LINEUP NOTES

Ole Miss:

• Same lineup for the majority of the season: Tyree, Shuler, Hinson, Buffen, Sy.
• I don’t follow Ole Miss basketball closely, obviously, so I can’t directly say why their bench has had such a swing in minutes. Bryce Williams went from playing 20 minutes against Penn State to picking up three straight DNPs earlier this month. Franco Miller didn’t play against Memphis and Penn State yet started against Florida. Antavion Collum got 25 minutes against Wichita State and two over the last three games combined. Basically, anywhere from seven to 11 different players could play in this game, depending on Kermit’s mood.

Tennessee:

• KenPom chart comes back for the Kansas game after they phase out LSU.
• Vescovi, Bowden, JJJ, Pons, Fulkerson.
• Here’s how the rotation looks through five SEC games: main five, Jalen Johnson, Nkamhoua, Euro Plastics. Neither Gaines (7 minutes against SoCar as his peak) nor Pember (10, same game) have gotten much run at all, which is…confusing after, I don’t know, the entire month of December.

KEY MATCHUPS

Santiago Vescovi vs. Breein Tyree. To be honest, I don’t expect Vescovi to outright win this matchup, because Tyree is one of the best guards in the SEC. I like Tyree a lot, as you can tell. BUT. Tyree is a pretty forgettable one-on-one defender, and Javonte Smart – far from an elite scorer – went for 20 points in their loss to LSU. Vescovi should get several opportunities, and here’s hoping he takes advantage.

Yves Pons vs. KJ Buffen. I thought Pons was really good against Vanderbilt, which was great news considering he’s been mostly terrible on offense from the Wisconsin game onward. Pons needs to capture his LSU (18 points on 12 shots) and Florida State (13 on 8) form and find a way to keep it going the rest of the season; these Vols desperately need a guy who can score at multiple levels. I would like to guarantee that Pons blocks at least one Buffen shot.

Jordan Bowden vs. Devontae Shuler. Credit where credit is very much due: Bowden was easily the best player on the floor in Saturday’s game. He’s needed an outing like that desperately, and that’s the form he needs to capture going forward. Shuler runs very hot and cold, but it’s almost entirely been cold against quality competition. (Check this stuff out against Top 100 opponents: 18-of-79 from the field, 7-of-30 from three. Sound familiar?) Bowden’s gotta win this one.

PREDICTION

Tennessee 67, Ole Miss 59.