Jordan Gainey had been on the floor for 26 seconds before he disrupted a Mike Williams III pass.

It led to a score on the other end, part of an offensive onslaught that headlined Tennessee's 88-68 win over LSU Wednesday night at Food City Center.

The sequence was one of a number of plays made by Gainey, who came off of the bench and provided the Vols with 18 points, but it was what he did defensively that was among the biggest storylines. He was having fun doing it, too.

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"(The mindset coming into the game) was really just play as hard as I could on defense," Gainey said. "Try to get as many possessions as I can for my team and just have fun out there. Playing defense is what we do."

Gainey played for more than 26 minutes, recording three steals, including two in the first two defensive possessions after he entered the game with 15 minutes, 23 seconds left in the first half.

For Gainey, playing defense has always been fun, even going back to his three-year stint at USC Upstate, but playing for Rick Barnes has started turning him into a more consistent defender which is a pre-requisite for any guard that comes to Tennessee.

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"Coach Barnes is one of the best ever to do it," Gainey said. "He's on us every single day about playing as hard as we can, keeping our man in front of us and just doing what we're supposed to do defensively. Whenever you have a coach like that, who wants you to be great all the way around, you're going to try and get better every single day and he's going to make sure you do."

Gainey's defensive improvement isn't lost on Barnes, either.

He had shown his ability to be an offensive spark off of the bench, but Gainey bought into the fact that he couldn't be fully effective until he matched that on the defensive end. It became a point of emphasis for Gainey and he started to turn a corner against LSU.

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"I was sitting beside his dad (associate head coach Justin Gainey) and I kept telling him his rhythm (was good), but I said, 'Man, he's improved so much on the defensive end," Barnes said. "He was really so hard there...Everybody thinks he can just shoot it. He's not afraid to go in and try to create something off the bounce.

"But defensively is where he's improved more than anything this year. I mean, he has really taken it personal, becoming an all-around player."

Gainey fell into a shooting slump early in SEC play, but has seemingly shot his way out of it, finishing in double-scoring figures in three of his last five games, including a 15-point outing in the Vols' win over Alabama on Jan. 20.

If Gainey can play the kind of defense he did Wednesday, it adds another dynamic to a Tennessee team that already features a plethora of elite defensive options.

"The last couple of games, I think (Gainey) has had a really good rhythm, a really good feel," Barnes said. "I think he's settling in more. I think he's working hard, moving without the ball...He's just naturally gifted at shooting the ball and you got some other things he can do, but it's how hard he is working defensively and I think that when you get lost in the game like that, it makes everything better."

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