INDIANAPOLIS — Tennessee’s backcourt calmly dissected Kentucky’s press as Zakai Zeigler threw the ball ahead to Igor Milicic for a wide open dunk. Milicic hung on the rim for a moment as the Vols’ extended their lead to 16 points with 1:45 to play.
Tennessee’s press break and Milicic slam was easy. The Vols made a lot look easy on Friday night, coasting past Kentucky 78-65 to advance to the Elite Eight for the second straight season.
Here’s three quick takeaways on how Tennessee got it done against the Wildcats.
Tennessee Flips The Script Defensively From The Regular Season Games
No one gave Tennessee’s defense more issues in the regular season than Kentucky, spacing the floor with shooters and athletic big men and giving the Vols’ all sorts of issues in dribble handoffs.
The Vols flipped the script on the defensive end from the first two meetings. Tennessee put a clear emphasis on running Kentucky off of the three-point line and they executed it at a high level.
There was certainly an element of progression to the mean with Kentucky’s three-point shooting against Tennessee but the Vols also did a much better job of making the Wildcats’ looks contested, especially for sharpshooter Koby Brea. After shooting 12-of-24 from three-point range in both regular season matchups, Kentucky made just six-of-15 three-pointers on Friday night.
Kentucky converted on some easy buckets at the rim throughout the game which came with Tennessee’s defensive strategy. But overall, the Vols made life difficult for Kentucky at the basket. In the end, Kentucky scored just 65 points on 1.048 points per possession.
Tennessee’s Front Line Answers The Bell
Tennessee’s front court turned in its best outing in a number of games in the Vols’ Round of 32 win over UCLA. They took it to a whole new level in the Kentucky game.
Felix Okpara set the tone early, scoring Tennessee’s first basket on an offensive rebound and a put back. That play set the tone for what the Vols would do best in the matchup.
Tennessee dominated Kentucky on the offensive glass, scoring 13 of its 43 first half points on second chance opportunities on its way to totaling 14 offensive rebounds and 19 second chance points in the win. The Vols rebounded 50% of their misses on their way to earning a 14-7 offensive rebounding and 34-24 overall rebounding advantage.
Perhaps the most important part of Tennessee’s front court performance was that everyone gave them a little bit of something. Darlinstone Dubar scored five points, grabbed two rebounds and had a chase down block. Cade Phillips did a strong job of defending the basket and made a number of opportunities for the Wildcats at the rim difficult.
Igor Milicic wasn’t great while battling foul trouble but had two buckets early in the second half while Tennessee’s offense grew stagnant. Okpara played one of his better games this season, finishing with eight points and 11 rebounds.
Okpara was really good but everyone else in the front court was just solid. That was all Tennessee needed.
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Chaz Lanier’s Growth Was Fully On Display
Tennessee shooting guard Chaz Lanier is a sharpshooter and for a good portion of the season, he was just a sharpshooter. There was tremendous value in that for Tennessee but in games where Lanier struggled to hit three pointers, he struggled to impact the game.
Lanier’s growth over the course of the season was fully on display in Tennessee’s victory over Kentucky. The All-SEC shooting guard made just one-of-six three-point attempts but he turned in a strong performance either way.
While Lanier struggled to connect from deep, he hit a handful of midrange jumpers as he’s been apt to do over the past six weeks. He also showed an extra gear getting to the basket. Lanier finished an and-one in transition in the first half. In the second half, he came off a curl and put the ball on the floor before finishing with his right hand.
Lanier sequenced one of the biggest sequences of the game in a stretch we he didn’t make a basket. With Tennessee leading by 12 at the halfway point in the second half, Lanier drove hard to the basket missing a layup before Okpara slammed the put back.
Lanier went to the ground on the shot. He got up, stole the inbound pass and found Zakai Zeigler for a triple. A 5-0 run in five seconds killed any second half momentum that Kentucky had.
The senior shooting guard also did a strong job on the defensive glass, grabbing four rebounds to go along with his 17 points.
Final Stats
Up Next
Tennessee basketball advances to the Elite Eight for the second straight season and just the third time in program history where they’ll face either Houston or Purdue on Sunday afternoon.
