I had a game back in high school where we were playing at home against an undefeated team, which rolled to an 8-0 start on the season.

Before the game started, our coach wrote the following on the board:

8-0 today, 8-1 tomorrow.

Thirty-two minutes of basketball later that statement came true.

Now it's not the same as a top-ten team defending its home court against an undefeated conference foe, but two things remain constant:

1. There's nothing quite like beating a team that has not lost, especially in front of your home crowd.
2. Whether it's high school or college, it is fundamentals that will win the game.

That held true at Thompson-Boling Arena, as Tyler Smith won the game by pump-faking, getting his man to leave his feet and going under him for the basket.

Not only did that shot win the game, but it shows in essence what is needed to win every contest.

Smith stuck to a fundamental move, getting the defender to jump, and was patient enough to use the pump fake for an easy lay-up.

Patience was the key word.  Every time the Volunteers were patient with the ball, actually ran a play and worked as a team, the buckets fell easily.

When they rushed themselves, tried to play one-on-one, and took low-percentage shots (which is a euphemism for stupid shots), they let Ole Miss back into the game, even giving the Rebels a four-point advantage late in the contest.

The stat of the night showed the difference between winning and losing.

Tyler Smith was one of two Vols with a team high 21 points on the night, and he shot 8-for-11 (72%) from the floor. 

The Rebels leading scorer, Chris Warren, had 24 points, but was 7-for-18 (38%) from the floor. 

Smith made one more basket than Warren in seven less shots.

This shows what happens when a team uses its offense to get high-percentage shots and takes care of the basketball.

Of course, the other thing Tennessee is known for helped as well.

The Volunteers sped up the Mississippi offense, forcing them into turning the ball over and taking bad shots. 

And, of course, the jumbotron crew made sure we knew it by showing students with shirts that spelled out "Turnover" every single time it happened.

(Side note: Of course this was planned; the students had to give the shirts back after the game.)

(Side-side note: Something is a little off when you have to set-up gags like that, especially when you use it after every single time it happened.)

(Side-side-side note: Not that this is unusual, with the students choosing to sit down most of the game until the team got into trouble near the end.  In an ideal world, The entire student section would be standing up while the ball is in play, like football. If you don't want to stand, go watch it on TV.)

(Side-side-side-side note: If I had my way, though, the student section would be behind both baskets all the way up and not on the side...and the "coaching box" wouldn't exist.  I think I've digressed a bit.)

Tennessee's assist-to-turnover ratio was 2.66, while Ole Miss had one of only 1.5, showing again the Vols use of working with each other and running plays.

If Volunteer basketball is able to keep patient while running their offense, they should have an easier time down the stretch.

But as for Wednesday night, only one thing mattered.

13-0 today. 13-1 tomorrow.