No. 1 Tennessee fought off a fierce second-half run from Miami (FL) on Tuesday night in Madison Square Garden to find a 75-63 win over the Hurricanes in the first game of the Jimmy V Classic from New York City. The Vols advance to 9-0 on the season with the win.
Tennessee guard Chaz Lanier knocked down a trio of three-pointers in the first 10 minutes of the game en route to a game-high 22 points on 8-of-15 shooting from the floor. Lanier also knocked down a critical three-pointer with 1:27 left to cut off Miami’s scoring for the remainder of the game.
Tennessee and Miami combined to wear out the three-point line in Tuesday’s contest as 58 of the game’s 113 total shots came from behind the arc. The Vols hit 10 of their 25 shots from three-point land while Miami hit 8 of its 33 attempts. The Vols held the Hurricanes to just two threes in the second half after Miami hit six in the first 20 minutes.
Tennessee led by 13 at halftime and kept a good 14-18 point lead for the first stretch of the second half. Miami’s offense didn’t go away, though, as the Hurricanes cut Tennessee’s lead from 17 to eight on a 9-0 run with eight minutes to go in the second half.
Lanier responded with 11 of Tennessee’s final 16 points as the Vols held off the Hurricanes’s comeback in The Garden.
Takeaways
Tennessee: Forward Cade Phillips provided Tennessee with a big spark in the second half as he scored nine straight points for the Vols before the under-12 media timeout.
Tennessee: Miami came out swinging to start the second half but Zakai Zeigler was there to not let things get out of hand. Zeigler scored five points in the first half but tallied six points in the first three minutes of the second half as Miami was scoring.
Tennessee: Miami’s offense averages 48.9% shooting from the floor but was held to just 39.3% against Tennessee on Tuesday night.
Key Stats
- Tennessee closed the first half on a 14-0 run while holding Miami scoreless in the final 7:57.
- Igor Milicic Jr. came close to a double-double with 16 points and nine rebounds. Milicic hit some timely shots for the Vols including a big three with less than five minutes in the game.
- Tennessee hit 40% of its three-point shots while Miami hit just 24%.
- Tennessee had five blocks in the game with all five in the second half.
- Tennessee shot 18 free throws compared to Miami’s 10.
Impact Players
- Tennessee: Zakai Zeigler – 13 points, 4-of-9 shooting, 9 assists, 5 rebounds
- Tennessee: Jahmai Mashack – 7 points, 2-of-4 shooting, 5 rebounds, 2 assists
- Miami: Nijel Pack – 12 points, 4-of-9 three-point shooting, 4 rebounds
More from RTI: Tennessee Forward Misses Miami Game in Concussion Protocol
Key Moment
The first key moment of the game was Tennessee’s close to the first. With the Vols and Hurricanes trading three-point shots back and forth over the first eight minutes of the game, Tennessee needed to lock down on the defensive end to let the offense create some separation. That’s exactly what happened. Tennessee held Miami scoreless over the last 7:57 of the first half as the Vols’ offense went on a 14-0 run to end the first half.
Zakai Zeigler had all five of his first-half points during the Vols’ 14-0 run.
The second key moment of the game was Chaz Lanier’s 11-point stretch in the final eight minutes of the game after Miami had cut Tennessee’s lead to just eight points on a 9-0 run. Lanier’s dagger was a corner three to put Tennessee up by 11 with 1:27 left in the game.
Up Next
No. 1 Tennessee (9-0) at Illinois (6-2, 5-0 home) – Saturday, Dec. 14 at 5:30 p.m. ET on FOX.
Tennessee-Miami FINAL STATS pic.twitter.com/boHnjlbovF
— Rocky Top Insider (@rockytopinsider) December 11, 2024
