Tennessee pulled off its sixth straight SEC win on Wednesday night in Starkville with a 72-63 win over Mississippi State.

It didn’t come easy for the Vols.

Road wins are hard to come by in college basketball and the Bulldogs have a solid squad. It was also UT’s first game without junior forward Olivier Nkamhoua, who will miss the remainder of the season due to a left ankle injury.

Still, the Vols pulled off their first Quadrant 1 road win of the season.

“It was a great team win,” Rick Barnes said after the game.

Brandon Huntley-Hatfield started in place of Nkamhoua. The true freshman made his first career start, not because of a a decision made by Barnes, but because of a recommendation from two of his veteran teammates.

“Josiah (Jordan James), Santi (Vescovi), those guys, they told Brandon we’re going to tell Coach to start you,” Barnes explained. “‘You’ve been wanting a chance to play. We’re going to put you out there. But you’ve got to play for us. Come out and do it.’

“That’s what I like about this group. Now they’re starting to take ownership. It’s their team. When they start talking and making suggestions like that, it gives you a really nice feeling as a coaching staff.”

It’s quite the difference from where Tennessee was nearly a month ago, when after losing in embarrassing fashion to Kentucky in Lexington, the leadership on the team was called into question.

Now it’s clear that the players have stepped up and are taking ownership. You can see them holding each other accountable on the floor and communicating more. It’s led to wins in six of the last seven games.

“They’re playing for each other at a high degree,” Barnes said. “We’re not going to be perfect, but yet we’ve been able to fight through a lot. We’ve gone through a lot this year. We’ve had to fight through some adversity.

“Josiah (Jordan James) was really devastated that he didn’t make the shot at Texas, but the way his teammates picked him up, said ‘hey, we believe in you.’ He would tell you it’s a huge thing. (Nkamhoua) would tell you the same thing. They’ve all had tough times. But we’re a team now where they’re locked in on really helping each other through the tough times.”

Huntley-Hatfield is a prime example of that. This season hasn’t gone according to plan for the former five-star who reclassified to play for the Vols this year, but when his number was called following the Nkamhoua injury, his teammates helped him prepare for his moment.

This year also hasn’t been what fellow freshman Jonas Aidoo envisioned. The former top 100 player was set back by an injury suffered in the preseason and hasn’t played much this year as a result. Once Nkamhoua went down, an opportunity presented itself.

“Olivier has talked to these guys,” Barnes said. “He talked to Brandon, I know, before the game. He talked to Jonas before the game. Told them hey, you wanted an opportunity, it’s here. Let’s see what you’re going to do with it. That’s the kind of team we have.”

Both contributed in the win. Huntley-Hatfield scored the first four points of the game and finished with a plus/minus of +5, while Aidoo scored two points, grabbed three offensive rebounds and blocked a shot, respectively.

“Jonas (Aidoo) who, the last 10 days is starting to understand more of what it’s about,” Barnes said. “Both of them (Huntley-Hatfield and Aidoo) did great jobs for being in a game this time of year, with what’s on the line here. Playing against a frontline like Mississippi State has.

“The more those guys play, we are going to need them. This is it. We are in it now. We are in the middle of it. We are going to need them all and I think everyone responded.”

Tennessee’s shift to a player-led team is what has allowed it respond to adversity in recent weeks. It’s the best development a team could have happen this time of year.

The Vols will look for their seventh straight SEC win on Saturday night when it welcomes Vanderbilt to Knoxville for a 6 p.m. ET tip.