Tennessee may have limped into the Southeastern Conference basketball tournament following last week's season-ending loss of sophomore point guard Zakai Zeigler, but the fifth-seeded Volunteers didn't stagger out of their Thursday opener against 13th-seeded Ole Miss.
The No. 17 Vols turned up the defensive heat in the second half, holding the Rebels to just 22 points in the final 20 minutes in pulling away for a 70-55 thumping before an announced crowd of 13,165 inside Nashville's Bridgestone Arena. Tennessee's senior guard tandem of Josiah-Jordan James and Santiago Vescovi combined for 35 points and seven 3-pointers.
"I think it goes without saying that this team goes how the veterans go," James said afterward in a news conference.
James scored 20 points and led Tennessee's efforts in turning a slow start into a thorough performance. The Vols shot 24-of-51 from the floor (47.1%), made 10 3-pointers overall and outrebounded Ole Miss 38-22.
Senior forward Olivier Nkamhoua added nine points to complement his fellow Vols veterans.
"It's on them to deliver," Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said. "With all that we've been through this year, they've seen it. Different games have taken on different personalities, but we've found a way to do it. We've got to defend, and in the second half, we got back to being more physical.
"With the seniors, this time of year should be their time of year."
Ole Miss jumped out to a 25-19 lead on a Matthew Murrell 3-pointer at the 9:37 mark of the first half, but the Vols outscored the Rebels 20-8 to take a 39-33 lead at the break. James hit a 3-pointer at the halftime horn and then tallied a pair of free throws and another 3 within the first minute of the second half to extend their advantage to 44-33.
"We were more locked in during the closing minutes of the half than we were at the start of the game," James said. "That was a big momentum shift for us."
Tennessee improved to 23-9 and earned a quarterfinal matchup Friday afternoon (3:30 on ESPN) against fourth-seeded Missouri (23-8). It will be a rematch of one of the SEC's most entertaining regular-season thrillers, as DeAndre Gholston's 3-pointer from nearly 30 feet as time expired gave the Tigers an 86-85 win in Knoxville on Feb. 11.
"They played a great game and made a great shot to beat us," Barnes said. "They're one of the best teams in the country in terms of turning you over and getting steals. Taking care of the basketball is going to be really important.
"They're going to make you pay if you don't."
The Vols had 14 turnovers against Ole Miss, which concluded a season that began with Kermit Davis as coach and ended with Win Case in an interim role with a 12-21 record. Myles Burns led the Rebels with 14 points, while Murrell and Jaemyn Brakefield chipped in 12 apiece.
Tennessee extended its SEC tournament streak that began with three wins to earn the title last year in Tampa, Florida.
Rules are rules
Barnes was asked in the news conference about Alabama's off-the-court situation this season and whether he has any rules on players having guns.
"There are two things that we have," Barnes said. "One of them is that you can never ever do anything domestically against a female, and you can never carry a firearm. That's a team rule, but the university also has that policy in place."
Odds and ends
Tennessee is 9-3 in its past 12 SEC tournament games with four straight wins. ... The Vols improved to 4-0 this season in their "Tennessee Classic" uniforms, having previously downed Texas, Alabama and Arkansas.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com.