KNOXVILLE - The Tennessee men's basketball team beat visiting Ole Miss 73-48 on Tuesday night to improve to 12-6 this season, including 4-2 in Southeastern Conference play.
The win was predicated on the Volunteers' dominating defense, which limited the Rebels (9-9, 0-5) to 30% shooting from the field, and is their fourth in five games heading into Saturday's matchup at third-ranked Kansas (15-3) as part of the Big 12/SEC Challenge.
Kansas will be missing at least two players for the 4 p.m. EST game in Lawrence that will be televised by ESPN, with Silvio De Sousa and David McCormack suspended for their involvement in a brawl near the end of the Jayhawks' home win against Kansas State on Tuesday.
Here are three observations from the Vols' win against Ole Miss:
1. On the job: Tennessee coach Rick Barnes has joked around with John Fulkerson that the redshirt junior "doesn't understand his role" on the team. Barnes has been stronger in his criticism at times, saying the Vols need more out of the 6-foot-9, 212-pounder, who is the only player in the SEC who ranks in the top 10 in both offensive efficiency (121.2) and defensive efficiency (84.2), stats that show how many points a team would score or allow on average in 100 possessions with that player on the court. On Tuesday, Fulkerson was everything Barnes has been asking for. He was aggressive, making all 10 of his first-half shots (six field goals, four free throws) on his way to a career-high 18-point performance that included 10 rebounds and three steals. The past four games, he has averaged 12.8 points and eight rebounds while shooting 70%. The Vols need more of that from him.
2. More than capable: No other freshman on the roster has been asked to adjust his game more than Olivier Nkamhoua, a talented, 6-foot-8, 224-pound forward who is now being asked to play more with his back to the basket. Nkamhoua has had some highs and lows this season, but Tuesday was a high with 10 points and four rebounds in just 19 minutes. The flashes of potential have been there, and he has shown he is more than capable of being a contributor. That's why Barnes is continuing to push Nkamhoua: Tennessee needs more consistent performances like the one he had against the Rebels.
3. Improvement or scheduling? Might the Vols' recent run be a bit of both? Tennessee's back-to-back wins were lopsided results that came against the two worst teams in the SEC: Vanderbilt and Ole Miss. Yet the Vols dominated portions of those games and did so with a roster that's been in disarray for the past month, so it's probably fair to say a bit of both. The Vols are still working on things usually resolved during nonconference play, but it appears these Vols have a good understanding of how their coaches expect them to play. That's big because it will give them a chance going forward in every game, regardless of their opponent.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3 or at Facebook.com/VolsUpdate.