Tennessee-Ole Miss Second Round Preview

Tennessee's second-round game in the SEC Tournament will be against the Ole Miss Rebels

Tennessee now knows its opponent to open the SEC Tournament. The Vols will take on the 13 seed, the Ole Miss Rebels, in the second game on Thursday. The game is scheduled to tip off 25 minutes after the conclusion of Mississippi State-Florida. Tennessee only played Ole Miss once this, and it took place back in early January, where Tennessee picked up a narrow 63-59 win in Oxford. KenPom projects the Vols as a 13-point favorite.

In the defensive slugfest back in January, the Vols were led by Santiago Vescovi with 22 points. Vescovi has been massive in the last couple of weeks in keeping Tennessee in games with his tremendous second-half performances. Zakai Zeigler, who is out for the season, added 13 in that game.

The two guys for Ole Miss that Tennessee struggled to contain in their sole meeting were Jaemyn Brakefield and Amaree Abram. Ironically, those were the Rebels' best two players in their first-round win over South Carolina, scoring 16 and 20, respectively. Abram would be a guy that Zeigler would match up against, but look for Tennessee to go with Vescovi or even a bigger Jahmai Mashack against him.

Even though double digits will favor Tennessee, this is not a team they should overlook. Ole Miss has been playing much better basketball since Kermit Davis was fired, and we know they played Tennessee tough earlier this season. Plus, Ole Miss has already played a game, and as much as fatigue could be a factor, they will come into the game in rhythm and loose. If the Vols can get it done, they'll get a rematch with Mizzou on Friday.

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