It’s impossible to understate how big of a win the Tennessee basketball program secured on the road against the No. 7 ranked Texas A&M Aggies Saturday. The Vols were banged up in the interior and hadn’t passed any test of this magnitude all year. It didnt’ matter.
UT, ranked No. 6 in both polls, beat A&M 77-69 in College Station Saturday. This is the highest ranked team the Vols beat on the road since their 81-73 win over the Kentucky Wildcats back in 2020. Those remain the program’s only two road wins over top 10 teams in the Rick Barnes era.
Clinging to a 63-62 lead, the Vols forced a turnover with three minutes to go. Zakai Zeigler drew a foul in the process and hit both free throws. They then forced another turnover, and Jordan Gainey hit a three to put them up 68-62 and effectively ice the game.
Chaz Lanier was the star of the day, scoring 30 points and going an insane 8-of-13 from three. Zeigler added 16 points, largely due to his ability to get to the foul line, where he hit 10 free throws. Jordan Gainey added 14 points off the bench, going 2-of-5 from three.
The guard play allowed the Vols to make up for issues in the post relating to injuries suffered by Igor Milicic Jr. and Felix Okpara, who both played not at 100 percent. However, they put it all on the line and did what was necessary for UT to pull out this victory.
Now, Tennessee basketball has a path to a No. 1 seed and may have locked up a No. 2 seed. They improve to 22-5 and 9-5 in the SEC with a visit to the LSU Tigers set for Tuesday. Texas A&M falls to 20-7 and 9-5 in league play with a visit to the Vanderbilt Commodores set for next Wednesday.
