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Game Recap: Men’s Basketball | November 27, 2024
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee men’s basketball team capped a perfect November with a 78-35 decision Wednesday evening against UT Martin.
No. 7/6 Tennessee (7-0) never trailed and led for over 38 minutes, including by 20-plus for the final 11:35 and by 30-plus for last 5:56, in the intrastate matchup at Food City Center. Fifth-year guard Chaz Lanier tallied a game-high 18 points for the victors.
The Volunteers quickly took control of the game with an early 8-0 run in 108 seconds to go ahead, 11-3, after just 4:01 of action. They extended their lead to 14 points, 28-14, exactly 10 minutes later, doubling up UT Martin (2-5) at that point. The home team did not concede a point for a span of 4:47.
Tennessee pushed its margin to 15 with 1:20 to go in the frame and it remained at that number, 35-20, at the buzzer. It allowed the Skyhawks to shoot only 30.8 percent (8-of-26) from the floor in the first 20 minutes, including 25.0 percent (4-of-16) beyond the arc.
The Volunteers scored the first nine points after the intermission to build a 44-20 lead with 16:16 remaining, making it a 14-0 extended run back to the 1:49 mark of the opening frame. They did not give up a second-half point until the clock showed 15:36, good for a stretch of 6:30 in which it held UT Martin scoreless going into and coming out of the break.
Tennessee held the Skyhawks without a make from the floor for 9:04 including without a point for two spans of at least 3:28 during that stretch, as it extended the cushion all the way to 36 points during that time. The Volunteers led, 67-31, with 4:29 to play after an extended 21-3 burst.
Tenth-year head coach Rick Barnes‘ team went on to score the final 11 points, capping the contest with their largest lead of not only of the day, but also the season. The last basket, to make it a 43-point final, came from redshirt junior guard Grant Hurst, who played at UT Martin in 2021-22, with 34 seconds left.
Along with Lanier, who hit at least four 3-pointers for the fourth time this season, two other Volunteers reached double figures in the scoring column. Senior guard Zakai Zeigler registered 11 points to go along with a game-high nine assists and a team-best two steals. Junior forward Felix Okpara posted 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting and a game-leading 11 rebounds, including five on the offensive end, for his first double-double in a Tennessee uniform, plus swatted a game-best four shots. The boards and blocks totals for Okpara both set season highs.
Additionally, senior forward Igor Miličić Jr. put up nine points to go along with a game- and season-best 13 rebounds, while senior guard Jahmai Mashack once again stuffed the stat sheet, amassing seven points, six rebounds, a season-high four assists and one steal.
Just one Skyhawk scored greater than seven points, as junior guard Josué Grullon notched 15 on 6-of-16 shooting. The rest of the roster totaled 22 points on a 6-of-37 ledger.
Tennessee doubled up UT Martin in both offensive and defensive rebounding, compiling a 20-10 margin in the former category—its most offensive rebounds since Dec. 11, 2022—and a 29-14 figure in the latter, good for an overall mark of 49-24. The Volunteers also had 22 assists and 11 turnovers, while conceding just eight assists and forcing 18 giveaways.
Barnes’ team, which had nine blocks and conceded none, held the Skyhawks to a 22.6 percent (12-of-53) field-goal mark, including a mere 14.8 percent (4-of-27) total in the second half. Only twice in the last 20 seasons (2005-25) has Tennessee allowed a lower single-game field-goal percentage than it did against the Skyhawks, while just once has it given up fewer than 12 makes.
UT Martin’s 35 points marked the fewest Tennessee has allowed in nearly 51 years, dating to Dec. 15, 1973, when it gave up just six to Temple. This is the fifth time in the shot-clock era (since 1985-86) the Volunteers have allowed under 40 points in a game, with this the third such occurrence in the last five seasons.
The 35 points marked the fewest allowed by an SEC team since Dec. 30, 2019, and set an arena low at Food City Center, which opened in 1987-88.
Meanwhile, at the other end, the Volunteers shot 47.6 percent (30-of-63) from the field, including 76.9 percent (20-of-26) inside the arc. They finished with a 36-10 edge in paint points and a 24-7 advantage in points off turnovers.
Up next for Tennessee is an SEC/ACC Challenge matchup with Syracuse, slated for Tuesday at 7:30 p.m., live on ESPN from Food City Center.
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
• The Volunteers improved to 6-0 all-time against UT Martin, with the victories by an average of 24.7 points per game, including five by 17-plus and four by 28-plus.
• Barnes remained undefeated all-time versus the current Ohio Valley membership, as he is now 9-0, with every outing during his tenure with the Volunteers.
• Barnes is now 33-6 (.846) against in-state competition in his 10 years with Tennessee, including 16-1 (.941) over the last 17 such contests.
• In his 38-year head coaching career, Barnes now owns an 40-9 (.816) ledger against schools from Tennessee, including a 38-7 (.844) mark versus teams other than the Volunteers.
• The Volunteers are 7-0 for the fourth time since the turn of the century, including the second time in five years, alongside 2020-21 (7-0), 2010-11 (7-0) and 2000-01 (9-0)
• Tennessee increased its non-conference home winning streak to 32 consecutive games, a stretch that dates to the 2020-21 season opener.
• With their 7-0 mark in November this season, the Volunteers improved to 30 games over .500 in the month, 44-14 (.759), in Barnes’ 10-year tenure.
• Tennessee now has 28 wins by 20-plus points over the last three seasons (2022-25), including 17 by 30-plus, 13 by 35-plus and five by 40-plus.
• The Volunteers’ last win by at least 40 points came on Feb. 25, 2023, when they won by 40, 85-45, against South Carolina, while their last win by at least 43 came in the same season against the same team with a 43-point triumph, 85-42, at South Carolina on Jan. 7, 2023.
• Wednesday marked Tennessee’s 26th win by 40-plus in the shot-clock era (since 1985-86), including its 22nd versus a Division I team and its 14th in Barnes’ 10-year tenure (13th versus DI programs).
• The Volunteers now possess 16 triumphs by at least 43 points in the shot-clock era (since 1985-86), including 12 against Division I programs and eight under Barnes (seven versus DI teams).
• Tennessee last held a lead of 40-plus points on Feb. 17, 2024, when it was ahead by 41, 72-31, in an eventual 35-point triumph over Vanderbilt.
• Only four prior times in the shot-clock era (since 1985-86) has Tennessee allowed below 40 points in a contest: 36 versus UNC Greensboro (Dec. 11, 2021), 38 versus Appalachian State (Dec. 15, 2020), 38 versus Vanderbilt (March 1, 2014) and 37 at Georgetown (Nov. 30, 2012).
• Tennessee last allowed 35 or fewer points in regulation on Dec. 7, 1996, at Penn State, but that contest went to overtime and the Nittany Lions finished with 42.
• The Volunteers are just the eighth team to allow 35 points or fewer versus a Division I foe this season, including the second from the SEC.
• The 35 points against not only set a program record for the shot-clock era, but also tied for 18th-fewest by an SEC team in those 40 seasons, including the 16th-fewest versus a Division I foe.
• The last time an SEC team allowed 35 or fewer points in a game was Dec. 30, 2019, when Missouri conceded 33 against Chicago State.
• Tennessee is just the ninth SEC team in the last 20 years (2005-25) to hold its opponent to 35 or fewer points on a field-goal percentage of 23.0 percent or below, including the eighth to do so in a victory by at least 43 points.
• UT Martin’s 35 points marked the fewest ever in the 38-year history of Food City Center, breaking the record of 36 by UNC Greensboro on Dec. 11, 2021.
• In addition, UT Martin’s 22.6 percent field-goal clip finished just shy of the lowest mark by a Division I team in the venue, as Morehead State put up a 22.1 percent (15-of-68) ledger on Dec. 7, 1994.
• The 12 field goals Tennessee conceded tied for the second-fewest allowed in Food City Center history, trailing only the 11 it gave up to Vanderbilt on March 1, 2014.
• Wednesday marked the sixth time in the last 20 seasons (2005-25) the Volunteers have conceded 12 or fewer field goals, including the fourth in the last six years under Barnes.
• This is the 10th time, including the eighth versus a Division I team, in the last 20 years (2005-25) Tennessee has conceded a field-goal clip below 25.0 percent, including the seventh under Barnes.
• Only three other times, with just two against a Division I foe, in the last 20 seasons (2005-25) have the Volunteers held their opponent under 23.0 percent shooting: 22.1 percent against Eastern Kentucky (15-of-68 on Dec. 7, 2022), 20.9 percent against Division II Lenoir-Rhyne (14-of-67 on Nov. 6, 2018) and 22.4 percent against Vanderbilt (11-of-49 on March 1, 2014).
• The last time Tennessee allowed a field-goal percentage below 20.0 percent in a half was Dec. 12, 2023, when Georgia Southern recorded a 16.7 percent (5-of-30) clip before the break.
• Through seven games this year, the Volunteers have led for 266:15 and trailed for just 4:39 of a possible 280 minutes.
• All seven of Tennessee’s wins thus far are by 15-plus points, with five by at least 22 and three by at least 35.
• Tennessee has held a lead of 26-plus points in each of its six contests this season and still has not faced a deficit larger than three.
• The Volunteers have held a halftime margin of nine-plus points in six of their seven outings, including leading by 12-plus five times and by 14-plus on four occasions.
• Tennessee has now conceded 32 or fewer points in every first half this season, including 29 or fewer in five and 22 or fewer in each of the last three.
• UT Martin’s 15 second-half points marked the fewest Tennessee has allowed in a session this year, while its 20 first-half points tied for the second-fewest, equaling the total by Baylor before the break Nov. 22.
• The Volunteers’ 20 offensive rebounds marked their highest total since Dec. 11, 2022, when they grabbed the same amount against Maryland in the Hall of Fame Invitational in Brooklyn, N.Y.
• The last time Tennessee had 45-plus rebounds was March 21, 2024, versus Saint Peter’s in Charlotte, N.C., when it grabbed 47 in the NCAA Tournament Round of 32.
• Tennessee moved up second nationally in KenPom’s overall rankings, including to first in the country in adjusted defensive efficiency.
• The last time two Tennessee players had double-figure boards in a game was Feb. 20, 2024, at Missouri when Tobe Awaka and Dalton Knecht each pulled down 10.
• This is the third time in Barnes’ tenure multiple Volunteers amassed 11-plus rebounds, joining Nov. 20, 2023, versus Syracuse in Honolulu (12 by Josiah-Jordan James and 11 by Jonas Aidoo) and Nov. 25, 2019, against Chattanooga (12 by Jordan Bowden and 11 by Josiah-Jordan James).
• The Volunteers finished just shy of having three double-doubles, as Zeigler had nine assists and Miličić logged nine points.
• Miličić recorded the 16th double-digit rebounding performance of his career, including his second as a Volunteer.
• The 13 rebounds for Miličić matched the third-most of his career and marked the sixth time he has logged at least that many.
• Okpara amassed his eighth outing with double-figure rebounds and his third double-double as a collegian, including his first of each at Tennessee.
• Zeigler now has 16 showings in his career with nine assists, with this the sixth time he has finished either one point or one assist shy of a double-double.
• The nine assists for Zeigler upped his career total to 526, moving him past Rodney Woods (525 from 1972-75) for third place in Tennessee history.
• For Hurst, whose collegiate debut came with the Skyhawks at Food City Center on Nov. 9, 2021, the late basket marked his second field goal as a Volunteer and he has now scored in back-to-back home contests.
• Fifth-year guard Darlinstone Dubar made his official Food City Center debut and scored seven points on 3-of-6 shooting, adding three rebounds and an assist.
