NASHVILLE — These 2 things probably aren’t unrelated: The Tennessee Vols had a rough February; and Josiah-Jordan James was injured for a significant part of the month. But the Vols have the senior guard back in form, and his return may have keyed UT for a March to remember.

James just missed a season high with 20 points in the Vols’ 70-55 win over Ole Miss in SEC Tournament action Thursday afternoon.

“I know the urgency we need to play with on both ends is necessary,” James said after Tennessee’s victory.

In knocking down 4 of 11 3-point attempts, James was part of a solid perimeter shooting game for UT. Overall, Tennessee connected on 10 of 28 treys, with Santiago Vescovi adding 3 in his 15-point, 6-rebound effort. During UT’s 4-6 run since January, the Vols had connected on double-figure 3-point bombs just twice, in a win over South Carolina and a buzzer-beating loss to Missouri — yes, the same Missouri that UT will now face in Friday’s SEC quarterfinals.

James had 11 points in the 1st half Thursday, including a buzzer-beating corner trey that lifted UT to a 6-point halftime advantage.

“I felt like we were more locked in in the closing minutes of the half,” said James. “So that was a big momentum shift for us.”

That momentum shift covered the final 5:05 of the half, when Ole Miss’ 31-29 lead became a 39-33 Vols halftime edge.

The Vols didn’t shoot as well in the 2nd half, connecting on just 36 percent of their shots, but they went 12-of-14 from the foul line to salt away the victory. Still, Tennessee was far from satisfied with its performance.

“For us to win the next game, we’ll have to be a lot more disciplined and get a lot smarter,” said James.

Vol coach Rick Barnes concurred, calling some of UT’s 14 turnovers on Thursday “ridiculous” and at one point admitting, “We had some guys zigging and some guys zagging.”

Tennessee improved to 23-9 on the season, and it moved on to face No. 4 seed Missouri. The 1st game of the season between the 2 was an 86-85 Mizzou victory on a near-heave at the buzzer from Tigers guard DeAndre Gholston. Missouri enters the matchup having won its past 4 games, which was how the Tigers landed the No. 4 seed and the coveted double-bye.

Tennessee figures to lean heavily on its veteran leaders against the Tigers.

“With all that we’ve been through,” said Barnes. “They’ve seen it. Our seniors, this time of year should be their time.”

Thursday certainly fit the profile, with James and Vescovi leading the charge. As for how much longer the charge will go, those same seniors will probably be the key to answering that question.