Rick Barnes said Tennessee basketball would be facing high-level competition in Las Vegas, in the Players Era Festival. Rutgers didn’t get the message.

The Volunteers ripped the Scarlet Knights, 85-60, in the opening game of the 18-team tournament. If you are keeping score, Mercer was far more challenging in early November.

This evening figures to be a test, No. 2 Houston at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, 6 p.m., TNT and Vol Network. Barnes and dear coaching friend Kelvin Sampson will meet in a rematch of the NCAA Elite Eight.

“We know it’s going to be a hard, physical game,” said Barnes. “We know each other.”

The Vols, now 6-0, really rolled over Rutgers. They scored 56 in the first half. At one point, they led by 36. It was no contest.

Tennessee hit 11 of 22 three-point attempts. It shot 50.8 percent overall. It had 15 more rebounds and cashed in 21 second-chance points. It scored 38 in the paint.

Senior guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie and freshman forward Nate Ament set the pace and what a pace it was.

Gillespie scored a career-high 32 points. He had 23 in the first half. He had a career-high six 3-pointers and missed only four.

Ament started slowly. He missed his first shot and didn’t try another for more than six minutes. A “pep talk” by Barnes provided a new look. The 6-10 rookie had 17 at the rest stop. The best part was he suddenly found the range on long shots.

Through the first five games, Ament was 6-for-24 from long distance. He hit four of six against Rutgers. He finished with 20 points.

Felix Okpara contributed 10 points and seven rebounds. He opened with a long three that awakened the small crowd (10 a.m. start in Vegas).

JP Estrella, almost recovered from a bruised knee, scored 10 in 10 minutes of combat.

Not so good is the on-going turnover problem. The Vols had 13 more. They were whistled for 22 fouls. The coach didn’t do much complaining.

“Really proud of the effort. I thought Ja’Kobi was terrific. He continues to do what we need him to do, learning how to run the point for our team.”

Barnes said he told Ament not to doubt his ability.

“When you’re open, we expect you to shoot it and we expect it to go in.”

Ament said “the coaches and everyone were telling me to wake up, time to go, get into attack mode. I just listened to them.”

Gillespie was telling him to shoot it. Ament heard that.

“When your point guard is telling you, you’re going to listen.”

Guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie #0 and forward Nate Ament #10 talk with the press in Las Vegas on November 24, 2025, as Tennessee beat the Rutgers Scarlet Knights 85-60. (Photo by Andrew Ferguson/ Tennessee Athletics)

The coach had other positive reinforcement for Nate.

“He’s only going to get better and better, just understanding how people are guarding him and adjusting from game to game. He’ll be a different player six weeks from now, because of his mindset and being so unselfish. Whatever it’s going to take to help us try to win games, he’s going to do it.”

Barnes teased Gillespie about how much he enjoys shooting instead of just running the offense but switched to a commercial.

“Truly in our opinion, he’s one of the very best point guards in the country. We wouldn’t trade him for anybody.”

Barnes even gave Gillespie a thumbs-up on defense.

“Ja’Kobi now is getting it … he’s guarding the ball … he’s gotten so much better from the time we’ve been with him. I mean, he is really … I think he can be elite on both ends of the court.”

Rutgers coach Steve Pikiell said Tennessee is better than its No. 18 rating.

“This is a top-10 basketball team … and their size, they really have elite size and they just keep bringing guys off the bench. So, tip of the hat, it’s a Hall of Fame coach with ability on that roster.”

Marvin West welcomes comments or questions from readers. His address is marvinwest75@gmail.com