KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee men’s basketball team dropped a 66-62 decision Sunday afternoon to No. 17/18 Indiana at Food City Center in a season-opening charity exhibition affair benefitting the John McLendon Foundation.
No. 12 Tennessee, in its first-ever home exhibition contest against a Division I foe, did not face a second-half deficit until fewer than seven minutes remained, but could not hold on for the win. Senior guard Zakai Zeigler paced the Volunteers with 13 points and a game-high eight assists in the setback.
After Tennessee scored the opening basket, Indiana notched the next four to go ahead, 8-2, with 16:16 on the clock. The visitors’ lead sat at 16-11 after the opening 12.5 minutes, during which the Volunteers went 1-of-15 from 3-point range.
Tennessee, however, then hit back-to-back long-range shots, one each from Jordan Gainey and fellow senior guard Zakai Zeigler, and followed them with an alley-oop dunk by fifth-year guard Chaz Lanier—off a lob from Zeigler—to go ahead, 19-16, with 6:03 left in the frame. The Volunteers soon thereafter, aided by a personal 5-1 run from junior forward Felix Okpara, took a five-point edge, 26-21, with 1:57 on the ticker.
The Hoosiers scored the last four points of the session and Tennessee took a 26-25 margin into the break. Both teams struggled from distance in the opening 20 minutes, as the Volunteers shot 3-of-20 (15.0 percent) and held their opponent without a single make on 11 attempts. Tenth-year head coach Rick Barnes‘ team made all seven of its first-half free throws.
Tennessee took a game-best six-point edge, 41-35, exactly four minutes into the second session, but Indiana responded with six straight points to level the score at 41 with 13:40 to play. The lead remained four with under seven minutes left, but Indiana went on a 10-0 run in 2:37 to go ahead, 60-54, with 4:17 on the clock, matching its largest lead of the day.
The Volunteers, 27 seconds later, snapped a 5:08 scoreless drought—it included seven straight misses—on a 3-pointer by senior guard Jahmai Mashack that cut the deficit in half. Senior forward Igor Miličić Jr. hit two free throws with 2:08 to play, making it a one-point game, but the Hoosiers responded at the other end and the Volunteers never got closer than two the rest of the way.
In addition to Zeigler, who shot 7-of-8 at the stripe, two other Volunteers scored in double figures. Gainey registered 12 points and Lanier posted 10, adding two blocks. Mashack scored nine points and co-led all players with three steals, Milicic had eight points and a team-high eight rebounds, and Okpara totaled seven points, six rebounds and a game-leading four blocks.
Junior forward Malik Reneau led all scorers with 21 points—14 of them came after the break—on 8-of-12 shooting for the Hoosiers, adding eight rebounds and a co-game-high three steals. Redshirt sophomore guard Myles Rice tallied 20 points on 7-of-14 shooting and a co-team-best four assists. Sophomore forward Mackenize Mgbako had 12 points, all in a second half during which he shot 5-of-7 after missing all five of his first half-attempts, while graduate center Oumar Ballo logged six points and a game-best 11 rebounds.
The Volunteers recorded a 13-2 advantage in bench points, but Indiana posted an 18-9 edge in fast-break points and a 32-20 margin in the paint. Tennessee, which finished 18-of-21 (85.7 percent) on free throws, held the Hoosiers to just 4-of-19 (21.1 percent) 3-point shooting, but they made four of their first seven attempts of the second half.
Tennessee officially begins the 2024-25 campaign Nov. 4 at 7 p.m. when it hosts Gardner-Webb at Food City Center, live on SEC Network+.
To keep up with the University of Tennessee men’s basketball team on social media, follow @Vol_Hoops on Instagram and X/Twitter, as well as /tennesseebasketball on Facebook.
TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS POSTGAME NOTES
• To learn more about the John McLendon Foundation, the charity to which proceeds from Sunday’s game will benefit, visit www.minorityleaders.org.
• Although not an official game, Sunday marked the first time Tennessee and Indiana have ever met at one side’s campus arena, as all four prior meetings came at neutral sites, each between 1967 and 1985.
• Tennessee fell to 87-19 all-time in exhibition games, including 65-12 in the United States, 62-10 in Knoxville, 56-8 in preseason contests (games just before the start of the regular season), 28-2 against United States colleges and 2-1 versus Division I teams.
• Tennessee is now 15-1 in exhibition affairs under Barnes, including 9-1 against United States colleges and 7-1 in Knoxville.
• The Volunteers’ 25-game exhibition winning streak—which went back to Nov. 3, 2011, versus Carson-Newman—came to an end.
• Sunday marked the third consecutive year Tennessee has played a Division I team—all were ranked top-20—in a preseason exhibition contest after never previously doing so.
• Just as he did in the 2023-24 exhibition affair at Food City Center, Gainey scored the first points of the game, this time via a layup with 17:50 on the clock.
• Mashack, who made multiple 3-pointers in a regular season game four times in his first three years, shot 2-of-3 from beyond the arc.
• Sophomore forward Cade Phillips pulled down five rebounds, third-most on the team, after never eclipsing three in an official game during his inaugural campaign.
• Five Volunteers saw their first action at Food City Center: Lanier, Miličić Jr., Okpara, freshman guard Bishop Boswell and fifth-year guard Darlinstone Dubar.
