Rick Barnes issued his Tennessee team a challenge in the middle of an intense and extensive film session earlier this week.

The Vols' upset loss at Vanderbilt last Saturday was watched, studied, talked about and watched again. Many of the hallmarks of a Barnes-coached team were missing in Tennessee's 1-point defeat in Nashville, physicality among them.

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The Vols were out-rebounded, gave up far too many second-chance points and were out-scored in the paint. Then they had to turnaround and face a Mississippi State team that did all three of those things very well.

"(Barnes) challenged us to be the tougher team," Tennessee forward Felix Okpara said. "To be the tougher team, you've got to rebound."

Tennessee rebounded, both physically and poetically, flexing its muscle in a much-needed 68-56 triumph of the Bulldogs at Food City Center Tuesday night. Okpara was a big reason why.

The 6-foot-10 forward snagged a game-high 12 rebounds, helping the Vols (17-2, 4-2 SEC) beat Mississippi State (15-4, 3-3) on the boards, 36-31. His 9 points kept him just shy of a double-double.

"He’s brought physicality. We lack some of that," Barnes said. "What Felix is bringing us in protection. I thought he’s getting better at screens and all that. Just everything in particular."

Physicality was something that Barnes felt in the offseason that Tennessee wouldn't lack. The Vols bolstered their inside presence with the addition of Okpara, who transferred to the program after two seasons at Ohio State.

They also returned J.P. Estrella, who finished off his freshman campaign by going toe-to-toe with Zach Edey in Tennessee's Elite Eight loss to Purdue last March. Then Estrella got hurt and was limited in the preseason before officially being sidelined for the season with a left foot injury.

Cade Phillips has made the most of a bigger role off of the bench in relief of Okpara, averaging more than 5 points and four rebounds in 15.2 minutes per game.

MORE FROM VOLREPORT: Everything Rick Barnes said after Tennessee's win over Mississippi State

"(We thought) with (Okpara and Estrella) that we would be as physical as we’ve been in a long time," Barnes said. "With JP going down, we obviously lost part of that. But still impressed with what Cade (Phillips) can do. Cade is stronger than you think."

Stringing performances together like Okpara had Tuesday will continue to provide Tennessee with the kind of physicality that Barnes' teams have prided themselves on.

There are plenty of opportunities remaining to prove it, too, beginning with No. 1 Auburn on Saturday at Neville Arena (8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN).

"For me, it's just knowing that (rebounding) is my job and that's what the team wants from me," Okpara said. "When I know that the trusts me, the coaches trust me, I'm just going to go out there and have fun and play.

"When I first got here, I said I love defensive. I love rebounding, blocking shots. That's my game. I know the team needs that."

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