Tennessee sophomore guard Jahmai Mashack is seventh on the team in scoring with 5.4 points per game, and he isn’t too far from being ninth.
Yet points aren’t what the 6-foot-4, 201-pounder from Fontana, California, is known for these days as the No. 8 Volunteers (11-2, 1-0 SEC) prep for Tuesday night’s home game against Mississippi State (11-2, 0-1). In Tennessee’s Southeastern Conference opener last Wednesday evening, a 63-59 win at Ole Miss, Mashack helped limit Rebels leading scorer Matthew Murrell to five points on 1-of-11 shooting.
“It’s always exciting for me to try and and lock somebody down,” Mashack said Monday in a news conference. “Our coaches know I want whoever the go-to-player is. It doesn’t matter if they play the 1, 2, 3 or 4. I really want to guard them. That’s my mindset.
“I feel like I can go against anybody. They know I want the challenge.”
Tuesday’s game inside Thompson-Boling Arena will tip at 7 and will be televised by ESPN2.