Tennessee Basketball Players Jaylen Carey and Felix Okpara Detail Win Over Rice

A pair of Tennessee basketball players spoke with the press following the win over Rice.

Nov 17, 2025; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Volunteers center Felix Okpara (34) dunks the ball against the Rice Owls during the first half at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-Imagn Images | Randy Sartin-Imagn Images

The Rick Barnes led Tennessee Volunteers moved to 4-0 on the season after protecting the home court in a 91-66 victory over the visiting Rice Owls.

The Vols will now set their sights on Tennessee State as the two will meet on November 20, 2025.

Before we look too far ahead, Jaylen Carey and Felix Okpara met with reporters following the win over Rice to breakdown the successful night at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center.

Carey and Okpara were two players that head coach Rick Barnes spoke highly of just moments before the teammates arrived for their availability.

“Again, Jaylen's really been focused the last week or so. I mean, really, he knows we need him. I think he's really; he was really in tune with what we’re doing, I thought, both offensively and defensively. And, uh, just really proud of him. He and Coach (Amorrow) Morgan have spent a lot of time together working on just the simple things that we need defensively and he’s out there trying to do it. And it’s all new to him. We’re asking him to do a lot of things that he hasn’t done in the past, and he would tell you that. But he’s got a wonderful attitude to try to get out there and expand his game. And I thought he was really solid. I thought Felix (Okpara) had a great mindset. Overall, our post guys were doing a lot of switching. And with that said, when we did switch some, they were rebounding hard in the first half a lot because we, those switches put us in a tougher position to rebound the ball. But again, Jaylen, and I thought Ja’Kobi (Gillespie) played his best half of the season. I thought the way he worked the game for us, managed the game, was really, really good," Barnes said during his availability.

Felix Okpara on Getting the Offense Back into a Groove

Nov 17, 2025; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Volunteers center Felix Okpara (34) reacts to a play against the Rice Owls during the second half at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-Imagn Images | Randy Sartin-Imagn Images

"Um, you know, it's something (we) work on in practice every day. I think, um, you know, me and Ja'Kobi, we've, you know, we try to get our connection. I feel like we have a good connection. And it's just, you know, in games it's just him trusting me. So, you know, last year, you know, I mean, not to bring up last year, but you know, me and Zakai (Zeigler) had a good connection and he knew if he put it up, I was going to go get it. So, it was someething, it was a point of emphasis. Just trusting and knowing I'm going to be there. I'm going to do my job. He's going to do his job," said Okpara.

Click HERE to watch and listen to everything from Jaylen Carey and Felix Okpara.

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