Nate Ament’s 29, Vols’ 19 assists propel Tennessee to win over Oklahoma
Published:
A pair of SEC teams that were enjoying recent hot stretches squared off Wednesday night, with Tennessee welcoming Oklahoma for a game that would snap one side’s winning streak.
And ultimately, it was the Volunteers that were able to extend their streak of victories to 3, as Rick Barnes & Co. dominated in nearly every facet on their way to an 89-66 win.
In a game that UT led nearly wire-to-wire, it was yet again the play of freshman Nate Ament that led the way. The Virginia native tallied 29 points to make it 5-of-6 games in which he’s scored 20+ in recent weeks. That mark came on 9-for-17 shooting, serving as another efficient performance for the wing.
But all in all, the Vols won this game as a team. From 19 total assists, to a plus-17 margin on the glass to a whopping 10 steals, the home side was able to dominate this one in nearly every aspect. Vols guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie posted 8 steals, the most in a single game in Tennessee history.
Led by 20 points from guard Nijel Pack, the Sooners cut the deficit to single-digits on multiple occasions but were never able to truly break through.
The Vols are technically still alive for the SEC Regular Season title, but they’d need some help. Here’s what the probabilities look like as of Wednesday night, per Kalshi:
Up next, Tennessee will begin a two-game road stand in Nashville when its clashes with in-state rivals Vanderbilt at 2 p.m. ET on Saturday. Meanwhile, Oklahoma will return to Norman to begin a two-game homestand, with Texas A&M visiting at 8:30 p.m. ET on Saturday.
Parker is currently the sports editor for the Enterprise-Journal in McComb, Mississippi. He's a graduate from Mizzou who has experience covering the Tiger football and basketball beats for SB Nation, and he's worked for a variety of sports news outlets in the past.
