No. 12 Tennessee basketball defeated Louisville, 77-55, to secure their second regular season win.
In front of almost 17,000 fans, Tennessee basketball dominantly defeated Lousiville, 77-55, on Saturday afternoon at KFC Yum! Center.
Never trailing in the game, the Volunteers controlled almost every possible category of the game. They held the Cardinals to zero points for the first 5:25 of the game while being up 10-0. Tennessee led by double digits for all but 45 seconds of the entire game with the largest lead being 26.
Again, Tennessee basketball had three starters end with double digits: Chaz Lanier with 19, Zakai Zeigler with 19, and Felix Okpara with 10.
Although Louisville struggled to find success in the scoring department, they had two players who showed light off the bench: senior guard Reyne Smith with a team-high 18 and senior forward Noah Waterman with 10.
Takeaway #1: Elite shooting
Tennessee basketball showed no difficulty knocking down shots Saturday afternoon. As a team, they shot 30-53 (56.6%) overall and 10-19 (52.6%) from behind the arc.
Zakai Zeigler and Chaz Lanier were at the helm of this elite shooting. They combined for 7 of the 10 threes that the team hit with Zeigler shooting 4-7 from the three-point and Lanier shooting 3-6. They both knocked down deep and timely threes off the dribble and from good passes from their teammates.
Lanier continues to prove that his game translates to Power 5 basketball. This is his second consecutive game being the leading scorer and shooting 50% or better from range. He looks dialed into Barnes’ motion offense and is making the most of his open looks and opportunities.
The Volunteers will continue to lean on his and Zeigler’s scoring ability and efficiency to help lead them to victories.
Takeaway #2: Physicality & Hustle
Tennessee’s physicality was greatly evident in this game. They commanded the rebounds battle 40 to Lousiville’s 26. In addition, the Volunteers controlled the points in the paint battle with a lopsided score of 40-10.
Tennessee’s frontcourt rotation of Felix Okpara and Igor Milicic Jr., with J.P. Estrella and Cade Phillips coming off the bench, is working for the Volunteers. Each of them has high energy and is ready to battle down low with opposing bigs physically.
The team as a whole was doing things that didn’t show up in the box score. Diving after loose balls, giving lots of energy after scoring, giving up second-chance opportunities, or simply getting a hand in the passing lane were all things that led to Tennessee’s success.
Takeaway #3: Turnovers
With 11 vs. Gardner-Webb and 20 vs. Louisville, Tennessee basketball has struggled to take care of the ball. Although it hasn’t cost them any wins, it is an issue that coach Rick Barnes is going to look to fix.
Surprisingly, the leading cause of this turnover plague is senior guard and reigning SEC Defensive Player of the Year Zakai Zeigler. Last season, he finished third in the SEC in assist-to-turnover ratio. This season, he hasn’t found that same success. Through the first 2 games, he has 15 combined turnovers. 11 of those came against Louisville with 9 of them occurring in the first half.
The Volunteers will need their veteran point guard to take better care of the ball for them to win efficiently. The better teams they play, the more those mistakes will be costly.
Tennessee basketball will look to build upon this win as they head back to Rocky Top to face the Montana Grizzlies in the Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center live on SEC Network+.
To keep up with Tennessee Volunteers basketball on social media, follow @BleedOrangeRev on X/Twitter.
Next up for Tennessee (1-0): vs. Montana (2-1) – Nov. 13 at 7 p.m.
Next up for Louisville (1-1):Â vs. Bellarmine (0-2) – Nov. 19 at 7 p.m.
[…] After falling to No. 7 Tennessee with a score of 77-55, Louisville followed up the loss with a 100-68 victory against Bellarmine. In their most recent game, they started their win streak when they beat Winthrop 76-61. Going into the game against Indiana, the Cardinals stand at 3-1, 12th in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Against Bellarmine, the Cardinals shot 54.7% from the field and 34.3% for 3- 3-pointers, both season-high stats. Five players put up double digits. Head coach Pat Kelsey recognizes that they need to minimize turnover. […]