University of Tennessee Athletics
Wednesday, February 18
Knoxville, TN
7 PM ET
University of Tennessee
19-7,9-4SEC
89
vs
66
Oklahoma
13-13,3-10SEC
1
2
F
Oklahoma
36
30
66
Tennessee
45
44
89
Ament Scores 29 to Lead Vols Past Oklahoma, 89-66
February 18, 2026 | Men's Basketball
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee men's basketball team defeated Oklahoma in commanding fashion, 89-66, Wednesday night at Food City Center.
Freshman forward Nate Ament led all scorers with a career-high-tying 29 points for Tennessee (19-7, 9-4 SEC) in a contest it never trailed and led for all but 63 seconds. Senior guard Ja'Kobi Gillespie, meanwhile, set a program single-game record with a career-high eight steals.
The Volunteers, aided by an 11-of-17 start from the field and separate 6-0 runs—both came in under 85 seconds—to grab a 12-point lead, 26-14, after only 10:46 of action. Oklahoma (13-13, 3-10 SEC) closed within seven on five occasions, but each time the home team answered and the lead sat at 11 with under two minutes left in the frame.
The Sooners, though, finally cut the deficit down to two possessions, 42-36, just 47 seconds before the break. Tennessee senior forward Felix Okpara then closed the first-half scoring with a three-point play to give his team a nine-point advantage, 45-36, at the intermission.
Both teams shot at least 52.0 percent from the field and 80.0 percent from the line in the opening 20 minutes. However, the Volunteers—they forced nine turnovers and committed just two—logged an 18-2 edge in points off turnovers to go along with a 12-3 margin in second-chance points.
Tennessee scored the first eight points of the second half, making it an 11-0 surge dating to the final 20 seconds of the first stanza, to go up by 17 points, 53-36, with 16:43 remaining. The Volunteers upped the cushion to a then-game-high 18, 56-38, just 80 seconds later on a deep 3-pointer by Ament to beat the shot clock.
Oklahoma responded with nine consecutive points in 1:52 to slice the deficit in half and make it 56-47 with 13:16 to play. Tennessee countered with five in a row to go back up by 14, but the Sooners logged the next seven in just 92 seconds to get the margin to seven, 61-54, with 9:04 left. They then made it a six-point affair, 63-57, at the 7:52 mark.
After the Volunteers went back ahead by 10, Oklahoma again closed within six with 6:18 to go. However, Tennessee regained full control with an 11-0 surge in 2:30 that included five straight makes and made it a 17-point differential, 79-62, with only 3:43 left.
Tennessee, though, was not done there. The Volunteers ultimately made it a 21-4 game-ending run over the final 6:04 to win by a game-best 23 points, 89-66. They made eight of their final 10 shots from the floor.
Ament, who shot 9-of-17 from the field, registered exactly 29 points for the third time this season, all in the last eight outings. He scored 17 of his points during a second half in which he went 8-of-8 at the stripe. The Manassas, Va., native added six rebounds, three assists, one steal and one block, with just one turnover in 33 minutes.
Okpara finished with 18 points, the second-best figure of his career and his top tally in SEC play. He went 7-of-10 from the field to tie his second-highest makes total and also went 4-of-5 at the line to match his top count in makes there. The Lagos, Nigeria, native also posted a co-game-best seven rebounds, a career-high-tying two steals and a co-game-besttwo blocks.
Gillespie filled the stat sheet with 16 points and eight assists to go along with his eight steals. He also committed just one turnover in 37 minutes of court time.
The eight steals for Gillespie surpassed the prior program record of seven held by six players (seven instances). The only Volunteer to reach even seven this century was Kennedy Chandler, who did so on Nov. 30, 2021, versus Presbyterian.
Additionally, Gillespie's eight steals tied for the fifth-highest total ever by an SEC player, including matching the second-best mark in conference action.
Freshman forward DeWayne Brown II gave the Volunteers a fourth player with over a dozen points, as he scored 13 to tie a career high and set a new SEC best. He matched his career best in made field goals with a 5-of-6 clip, to go along with his 3-of-4 count at the line.
Redshirt senior guard Nijel Pack paced the Sooners with 20 points, finishing 7-of-9 from the floor, 4-of-5 beyond the arc and 2-of-2 at the stripe. Senior forward Tae Davis scored 12 points, but Tennessee forced him into five turnovers. Sophomore forward Derrion Reid added 10 points and a team-leading six rebounds.
The Volunteers shot 52.4 percent (33-of-63) from the field in the victory. They dished out 22 assists, their highest mark in SEC play this season.
Tennessee concluded the night with a season-best plus-24 margin in points off turnovers, 31-7, as it forced 15 giveaways and had only seven. The victors also notched a 46-18 advantage in paint points and a 13-1 ledger in fast-break points.
Up next for the Volunteers is a trip to Nashville, Tenn., for an in-state showdown against No. 19/18 Vanderbilt at Memorial Gymnasium, live on ESPN at 2 p.m. ET.
To keep up with the University of Tennessee men's basketball team on social media, follow @Vol_Hoops on Instagram and X/Twitter, as well as /tennesseebasketball on Facebook.
TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS POSTGAME NOTES
• Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes now owns 855 victories in his career, passing John Calipari for sole possession of first place among all active Division I head coaches and for ninth all-time (min. 10 years in Division I).
• The Volunteers have now won all three meetings in series history, two of which are in the last 12-plus months.
• The only prior meeting in Knoxville between the two sides came over 57 years ago, when Tennessee claimed a 55-49 home victory at Stokely Athletics Center on Dec. 13, 1968, in the Volunteer Classic.
• Tennessee improved to 6-4 all-time against Division I schools from Oklahoma, while Barnes moved to 49-37.
• Barnes has now faced Oklahoma on 43 occasions in his head coaching career—40 came while he was at Texas—good for his second-most common opponent, just two shy of Texas A&M (45).
• In addition, Barnes now owns 23 victories over Oklahoma to match his win total versus Oklahoma State (23) for his fourth-most against any team, trailing just Texas A&M (34), Texas Tech (33) and Baylor (31).
• As announced prior to tip-off, redshirt junior forward J.P. Estrella, who started each of the last seven games, did not play due to left foot soreness.
• Wednesday marked just the seventh (7-0) regular season game Tennessee has played in the last six seasons (2020-26) during which it was unranked in the AP Poll, alongside a 65-54 home win over Florida on March 7, 2021; a 79-73 road win at Alabama on Jan. 24, 2026; an 86-85 overtime road win at Georgia on Jan. 28, 2026; a 77-69 home win over Auburn on Jan. 31, 2026; a 73-64 road win at Mississippi State on Feb. 11, 2026; and a 73-63 home win over LSU on Feb. 14, 2026.
• With a long-range make by Ament at the 11:28 mark of the first half, Tennessee extended its streak of consecutive games with a made 3-pointer to 500, dating to Nov. 22, 2011, over 14 years ago.
• Tennessee has logged double-digit offensive rebounds in 25 of 26 games this year, with 15-plus in 17 outings, 17-plus nine times and 20-plus on five occasions, with a high of 26.
• The Volunteers have grabbed at least 35 total boards in 23 of 26 contests, with 40-plus in 16, 42-plus in 15, 45-plus in 13 and 50-plus in six, with a top tally of 60.
• Through 26 outings thus far, Tennessee has amassed 13-plus assists on 23 occasions, with 17-plus in 17 games, 20-plus in seven and 23-plus in four.
• Across its 26 games this season, Tennessee has played just two that did not feature a double-digit lead for either side, including only seven that did not include a 14-point margin one way and 12 that did not have a 23-point lead at any time.
• In the 240 minutes of action over their last six games, the Volunteers have trailed for a total of just 9:25.
• The Volunteers' seven turnovers tied their lowest total of the season, matching the seven they had Nov. 26 against Kansas in Las Vegas.
• Tennessee's 31 points off turnovers surpassed its previous season best of 27 in a Jan. 6 win over Texas, while its plus-24 margin shattered the prior season high of plus-14 set versus the Longhorns.
• The eight steals for Gillespie surpassed his previous career best of seven, recorded against a non-Division I foe, Berry, on Nov. 14, 2023, while at Belmont.
• The prior program record of seven steals belonged to the following six Volunteers: Kennedy Chandler (Nov. 30, 2021, versus Presbyterian), Vincent Yarbrough (Dec. 22, 1998, versus UNC Greensboro), LaMarcus Golden (Dec. 28, 1993, versus Mercer), Clarence Swearengen (both Dec. 20, 1988, versus UAB and March 11, 1988, versus Florida), Dale Ellis (Jan. 20, 1982, at Mississippi State) and Terry Crosby (Jan. 11, 1977, versus Florida).
• Gillespie amassed just the 28th outing with eight-plus steals by an SEC player in conference history, including the eighth against a fellow SEC foe.
• The only other SEC competitors to post eight-plus steals against a league opponent are as follows: Florida's Boogie Fland (Feb. 1, 2026, against Alabama), LSU's Tremont Waters (Jan. 23, 2018, against Texas A&M), LSU's Anthony Hickey (Jan. 23, 2013, against Texas A&M), Kentucky's Rajon Rondo (Feb. 19, 2005, against Mississippi State), LSU's Clarence Ceasar (1994 against Auburn), LSU's Shawn Griggs (1991 against Tennessee [10]), Florida's Clifford Lett (1989 against Georgia).
• The aforementioned Shawn Griggs is the only player in SEC history to record more steals in an SEC game than Gillespie, while just three others—Alabama's Anthony Murray (1978 versus Michigan [10]), Ole Miss' Matthew Murrell (2024 versus Troy [10]) and Arkansas' Robert Shepherd (1993 versus Arizona [nine])—have done so in any contest.
• Gillespie's three prior outings with five-plus steals came on Jan. 13, 2026, with six versus Texas A&M; Nov. 14, 2023, with seven against Berry; and Nov. 19, 2022, with six versus George Mason in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.
• Gillespie, who owns both of Tennessee's showings with five-plus steals this year, registered four steals in the first 15 minutes alone, already his second-most in a full contest this season.
• Over the last 20 seasons (2006-26), Gillespie is one of just eight players with 16 points, eight assists and eight steals against a Division I opponent, including the only individual to hit those numbers versus a Power Five foe.
• Ament tallied 16-plus points for the 18th time this season, including hitting that number for the 11th game in a row.
• Ament has scored 20-plus points 10 times this year and has reached that figure in seven of the past 10 contests.
• Ament has registered at least 28 points on four occasions this season, all within the team's last eight contests.
• Across the last 20 seasons (2006-26), Ament is one of just four SEC freshmen with at least four 28-point showings in league play in a single campaign, joining Arkansas' Darius Acuff Jr. (five in 2025-26), Texas' Tre Johnson (2024-25) and LSU's Cameron Thomas (2020-21).
• The only time Okpara has scored greater than the 18 points he notched against the Sooners was in a Nov. 17, 2025, outing versus Rice in which he logged 20.
• Okpara's previous career best in SEC play was 16 on Jan. 18, 2025, at Vanderbilt, when he shot 7-of-7 from the floor.
• Wednesday marked the fourth time Okpara has connected on seven-plus field goals in a contest, including the second in SEC play, alongside the aforementioned game at Vanderbilt last season.
• Okpara's four made free throws tied the career-best mark he has recorded nine previous times, most recently Jan. 13 against Texas A&M.
• Brown's prior 13-point performance came in a Nov. 20 affair against Tennessee State, while his previous SEC-high point total was 10 on three occasions, most recently Jan. 31 against Auburn.
• The previous two affairs in which Brown also made five field goals were Jan. 10 at Florida and Jan. 6 versus Texas.
Freshman forward Nate Ament led all scorers with a career-high-tying 29 points for Tennessee (19-7, 9-4 SEC) in a contest it never trailed and led for all but 63 seconds. Senior guard Ja'Kobi Gillespie, meanwhile, set a program single-game record with a career-high eight steals.
The Volunteers, aided by an 11-of-17 start from the field and separate 6-0 runs—both came in under 85 seconds—to grab a 12-point lead, 26-14, after only 10:46 of action. Oklahoma (13-13, 3-10 SEC) closed within seven on five occasions, but each time the home team answered and the lead sat at 11 with under two minutes left in the frame.
The Sooners, though, finally cut the deficit down to two possessions, 42-36, just 47 seconds before the break. Tennessee senior forward Felix Okpara then closed the first-half scoring with a three-point play to give his team a nine-point advantage, 45-36, at the intermission.
Both teams shot at least 52.0 percent from the field and 80.0 percent from the line in the opening 20 minutes. However, the Volunteers—they forced nine turnovers and committed just two—logged an 18-2 edge in points off turnovers to go along with a 12-3 margin in second-chance points.
Tennessee scored the first eight points of the second half, making it an 11-0 surge dating to the final 20 seconds of the first stanza, to go up by 17 points, 53-36, with 16:43 remaining. The Volunteers upped the cushion to a then-game-high 18, 56-38, just 80 seconds later on a deep 3-pointer by Ament to beat the shot clock.
Oklahoma responded with nine consecutive points in 1:52 to slice the deficit in half and make it 56-47 with 13:16 to play. Tennessee countered with five in a row to go back up by 14, but the Sooners logged the next seven in just 92 seconds to get the margin to seven, 61-54, with 9:04 left. They then made it a six-point affair, 63-57, at the 7:52 mark.
After the Volunteers went back ahead by 10, Oklahoma again closed within six with 6:18 to go. However, Tennessee regained full control with an 11-0 surge in 2:30 that included five straight makes and made it a 17-point differential, 79-62, with only 3:43 left.
Tennessee, though, was not done there. The Volunteers ultimately made it a 21-4 game-ending run over the final 6:04 to win by a game-best 23 points, 89-66. They made eight of their final 10 shots from the floor.
Ament, who shot 9-of-17 from the field, registered exactly 29 points for the third time this season, all in the last eight outings. He scored 17 of his points during a second half in which he went 8-of-8 at the stripe. The Manassas, Va., native added six rebounds, three assists, one steal and one block, with just one turnover in 33 minutes.
Okpara finished with 18 points, the second-best figure of his career and his top tally in SEC play. He went 7-of-10 from the field to tie his second-highest makes total and also went 4-of-5 at the line to match his top count in makes there. The Lagos, Nigeria, native also posted a co-game-best seven rebounds, a career-high-tying two steals and a co-game-besttwo blocks.
Gillespie filled the stat sheet with 16 points and eight assists to go along with his eight steals. He also committed just one turnover in 37 minutes of court time.
The eight steals for Gillespie surpassed the prior program record of seven held by six players (seven instances). The only Volunteer to reach even seven this century was Kennedy Chandler, who did so on Nov. 30, 2021, versus Presbyterian.
Additionally, Gillespie's eight steals tied for the fifth-highest total ever by an SEC player, including matching the second-best mark in conference action.
Freshman forward DeWayne Brown II gave the Volunteers a fourth player with over a dozen points, as he scored 13 to tie a career high and set a new SEC best. He matched his career best in made field goals with a 5-of-6 clip, to go along with his 3-of-4 count at the line.
Redshirt senior guard Nijel Pack paced the Sooners with 20 points, finishing 7-of-9 from the floor, 4-of-5 beyond the arc and 2-of-2 at the stripe. Senior forward Tae Davis scored 12 points, but Tennessee forced him into five turnovers. Sophomore forward Derrion Reid added 10 points and a team-leading six rebounds.
The Volunteers shot 52.4 percent (33-of-63) from the field in the victory. They dished out 22 assists, their highest mark in SEC play this season.
Tennessee concluded the night with a season-best plus-24 margin in points off turnovers, 31-7, as it forced 15 giveaways and had only seven. The victors also notched a 46-18 advantage in paint points and a 13-1 ledger in fast-break points.
Up next for the Volunteers is a trip to Nashville, Tenn., for an in-state showdown against No. 19/18 Vanderbilt at Memorial Gymnasium, live on ESPN at 2 p.m. ET.
To keep up with the University of Tennessee men's basketball team on social media, follow @Vol_Hoops on Instagram and X/Twitter, as well as /tennesseebasketball on Facebook.
TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS POSTGAME NOTES
• Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes now owns 855 victories in his career, passing John Calipari for sole possession of first place among all active Division I head coaches and for ninth all-time (min. 10 years in Division I).
• The Volunteers have now won all three meetings in series history, two of which are in the last 12-plus months.
• The only prior meeting in Knoxville between the two sides came over 57 years ago, when Tennessee claimed a 55-49 home victory at Stokely Athletics Center on Dec. 13, 1968, in the Volunteer Classic.
• Tennessee improved to 6-4 all-time against Division I schools from Oklahoma, while Barnes moved to 49-37.
• Barnes has now faced Oklahoma on 43 occasions in his head coaching career—40 came while he was at Texas—good for his second-most common opponent, just two shy of Texas A&M (45).
• In addition, Barnes now owns 23 victories over Oklahoma to match his win total versus Oklahoma State (23) for his fourth-most against any team, trailing just Texas A&M (34), Texas Tech (33) and Baylor (31).
• As announced prior to tip-off, redshirt junior forward J.P. Estrella, who started each of the last seven games, did not play due to left foot soreness.
• Wednesday marked just the seventh (7-0) regular season game Tennessee has played in the last six seasons (2020-26) during which it was unranked in the AP Poll, alongside a 65-54 home win over Florida on March 7, 2021; a 79-73 road win at Alabama on Jan. 24, 2026; an 86-85 overtime road win at Georgia on Jan. 28, 2026; a 77-69 home win over Auburn on Jan. 31, 2026; a 73-64 road win at Mississippi State on Feb. 11, 2026; and a 73-63 home win over LSU on Feb. 14, 2026.
• With a long-range make by Ament at the 11:28 mark of the first half, Tennessee extended its streak of consecutive games with a made 3-pointer to 500, dating to Nov. 22, 2011, over 14 years ago.
• Tennessee has logged double-digit offensive rebounds in 25 of 26 games this year, with 15-plus in 17 outings, 17-plus nine times and 20-plus on five occasions, with a high of 26.
• The Volunteers have grabbed at least 35 total boards in 23 of 26 contests, with 40-plus in 16, 42-plus in 15, 45-plus in 13 and 50-plus in six, with a top tally of 60.
• Through 26 outings thus far, Tennessee has amassed 13-plus assists on 23 occasions, with 17-plus in 17 games, 20-plus in seven and 23-plus in four.
• Across its 26 games this season, Tennessee has played just two that did not feature a double-digit lead for either side, including only seven that did not include a 14-point margin one way and 12 that did not have a 23-point lead at any time.
• In the 240 minutes of action over their last six games, the Volunteers have trailed for a total of just 9:25.
• The Volunteers' seven turnovers tied their lowest total of the season, matching the seven they had Nov. 26 against Kansas in Las Vegas.
• Tennessee's 31 points off turnovers surpassed its previous season best of 27 in a Jan. 6 win over Texas, while its plus-24 margin shattered the prior season high of plus-14 set versus the Longhorns.
• The eight steals for Gillespie surpassed his previous career best of seven, recorded against a non-Division I foe, Berry, on Nov. 14, 2023, while at Belmont.
• The prior program record of seven steals belonged to the following six Volunteers: Kennedy Chandler (Nov. 30, 2021, versus Presbyterian), Vincent Yarbrough (Dec. 22, 1998, versus UNC Greensboro), LaMarcus Golden (Dec. 28, 1993, versus Mercer), Clarence Swearengen (both Dec. 20, 1988, versus UAB and March 11, 1988, versus Florida), Dale Ellis (Jan. 20, 1982, at Mississippi State) and Terry Crosby (Jan. 11, 1977, versus Florida).
• Gillespie amassed just the 28th outing with eight-plus steals by an SEC player in conference history, including the eighth against a fellow SEC foe.
• The only other SEC competitors to post eight-plus steals against a league opponent are as follows: Florida's Boogie Fland (Feb. 1, 2026, against Alabama), LSU's Tremont Waters (Jan. 23, 2018, against Texas A&M), LSU's Anthony Hickey (Jan. 23, 2013, against Texas A&M), Kentucky's Rajon Rondo (Feb. 19, 2005, against Mississippi State), LSU's Clarence Ceasar (1994 against Auburn), LSU's Shawn Griggs (1991 against Tennessee [10]), Florida's Clifford Lett (1989 against Georgia).
• The aforementioned Shawn Griggs is the only player in SEC history to record more steals in an SEC game than Gillespie, while just three others—Alabama's Anthony Murray (1978 versus Michigan [10]), Ole Miss' Matthew Murrell (2024 versus Troy [10]) and Arkansas' Robert Shepherd (1993 versus Arizona [nine])—have done so in any contest.
• Gillespie's three prior outings with five-plus steals came on Jan. 13, 2026, with six versus Texas A&M; Nov. 14, 2023, with seven against Berry; and Nov. 19, 2022, with six versus George Mason in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.
• Gillespie, who owns both of Tennessee's showings with five-plus steals this year, registered four steals in the first 15 minutes alone, already his second-most in a full contest this season.
• Over the last 20 seasons (2006-26), Gillespie is one of just eight players with 16 points, eight assists and eight steals against a Division I opponent, including the only individual to hit those numbers versus a Power Five foe.
• Ament tallied 16-plus points for the 18th time this season, including hitting that number for the 11th game in a row.
• Ament has scored 20-plus points 10 times this year and has reached that figure in seven of the past 10 contests.
• Ament has registered at least 28 points on four occasions this season, all within the team's last eight contests.
• Across the last 20 seasons (2006-26), Ament is one of just four SEC freshmen with at least four 28-point showings in league play in a single campaign, joining Arkansas' Darius Acuff Jr. (five in 2025-26), Texas' Tre Johnson (2024-25) and LSU's Cameron Thomas (2020-21).
• The only time Okpara has scored greater than the 18 points he notched against the Sooners was in a Nov. 17, 2025, outing versus Rice in which he logged 20.
• Okpara's previous career best in SEC play was 16 on Jan. 18, 2025, at Vanderbilt, when he shot 7-of-7 from the floor.
• Wednesday marked the fourth time Okpara has connected on seven-plus field goals in a contest, including the second in SEC play, alongside the aforementioned game at Vanderbilt last season.
• Okpara's four made free throws tied the career-best mark he has recorded nine previous times, most recently Jan. 13 against Texas A&M.
• Brown's prior 13-point performance came in a Nov. 20 affair against Tennessee State, while his previous SEC-high point total was 10 on three occasions, most recently Jan. 31 against Auburn.
• The previous two affairs in which Brown also made five field goals were Jan. 10 at Florida and Jan. 6 versus Texas.
Team Stats
OK
UT
FG%
.457
.524
3FG%
.381
.278
FT%
.762
.720
RB
19
36
TO
15
7
STL
4
10
Game Leaders
Pts
29
FGM
9
3FGM
3
FTM
8
Pts
18
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
16
FGM
6
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballMBB | Rick Barnes Postgame vs. Oklahoma (2.18.26)
Wednesday, February 18
MBB | Nate Ament & Ja'Kobi Gillespie Postgame vs. Oklahoma (2.18.26)
Wednesday, February 18
MBB | Oklahoma Postgame (2.18.26)
Wednesday, February 18
MBB | Highlights: Tennessee 89, Oklahoma 66
Wednesday, February 18
