the Vols were able to secure the road victory.

Admiral Schofield led the Vols’ scoring with 25 points on 9-of-14 shooting.

Schofield’s big offensive night was necessary. No other player for the Vols who took more than two shots shot over 50 percent from the field.

“I was just really aggressive offensively,” Schofield said. “I usually play off of Grant, but he got in foul trouble early. I had to step up.”

As a team, the Vols finished shooting 39 percent overall but connected on 45 percent of three-pointers.

A lot of that success can also be contributed to point guard Jordan Bone.

Earlier in the week, Rick Barnes told Bone that something had to give. The team wasn’t going to leave practice until the point guard showed he could push the tempo and be aggressive.

Since then, Bone has looked confident on the court, and it showed today, tying his season-high with eight assists.

Defensively, Rick Barnes wasn’t completely satisfied with the effort because of the benchmark the team set in the first half.

The Vols allowed the Rebels to score 39 points in the second half, but they had to earn them. The Rebels finished the game shooting 34 percent from the field, but that number is low because of the Vols’ 3-point defense.

The Rebels struggled to find any rhythm downtown, finishing the game 1-of-23. With the win, the Vols snapped a two-game road losing streak.

Next up, the Vols will finish up their SEC road slate with a trip to Starkville to take on Mississippi State.

With a win, the Vols would lock up at least a No. 2-seed in the SEC Tournament.