No. 5 Tennessee hands Ole Miss its first loss of the season

Published 7:58 pm Saturday, January 6, 2024

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Ole Miss entered the day as one of three undefeated teams in NCAA Division I men’s basketball. It did not finish it that way.

Jonas Aidoo scored 24 points and had 10 rebounds to lead No. 5 Tennessee to a 90-64 victory over No. 22 Ole Miss on Saturday in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams.

Zakai Zeigler contributed 17 points and 10 assists for the Volunteers (11-3, 1-0 SEC). Santiago Vescovi added 11 points and Jahmai Mashack scored 10 as Tennessee won for the seventh straight time.

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Aidoo was limited to a season-low 11 minutes of action Tuesday against Norfolk State while he nursed a strained calf, but got off to a fast start Saturday.

Aidoo scored 12 points in the first half to lead the Vols to a 40-31 lead at intermission. Mashack hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to send Tennessee to the locker room with momentum.

The Vols hit just one of their first 12 3-point attempts but finished 5-of-16.

Ole Miss (13-1, 0-1) tied the 2007-08 team for the best start in school history, as well as the longest overall win streak, but could not continue either run.

Ole Miss, No. 19 James Madison and No. 3 Houston were the only undefeated Division I teams at the start of Saturday’s action, but Houston was the only one that survived. Houston beat West Virginia 89-55, while James Madison lost 81-71 to Southern Miss.

Jaemyn Brakefield scored 22 points as Ole Miss and Jaylen Murray added 11.