Chaz Lanier picked up right where he left off against Virginia on Thursday night, blistering Baylor from deep as Tennessee routed Baylor 77-62 at the Baha Mar Championship in the Bahamas on Friday night.
Lanier caught fire for the second straight night and Tennessee’s defense did its thing as the Vols earned a quality early season win to stay unbeaten. Here’s three quick takeaways on the victory.
Chaz Lanier Shoots Tennessee To Major First Half Lead
Tennessee controlled the opening tip and Chaz Lanier opened the scoring nine seconds into the game with a triple on the left elbow. It was the sign of what was to come.
Lanier proceeded to hit five three-pointers in the game’s first four minutes as the Vols opened a 16-2 lead that they would never look back from. It was an incredible first half from Lanier who scored 25 points on nine-of-13 shooting from the field and seven-of-eight from three-point range.
That seventh three-pointer came as the first half expired and gave Tennessee basketball a 47-20 halftime lead. It also extended Lanier’s personal scoring lead over the Bears to five points. It was a dominant showing and continued his hot shooting in the Bahamas after Lanier hit four triples in the second half against Virginia on Thursday night.
Lanier didn’t score in the second half while taking just three shots. It was clear that Baylor put a major emphasis on taking away his looks but his first half explosion was more than enough for Tennessee to jump out to a sizable lead.
Tennessee’s Defense Suffocates A Great Offense
This rendition of Tennessee basketball is just like the last few Rick Barnes’ squads that have hung its hat on the defensive end of the court. The Vols suffocating Virginia on defense Thursday night was one thing. Virginia is a very bad offensive team.
But Baylor entered the game ranked fifth nationally is adjusted offensive efficiency and has one of the best offenses in the country year-in, year-out under Scott Drew. And Tennessee’s defensive effort remained suffocating.
Tennessee held the Bears to just 62 points on 1.069 points per possession and suffocated them with ball pressure. Baylor turned the ball over 12 times and Tennessee turned it into 20 points. Per usual, both Zakai Zeigler and Jahmai Mashack made plays on that end with Zeigler totaling three steals and Mashack adding another.
Baylor shot poorly as well, making just 42% of shots from the field and 27% from three-point range. Some of that can be attributed to Baylor playing a double overtime game on Thursday but the Vols also helped force that.
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Tennessee Gets Good Bench Minutes
Tennessee’s depth has been a question early this season due in large part to the injury bug that the Vols are battling. But Tennessee got good minutes from its top players off the bench against Baylor.
It was Tennessee’s sixth and seventh men that played best with Jordan Gainey finishing second on the Vols’ roster with 16 points on three-of-six shooting from three-point range. Gainey helped spark some offense for Tennessee especially in the second half when he got to the foul line while the Vols’ offense sputtered a bit.
Phillips played 20 minutes as some front court players battled foul trouble. The sophomore wasn’t perfect but played well, scoring 11 points while grabbing four rebounds and blocking a shot. In his second game this season, Darlinstone Dubar was alright as well playing 12 minutes while hitting a triple and grabbing four rebounds.
Bench production will be a question for Tennessee all season and it was solid against Baylor.
Final Stats
Up Next
Tennessee returns to Knoxville where they’ll face UT Martin on Wednesday afternoon in its lone game next week. Tipoff between the Vols and Skyhawks is at 4 p.m. ET with SEC Network+ streaming the game.
