In a Southeastern Conference that seemingly holds marquee matchups every three days, No. 4 Tennessee is coming off its most dramatic win in the conference portion of the season.
Eyeing a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, the Volunteers will hope to avoid a letdown when they play Ole Miss on Wednesday night in Oxford, Miss.
Tennessee (24-5, 11-5) pulled off the Mashack Miracle on Rocky Top in a 79-76 comeback Saturday against then-No. 6 Alabama, a contest with major postseason implications for the handful of teams seeking a No. 1 seed.
Has there been a more thorough, overwhelming win for the Volunteers?
Probably.
The team’s 64-44 home thrashing of then-No. 5 Florida on Feb. 1 avenged the Gators’ 73-43 romp over Tennessee, ranked No. 1, nearly a month earlier.
However, Saturday’s victory after being down by nine in the second half and 76-72 with half a minute left between the neighboring rivals turned into a “Game of the Year” frontrunner.
In the late stages, Jahmai Mashack lifted his club onto his shoulders for its eighth victory over an AP-ranked team, a program record.
In the final 30 seconds, Mashack sank two free throws after being fouled on an offensive rebound to knot it at 76. Then he tied up Labaron Philon to require an Alabama inbounds play, which led to the 6-foot-4 guard helping force a five-second violation with Philon inbounding.
The senior then pulled up a few steps inside the half-court line and drilled a game-winning 40-foot jumper as the horn droned.
“We know what we’re built for, we know who we are,” said Mashack, who had 11 points, six boards, three steals and two blocks. “This is what we’ve done every single day. Don’t question what it is. I don’t care if we’re down 20, I don’t care if we’re up 20. You stick to the program.”
Guard Jordan Gainey (10.8 ppg) scored nine of his 18 points in the final 8:20 in Tennessee’s rally. Chaz Lanier, who also netted 18, leads the Vols with 17.8 points per game.
The Volunteers play South Carolina at home Saturday in their regular-season finale.
In Ole Miss (20-9, 9-7), the visitors will face a Rebels group fresh off their own dramatic win — courtesy of guard Sean Pedulla — and looking to improve their stock with a top-five upset (or two) in the regular season’s final week.
The driving force of coach Chris Beard’s attack, Pedulla scored 26 points and canned 5 of 9 attempts from distance, including the go-ahead one with 18.3 seconds left in Saturday’s 87-84 home win over Oklahoma.
Beard implored his team to put its setbacks in the rearview mirror and look at the opportunities ahead.
“This is the SEC. It’s an 18-round fight. You better have a short memory,” Beard said of a recent three-game losing skid. “I don’t think of it as losing. You win the game or you run out of time. Either way, you get back to work quickly.”
The Rebels end the regular season Saturday at No. 5 Florida and will seek more wins in the SEC tournament.
“We understand the opportunities that we have coming after this game,” Beard said after the Oklahome victory. “Must-win? Absolutely, but it’s March. What win in March isn’t a must-win? I guess some teams go to their conference tournament and maybe don’t value that, but that’s not us.”
–Field Level Media
