Tennessee (8-4) hops into SEC play tonight, welcoming Ole Miss (11-2) to Knoxville in a match-up between two of the most physical teams in the league. For both squads, it's the first step in a long conference season, and getting out of the gate with a win would be an obviously ideal way to start the journey.

The last time we saw the Vols they fell 85-80 to Memphis after a furious second half rally fell just short. For a team that has struggled to score points off-and-on all season long, the 52 point outburst in the second half was perhaps something to build on, even if the final result was disagreeable.

Bringing some of that offense into conference play would be a huge plus, but Cuonzo Martin is more interested in avoiding the kind of starts that made a 52 point half a wasted effort.

"Outside of being aggressive I don't really take anything from that second half. It's like I told Josh (Richarson) and Jordan (McRae), great job scoring the ball, but we need to have that same mentality every game," Martin said of the message he sent his team after the loss on Saturday.


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