Tennessee largely dominated fellow SEC contender Auburn in a wire-to-wire 77-69 win Saturday night, but the result was made even more impressive by the fact that the Volunteers were missing a key starter.
Rick Barnes’ team was without the services of veteran center Felix Okpara, as the former Ohio State transfer did not appear in the contest after starting in all 20 games prior.
Asked about the reasoning behind Okpara’s absence, Barnes revealed that the Nigeria native injured his calf during the team’s Wednesday win over Georgia.
“Calf. He has some calf problems,” Barnes said. “Yesterday, it was after the Georgia game, he really got kicked there or whatever. But it was a calf.”
With Okpara averaging just under six rebounds and two blocks per outing, Barnes was then asked about how he thought his defense fared without its center and what the potential of this team can be once he gets healthy.
“We put in a zone we’ve never worked on, a box-and-one for a couple possessions just trying to buy some time, you know? My thought is, we don’t know what we’re doing, but they may not either,” the Tennessee head coach said. “But I will say, Steven has done a really good job. They’ve gotten better-and-better, and we knew it would be a really hard game. But, again, we need everybody. And if we could ever get everybody at one time, playing to a high level, we got a chance to be a pretty good basketball team.”
Prediction Markets 2026 College Basketball Champion? Kalshi Arizona 21.0% Michigan 16.0% Duke 13.0% UConn 8.0% Houston 8.0% Illinois 5.0% Florida 4.0% Predict Learn more about Prediction MarketsRick Barnes explains Felix Okpara’s absence in Tennessee-Auburn game Saturday Down South.
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