Tennesse basketball has extended its win streak to four straight games after picking up a big win over Ole Miss 84-66. The game was a grind as expected, but Tennessee's physicality and talent took over in the second half, pulling away from an Ole Miss team whose head coach, Chris Beard, was ejected near the end of the game.
The Rebels hung with the Vols early in a back-and-forth opening stretch, matching Tennessee’s physicality and pace. Felix Okpara’s absence was noticeable right away, as Tennessee struggled to finish at the rim. The lid stayed on the basket for the Vols, who went just 1-for-6 on layups by halftime.
Chris Beard has lost his mind pic.twitter.com/DBhgn1XJ7F
— Jordan Dajani (@JordanDajani) February 4, 2026
Tennessee couldn't miss in the 2nd half
The story of the game was how well Tennessee came out in the second half. I'm not sure if one would believe that this game was once 26-25 with Ole Miss having all the momentum going into the last 20 minutes.
Tennessee came out of the gate right away with Ja'Kobi Gillespie hitting a three, and from there the Vols never looked back. Tennessee outscored Ole Miss 58-41 in the second half, as Rick Barnes' team shot 54.8% from the field, including five three-pointers (38.5%) and 19-26 from the free throw line.
Nate Ament was once again the star for Tennessee. He poured in 26 points in the second half, shooting an efficient 8-for-10 from the field. It felt like he couldn’t miss, and he continued to play aggressively, attacking the rim and drawing and-1 opportunities all night.
Tennessee has a huge game versus Kentucky on Saturday night at Rupp Arena, and you know that Rick Barnes has not forgotten about the game at the Food City Center a few weeks ago. It should be a fun one on primetime Saturday night college hoops.