CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Tennessee made just six field goals in the first half. Zakai Zeigler and Chaz Lanier combined for two points in the second half while fouling out. Igor Milicic missed all eight of his three-point attempts. Felix Okpara didn’t score in nine minutes of action.
The list of stats and circumstances that made a Tennessee victory at Illinois improbable were endless. But the top-ranked Vols prevailed 66-64 anyway, remaining unbeaten as non conference play wanes.
“I’m excited to see the tape because I’m shocked that we were able to get it done, with all that foul trouble,” Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes said postgame. “But these guys found a way to do it.”
Illinois jumped on Tennessee from the offset, scoring the game’s first eight points on its way to leading for just under 24 minutes. The Vols never led by more than four points and appeared toast when Zakai Zeigler picked up his third and fourth foul within two seconds with over 18 minutes remaining in the game.
Tennessee’s task became even more daunting when foul trouble sidelined Chaz Lanier for seven minutes in the second half. The Vols were down their lone point guard and top scoring guard on the road against a top 25 quality team.
But that’s where Jordan Gainey stepped up, scoring 18 of his Tennessee-high 23 points in the second half while also not turning the ball over while running the point. Gainey got to the basket, finishing through contact and drilled three triples on a night the Vols struggled to get perimeter shots to fall.
“We said, ‘hey, man, we got to come through. You got to do it,’ and he worked really hard,” Barnes said of Gainey.
“This season, you’re going to see different guys in different games are going to have their breakout games,” Tennessee guard Jahmai Mashack said. “I’m telling you, it seems like we have great games already this season but it’s going to get even better and there’s going to be games we surprise some people.”
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Illinois thrice pushed its lead to six points in the second half. With the capacity crowd at the State Farm Center reaching a fevered pitch, it felt like the game was getting away from Tennessee. But each time, Tennessee scored on the ensuing possession.
Two of those responses came from Darlinstone Dubar who returned from concussion protocol earlier this week to play 16 big minutes for the Vols, making crucial plays on each end of the court.
“If I thought about three plays in a game, one would be Dstones little floater because we were hemorrhaging right there. I mean, he had that little floater,” Barnes said.
“He blocked a shot in the first half. He made a three in the second half and that floater,” Milicic said of Dubar. “I was on the court with him screaming. … Everyone who stepped on the court was valuable.
Even Milicic, who had his worst game of the season offensively, came through in other ways. He grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds and battled at the five-spot defensively as Okpara struggled.
Zeigler missed the front end of the bonus with Tennessee up one late before Illinois got to the foul line with five seconds remaining. It once again felt like the game was slipping away. But Kasparas Jakucionis split the two free throws and Gainey played hero, getting down hill and finishing with a right-handed scoop shot on the left side to steal an improbable victory.
“We’re tough,” Milicic said. “Crowd was loud … we just had to stick together and pull this off. We’re some tough dudes and I think we showed it in this game from the beginning.”
The win almost certainly secures an undefeated non conference record for Tennessee with only a trio of buy games remaining. In a six week stretch that has been filled with a number of impressive surprises and performances, Tennessee winning at Illinois the way they did is one of the most encouraging.
There was no doubt that Tennessee was physically strong, but the Vols proved their mental toughness at Illinois.
