The final balloon popped at Tennessee basketball’s practice on Feb. 17.
The reverberations of the burst mixed with coach Rick Barnes’ screams as he implored his team to take care of the ball. Tennessee’s eccentric method of measuring, and hopefully limiting, turnovers put the players on edge for the rest of the practice. One more mistake meant lining up on the baseline for sprints.
The work paid off Feb. 18. The Vols (19-7, 9-4 SEC) ran Oklahoma (13-13, 3-10) out of Food City Center with an 89-66 victory. Tennessee had only seven turnovers, its second-lowest mark of the season.
“Y’all saw what we can be if we take care of the ball,” said Nate Ament, who tied his career high of 29 points. “For us, it’s learning how to be aggressive while also learning how to be smart and taking care of the ball. Coach says all the time we play super hard, but we’re not the smartest team.”
The Vols’ offense looked about as crisp as it has all season, churning out 45 points in the first half and keeping the same flow after halftime. They shot 52.4% from the field as a team and delivered 22 assists, its best mark in SEC play.
Ja’Kobi Gillespie, who finished with 16 points and eight assists, had a field day diagnosing the Oklahoma defense.
“I thought, mentally, a lot of things slowed down for him,” Barnes said about his star guard. “I’ve seen that happen with Nate over the last couple weeks, but for Ja’Kobi, I think he’s seeing the game the way that he needs to see it.”
Gillespie, like the balloons, echoed his coach.
“I feel like I’m slowing down, trying to read the game more,” he said. “Knowing what my teammates want, and what they don’t.”
Tennessee didn’t just take care of the ball. It bullied the Sooners into coughing up 15 turnovers. Gillespie contributed eight steals of his own, which is a Tennessee single-game record and is tied for the fifth-most in SEC history.
“I was really gambling a lot,” Gillespie said. “My teammates had my back. I would say if they’re looking straight at the rim, I’m not really worrying about who’s in the gap. I’m just going and getting it instead of staying on my own man.
“It’s definitely special to be in the history books. Hopefully it lasts long.”
Barnes was impressed with Gillespie’s ability to play frenetically on defense while remaining calm and precise on offense. More performances like that could help Tennessee improve on its 12.6 turnovers per game, which ranks No. 278 in the country.
“It’s what we’ve been preaching all year about taking care of the ball,” Barnes said. “We lead the league in offensive rebounding, but you can’t do that if you keep turning the ball over . . . It was a critical thing we’ve been talking about all year and hopefully we can build on it.”
Wynton Jackson covers high school sports for Knox News. Email: [email protected]
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