Tennessee basketball heads to Ole Miss on Wednesday night for its penultimate game of the regular season. The Vols are winners of four straight and find themselves in the thick of the competition for the final one-seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Ole Miss has been struggling in recent weeks but earned a needed win over Oklahoma on Saturday in Oxford and is looking to earn a major win for its resume.
Here’s everything to know ahead of the SEC showdown.
More From RTI: Where Tennessee Basketball Lands In Bracketology Updates Ahead Of Ole Miss Game
How To Watch — No. 4 Tennessee (24-5, 11-5 SEC) at Ole Miss (20-9, 9-7 SEC)
- Start Time: 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT
- Location: The Pavilion
- Watch: ESPN2. PxP: Rece Davis, CC: Jimmy Dykes
- Online Streaming: Watch ESPN
- Radio (Knoxville): The Vol Network/The Vol Network App
Betting Lines
- Tennessee -3.5 Ole Miss
- Over/under 137
- Tennessee -4 Ole Miss
- Over/under: 134
What Tennessee AC Gregg Polinsky Said About The Rebels
On what stands out about Ole Miss
“Yeah, defensively they’re still really good. You know, Coach (Mark) Adams came back there with Coach Beard and they still ping you on the side. They’re gonna switch everything, which is always an issue. It’s always hard to get used to. They do a little matchup zone, you know, they’re gonna press some, they’re gonna change things up and you know and they’ve, like most of us, they’re going to play with more enthusiasm at home. We expect a sell out and this is a big game for them. We’re all fighting for seating. I think Ole Miss is obviously securely in the NCAA Tournament, but now you’re looking at fighting for seeding.”
On what stands out about Ole Miss’ offense
“I think it’s six guys that are in double-digit scoring, so they don’t need just one guy to get it done. They truly do it with a team effort. So we can’t put too much emphasis on any one player. We have to do what we do and do it really well at a high level and then, you know, hopefully do a much better job rebounding the basketball than we did against a really physical, athletic Alabama team here on Saturday.”
Probable Starters
Tennessee (via UT Game Notes):
Ole Miss (via OM Game Notes):
Team Statistics (via KenPom)
Tennessee:
Ole Miss:
Individual Stat Leaders
Tennessee:
Points: Chaz Lanier — 17.8 PPG, 42.5 FG%, 40.7 3PT%
Rebounds: Igor Milicic — 7.5 RPG, 5.4 DRPG, 2.1 ORPG
Assists: Zakai Zeigler — 7.2 APG, 3.0 TOPG, 34.2 MPG
Ole Miss:
Points: Sean Pedulla — 15.2 PPG, 43.8 FG%, 40.4 3PT%
Rebounds: Malik Dia — 5.5 RPG, 4.3 DRPG, 1.2 ORPG
Assists: Sean Pedulla — 3.8 APG, 1.9 TOPG, 33.1 MPG
Last Five Games
Tennessee:
- 79-76 win versus Alabama
- 65-59 win at LSU
- 77-69 win at Texas A&M
- 81-76 win versus Vanderbilt
- 75-64 loss at Kentucky
Ole Miss:
- 87-84 win versus Oklahoma
- 106-76 loss at Auburn
- 77-72 loss at Vanderbilt
- 81-71 loss at Mississippi State
- 72-68 win versus South Carolina
Prediction
Tennessee 4-4 on the road in SEC play this season and its final road game is one that could go either way. If the Vols win this one they’ll have a great chance to close SEC play winning six straight games and nine of their last 10.
There’s two key battles in this game. First, can Tennessee remain relatively even in the turnover battle? The Rebels don’t turn the ball over and are elite at forcing turnovers themselves. Tennessee has struggled with turnovers at times this season. That’s working against Tennessee but the Vols are a strong rebounding team and Ole Miss is a lackluster one.
I’ll be impressed if the Vols can flip the script from Saturday’s emotional win with another strong performance and a road victory. But Tennessee is playing well right now while Ole Miss has been struggling as of late. The Vols get it done on the road.
Tennessee 70, Ole Miss 63
