Jahmai Mashack, Uros Plavsic spark Vols second half defensive effort
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Uros Plavsic feels he's at his best when he plays the role he did on Thursday inside Bridgestone Arena.
The Tennessee senior forward often plays with a chip on his shoulder whenever he's on the floor and that style of play can sometimes be contagious in the best way.
Such was the case in the second half against Ole Miss.
Plavsic teamed up with sophomore guard Jahmai Mashack to provide the Vols with a spark on the defensive end that put the Rebels out of the game down the stretch and led Tennessee to a 70-55 win the in the second round of the SEC Tournament.
“That’s what I’m all about, honestly,” Plavsic said. “The energy that I can provide for this team and you know, seeing other guys, just seeing their energy being carried over to other people, it’s unbelievable. That is something that can start something really good, so why not me?”
Plavsic's energy was needed. Tennessee had no trouble on the offensive end thanks to a 20-point outing from senior guard Josiah-Jordan James, but holding off Ole Miss was more of a challenge in the first half.
The Rebels hit five 3-pointers as part of a more than 50% shooting effort in the first 20 minutes. Plavsic and Mashack didn't give them much of a chance to replicate that performance in the second half.
Plavsic used his length to swat away passes and disrupt shots, while Mashack's pressure prevented Ole Miss guards from driving to the basket. The Rebels managed just 33.3% shooting from the field and another 22% from 3-point range in the period.
“I just thought, you know, we needed a little spark on defense and I wanted to make sure that I’m aggressive on that end of the floor,” Plavsic said. “Jahmai joined there. We were trapping some ball screens that happened to be me and him there a lot together in those coverages, so I just thought it worked really well for us. It caused a lot of confusion for (Ole Miss). They were throwing the ball over the top and we made some steals and a lot of deflections.
"I feel like that gave us an advantage on offense as well. When we play really good defense for us, we’re always going to find a way to score.”
“Just knowing that we needed spark,” Mashack added. “Whether it was on the offensive end, the defensive end, I didn’t know, at the time but whatever I was going to do, I was going to do something to try and spark the team up a little bit more. It was important that I was able to do that and Uros was able to do that.
"That’s something that I pride myself on moving forward, just being that guy that can amp up the team on both ends. Moving forward, that’s going to be important.”
Both players' energy is evident when they're in the game which has made their roles all the more important for Tennessee with sophomore guard Zakai Zeigler out for the remainder of the season with an ACL tear.
It's hard for any player to replicate what Zeigler brought to the team in energy on both ends of the floor, but if the Vols have anyone on their roster that can do their best to fill that spot, Plavsic and Mashack are it.
“Nobody is going to fill (Zeigler’s) shoes,” Mashack said. “But I can give energy my own way. It’s a little bit different than he does it, but it’s still effective. Just doing that is going to be important. Really having that energy and taking care of my teammates in that part is going to be extremely important moving forward.”
As Tennessee pushes forward in defense of its 2022 SEC Tournament crown, similar showings from Plavsic and Mashack will make the difference.
Standing in the way of the Vols and a semifinal berth is a Missouri team that totaled 14 threes in the two teams' previous regular season meeting in Knoxville on Feb. 11.
But the 3-pointer that Tennessee remembers most is the one D'Andre Gholston made at the buzzer to hand the Tigers a 86-85 victory.
“It’s definitely motivation,” Mashack said. “We don’t like to lose. We never like to lose. We get a chance to play a team that beat us and we’ve got to come out on top, man. We’re going to be aggressive tomorrow and really, you know, really play with that intensity that we really should play with. I think that’s Tennessee basketball."
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