KNOXVILLE - Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy stood on the sideline with his arms clasped behind his back, expressionless as he peered toward the basket on the far end of the court.
Behind that basket, a member of the student section furiously pumped a cardboard cut-out of Tennessee coach Rick Barnes' smiling face in the air - one member of a crowd of 18,312 at Thompson Boling Arena that was roaring its approval.
"That second half left me a little speechless," Kennedy said after Saturday's game.
After Lamonte Turner hit a contested 3-pointer as the shot clock expired - Tennessee's second such successful heave in two possessions - to give the Volunteers a 26-point lead with 3:38 remaining, it was clear that their fifth straight win was especially charmed. There was nothing Kennedy or any coach could do to reverse this.
The Vols began the month of February and the second half of their Southeastern Conference schedule by shooting 71.4 percent in the second half for a 94-61 win over Ole Miss.
Tennessee (17-5, 7-3) has won its last three games by a combined 79 points. This victory gave the Vols sole possession of second place in the SEC as they prepare to play at Kentucky on Tuesday.
"The biggest thing for us is we just go out and compete like we're the 13th team in the conference, which we were predicted to be," junior forward Admiral Schofield said.
At the beginning of Saturday's second half, things were shaping up for a different ending. Ole Miss cut Tennessee's 35-25 halftime edge to 35-32, and when the do-it-all Schofield went down clutching his ankle, this game and the Vols' dream season felt compromised for a moment.
Just a minute later, Schofield came bounding out from the locker room, running to the scorers' table and back onto the court to complete his second double-double of the season with 15 points and 12 rebounds.
The ankle felt a little sore after the game, Schofield admitted.
"It hurts," he said. "But my dad always told me if it's not broke or bleeding then you've got to get back out there."
It was Schofield who preceded Turner by one possession with a contested, shot-clock-beating 3-pointer. It started a streak of six straight made baskets to end the game for Tennessee.
Even reserve redshirt freshman wing Jalen Johnson came in cold off the bench and hit two 3-pointers in the final two minutes as the Vols put their brief first-half struggles against an aggressive Ole Miss zone defense well behind them.
Even Barnes could find little wrong with his team's second-half performance.
"Probably, obviously, the best half of the year that we've played," Barnes said. "When the ball is going in, it makes everything look good."
Tennessee's third-year coach aims for his teams to hold opponents below 39 percent shooting while preferring that his teams shoot 65 percent. Both are lofty goals - and they are nearly impossible to pull off simultaneously. Only once this year had Tennessee done both in a half, until Saturday's second half.
"I've had a lot of nights in here," said Kennedy, who is in his 12th season at Ole Miss. "I think this is my eighth time in here. But I don't think I've ever been whupped like that."
Then Kennedy started chuckling. What else could he do after that game?
"I like Rick Barnes," he said. "But I don't like him that much."
Contact David Cobb at dcobb@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @DavidWCobb and on Facebook at facebook.com/volsupdate.