CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Tennessee’s three best players were average at their very best and two of them fouled out in the game’s final minutes.
But the Vols bench players just kept on coming and Jordan Gainey played hero, scoring 18 second half points including the game winner as the clock expired.
Here’s three quick takeaways from an instant classic.
Tennessee Overcomes Foul Trouble
The shot making from both sides was poor in the first half but it was the abundance of fouls that made the watchability of the matchup largely miserable.
In the first half, the two teams combined to shoot 45 free throws as the two teams combined for a whopping 26 fouls. That killed the flow of the game but also helped both offense’s post a decent points per possession rate despite combining to shoot 28% from the field.
The game was undoubtedly physical and a number of the fouls were good calls while there were a number of others that could have been play-ons. With the abundance of whistles, each team found themselves in foul trouble at the break.
Both teams had four starters with two fouls in the first half including Zakai Zeigler, Chaz Lanier, Jahmai Mashack and Felix Okpara for Tennessee. That forced both teams to adapt how they played and roll with lineups they rarely have this season.
Those fouling issues continued it the second half but came much more one-sided on the stat sheet. Both Zakai Zeigler and Chaz Lanier fouled out. Jahmai Mashack ended the game with four fouls.
Illinois Takes Tennessee Out Of Its Offense
When Tennessee’s offense is at its best they’re moving the ball at a high clip, getting lots of people involved and not relying solely on isolation or ball screen offense.
The Vols settled for an abundance of the latter against Illinois. A lack of role players making shots makes it challenging for balanced scoring but far too often Tennessee offensive possessions were simply Chaz Lanier working in ball screens.
Tennessee was starting to play with better movement early in the second half but that’s when Zeigler picked up two fouls in two seconds which was a big blow to its ability to play with movement on the offensive end. From that point on, Tennessee played almost exclusively lineups with two non shooters. That made offense hard to come by and led to a number of forced jumps shots. However, they kept finding ways to make big plays.
The Vols entered the game in the top third nationally in assist rate. They totaled six assists against Illinois. Tennessee won’t be at its best playing like that.
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Incredible Fight And Response From Tennessee’s Role Players
Zakai Zeigler picked up his fourth foul with 18:12 to play. Chaz Lanier picked up his fourth foul with 7:59 to play.
Tennessee trailed by six points three different times in the second half and it felt like the game was slipping away from them. But led by players off the bench, the Vols just kept on coming.
Darlinstone Dubar played his most meaningful basketball in his short Tennessee tenure, grabbing a huge defensive rebound and scoring five points in the second half.
Jordan Gainey was phenomenal in the second half. Forced to run Tennessee’s offense with Zeigler out, Gainey scored 18 of his 23 points in the second half including a handful of baskets when the State Farm Center was at its loudest.
His biggest moment came in the final 5.7 seconds when he took it coast-to-coast and finished with a right-handed layup on the left side to keep Tennessee unbeaten.
UNREAL FINISH
VOLS WINNNNNNNN pic.twitter.com/7KhizezTW2
— Tennessee Basketball (@Vol_Hoops) December 15, 2024
Those minutes from two bench guys were the reason Tennessee earned its best win of the young season. The Vols don’t have the deepest team but the bench players in the rotation play at a super high level.
Final Stats
Up Next
Tennessee basketball returns home on Tuesday to face Western Carolina in its first of three buy games before the start of SEC play. Tipoff between the Vols and Catamounts is at 7 p.m. ET on the SEC Network+.
