It may be a mistake for a veteran team that is a lock for the NCAA Tournament and only goes seven-deep, but Tennessee Basketball is going to exert energy to win the SEC Tournament. That’s at least the vibe the Vols gave as they beat the Texas Longhorns 83-72 in the Quarterfinals Friday.
Rick Barnes’ team, ranked No. 8 in the AP Poll and No. 6 in the Coaches Poll, took advantage of a team that was playing its third game in three days, including a double-overtime win over the Texas A&M Aggies the day before. All they had to do was torch the defense of Rodney Terry’s team in the paint and crash the boards.
UT scored 83 points despite only going 5-of-20 from three. What helped was them coming down with 15 offensive rebounds and getting to the foul line against a team that kept getting beat on the drives to the basket, where they shot 24-of-35.
Although the game was close in the first half, with the Vols going into the locker room only leading 41-38, Tennessee Basketball methodically pulled away in the second half, building a 15-point lead with just under 10 minutes to go. It helped that Zakai Zeigler, who got in foul trouble early, was back on the floor and dominated.
Zeigler finished the game with 19 points, six assists and two steals to bring his single-season assists total to 230, breaking Johnny Darden’s school record of 227 set in 1976-77. Jahmai Mashack joined Zeigler in playing suffocating defense and crashing the boards, as he had 13 points, seven rebounds and four assists.
As has been the case for most of the year, though, Chaz Lanier was the star when it came to scoring. He shot 9-of-15 from the field en route to 23 points, and with only two three-pointers, he was finally willing to go into the paint. Igor Milicic Jr. added 12 points, seven rebounds and an impressive three blocks.
Simply put, this was a complete win for Tennessee Basketball, but it may not have been worth it. The Vols, again, need to rest before they begin March Madness next week. At the very least, this likely locks up a 2-seed for them no matter what happens the rest of the way.
Up next for the Vols, who are the No. 4 seed in the tournament, which is being played at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, is a matchup with the No. 3 ranked and top-seeded Auburn Tigers Saturday. Bruce Pearl’s team beat the Ole Miss Rebels 62-57 just before Tennessee’s win. When these two met in the regular season, Auburn won 53-51 at home.
