No. 6 Tennessee fell to in-state rival Vanderbilt by a score of 76-75 on Saturday in Nashville’s Memorial Gymnasium.
The Vols spent the vast majority of the game trailing but fought hard to close the gap in the final minute. With Tennessee down by two points and just three seconds left on the clock, Vols guard Chaz Lanier only hit one of two free throws to secure the Commodores’ upset victory.
Lanier finished the game with a team-high 17 points while Zakai Zeigler, Felix Okpara, and Igor Milicic Jr. all added 16 points of their own.
“Just proud of our guys for fighting back,” Tennessee HC Rick Barnes said after the Vols’ second loss of the season. “Had a chance obviously, possibly send it to overtime. But just give Vanderbilt credit. I thought they played hard. I thought they played with a real sense of purpose and got a lot in the lane on us.”
More from RTI: Three Quick Takeaways As Tennessee Basketball’s Comeback Bid Comes Up Short At Vanderbilt
Check out some of the reactions on social media after the game below:
VANDERBILT TAKES DOWN TENNESSEE pic.twitter.com/mpLIdBu3x8
— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) January 18, 2025
BEDLAM in Nashville! Vanderbilt upsets Tennessee by one. Chaz Lanier misses a free throw in the final seconds. 13-bid SEC?
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) January 18, 2025
Vanderbilt with the court storm after upsetting the Tennessee Vols.
Another WILD day in college hoops.
Mark Byington has done an incredible job in Year 1 with the Commodores. Vandy now 15-3 and 3-2 in SEC play.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) January 18, 2025
Mark Byington was such a program-changing hire for Vanderbilt.
The Commodores shock #6 Tennessee 76-75!!! They’re 15-3 on the season and that is one MASSIVE resume win.
— John Fanta (@John_Fanta) January 18, 2025
Tennessee loses to the Nerds! pic.twitter.com/vJzF1BT17G
— MattBeGreat (@mattbegreatyt) January 18, 2025
Auburn having an entire week off to prepare for Tennessee while we have a midweek game against Miss St. is pretty cool
— Russell Smith (@Russell___Smith) January 18, 2025
Since June of 2024, Tennessee has lost 7 games combined between Baseball, Football, and Basketball.
While this is awesome, people aren’t used to losing anymore.
So any loss will result in complete meltdowns on the TL.
— ZehDuck (@ZehDuck) January 18, 2025
CHAZ LANIER MISSES THE TYING FREE THROW AND VANDY UPSETS #6 TENNESSEE
WHAT AN ABSOLUTELY PSYCHOTIC ENDING
— Barstool SEC (@SECBarstool) January 18, 2025
Students storm the court after the win over Tennessee pic.twitter.com/3D5xrLP4lL
— Vandy Hustler Sports (@vuhustlersports) January 18, 2025
Mark Byington has already done an outstanding job at Vanderbilt. He and his team deserve a ton of credit for scoring at will against this Tennessee defense.
Vandy is an NCAA Tournament team.
— Will Boling (@will_boling) January 18, 2025
There have already been 16 Top 25 teams that have lost this week:
Florida
Tennessee
Alabama
Marquette
Kentucky
Kansas
Memphis
Oregon
Texas A&M
Miss State
UConn
Gonzaga
Georgia
Michigan
Utah State
Baylor— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) January 18, 2025
The boy @JellyRoll615 in the building was the extra juice Vandy needed to upset Tennessee pic.twitter.com/dP1G4tVpZt
— Bussin’ With The Boys (@BussinWTB) January 18, 2025
Vandy just upsets #6 Tennessee and improves to 15-3 overall and nobody talks about them lol. SEC basketball is just absolutely loaded. Anyone can beat anyone and nothing is super surprising. Alabama plays Vandy Tuesday night
— Austin Randolph (@austinsrandolph) January 18, 2025
Three quick takeaways as Tennessee basketball falls 76-75 at Vanderbilt
https://t.co/kzx6fbKw5p
— Rocky Top Insider (@rockytopinsider) January 18, 2025
Tennessee-Vanderbilt POSTGAME video:
-UT HC Rick Barnes
-VU HC Mark Byington
-UT F Igor Milicic Jr.
-UT C Felix Okparahttps://t.co/cmePvWIWx9— Rocky Top Insider (@rockytopinsider) January 19, 2025
Everything Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes said after the Vols’ fell at Vanderbilt on Saturday night
— Rocky Top Insider (@rockytopinsider) January 19, 2025
