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Game Recap: Men’s Basketball | December 10, 2024

NEW YORK – Facing a non-conference opponent as the No. 1 men’s basketball team in the nation for the first time in program history, the University of Tennessee defeated Miami, 75-62, Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden.

Fifth-year guard Chaz Lanier scored a game-high 22 points for top-ranked Tennessee (9-0), which trailed for just 35 seconds, in the Jimmy V Classic.

Both sides got off to blistering starts from 3-point range, connecting on four attempts in the first six minutes and six in the first 11. The Volunteers opened 4-of-6 and 6-of-11, while Miami (3-7, 0-1 ACC) was 4-7 and 6-of-12.

Tennessee built a 24-18 edge at the 9:25 mark, but the Hurricanes soon responded with seven points in 65 seconds to take their only lead, 25-24, with 7:57 on the first-half timer. The Volunteers then held Miami without a point for the rest of the half, forcing eight straight misses and five turnovers, while scoring the last 14 points of the frame to take a 38-25 advantage into the intermission.

Behind a 13-6 surge early in the second half that included seven points from sophomore forward Cade Phillips, Tennessee extended its margin to 18, 53-35, with 13:04 to go. It held the Hurricanes without a field goal for 4:35.

The Volunteers’ edge remained 15-plus until fewer than nine-and-a-half minutes remained, when Miami scored nine consecutive points in 1:06 to get it down to eight, 59-51, with 8:14 on the clock. The Hurricanes got the margin to seven, 63-56, with 5:39 to go, but Tennessee closed on a 12-6 run—it featured seven points by Lanier—over the final 4:41 to claim its ninth victory by 13-plus points in as many opportunities.

Lanier shot 8-of-15 from the floor, including 4-of-7 beyond the arc, for his fourth 20-point performance in the last five contests. Senior forward Igor Miličić Jr., totaled 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting and a team-best nine rebounds. Like Miličić, senior guard Zakai Zeigler, playing approximately 38 miles from his Long Island hometown of Wyandanch, N.Y., also finished just shy of a double-double, amassing 13 points and a game-leading nine assists.

Graduate student center Lynn Kidd paced the Hurricanes with 14 points, 12 of which came in the second half, and a game-high 12 rebounds. Graduate student guard Nijel Pack scored 12 points on 4-of-9 long-range shooting, while redshirt junior guard A.J. Staton-McCray tallied 11 points.

Tennessee shot 48.1 percent (25-of-52) from the floor, including 40.0 percent (10-of-25) on 3-pointers, as well as 83.3 percent (15-of-18) at the line. Meanwhile, it held Miami to a 39.3 percent (24-of-61) clip overall, with a 24.2 percent (8-of-33) ledger from beyond the arc.

After allowing Miami’s 6-of-12 start on 3-pointers, Tennessee forced 17 consecutive misses before Pack hit two in the last four minutes.

Tennessee now heads to Champaign, Ill., where it faces Illinois, its third straight Power Five opponent, Saturday at 5:30 p.m., live on FOX from the State Farm Center.

To keep up with the University of Tennessee men’s basketball team on social media, follow @Vol_Hoops on Instagram and X/Twitter, as well as /tennesseebasketball on Facebook.

TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS POSTGAME NOTES
• Tuesday marked the 11th game in program history with Tennessee ranked No. 1 in the AP Poll, as it moved to 9-2, including 8-1 in head coach Rick Barnes‘ tenure.
• The Volunteers also improved to 22-4 all-time while ranked top-three in the AP Poll, including 19-2 under Barnes.
• Tennessee remained one of the only eight undefeated teams in the country and the lone school unbeaten in both men’s and women’s basketball.
• The Volunteers and Hurricanes have now played five games at five different locations, with Tennessee upping its mark to 4-1 in the all-time series.
• Tennessee improved to 1-2 all-time in the Jimmy V Classic, including 1-1 in games played at Madison Square Garden.
• The Volunteers moved to 8-12 all-time at Madison Square Garden, including 7-9 in neutral-site matchups and 3-7 in the regular season (3-4 in neutral-site contests).
• Two VFLs who were first-round NBA Draft choices, Allan Houston and Keon Johnson, attended Tuesday’s game.
• Barnes improved to 15-5 against ACC schools—based off the current membership—during his Tennessee tenure, including 14-2 versus all schools other than North Carolina.
• The Volunteers increased their record to 125-101 all-time versus current ACC institutions, including 8-1 over the last four seasons (2021-25) and 4-0 this year.
• Tennessee is now 9-0 to begin a season for the seventh time in program history, including the first since 2000-01.
• As announced before tip-off, the Volunteers played without fifth-year guard Darlinstone Dubar (concussion protocol), leaving them with eight available scholarship players, due to previous injuries to both sophomore guard Cameron Carr and sophomore forward J.P. Estrella.
• At the 11:28 mark of the first half, both teams were 4-of-9 on 3-pointers, 1-of-4 on 2-pointers and had two free-throw attempts (Tennessee made both, while Miami hit one).
• After conceding a 6-of-12 start from 3-point range, Tennessee forced Miami into misses on its final six attempts of the first half, making it a 6-of-18 (33.3 percent) ledger before the break on the way to a 6-of-29 (20.7 percent) tally through 36 minutes.
• Between the first and second halves, the Volunteers held the Hurricanes without a point for a span of 8:10.
• Through nine games this year, the Volunteers have led for 339:48 and trailed for just 6:38 of a possible 360 minutes.
• All eight of Tennessee’s wins thus far are by 13-plus points, with six by at least 22 and three by at least 35.
• Tennessee has held a lead of 18-plus points in each of its eight contests this season—this was the first  time it has not led by at least 26—and still has not faced a deficit larger than three.
• The Volunteers have held a halftime margin of nine-plus points in eight of their nine outings, including leading by double digits seven times, 12-plus five times, 14-plus four times and 23-plus twice.
• Tennessee has now conceded 35 or fewer points in every first half this season, including 29 or fewer in six and 22 or fewer in three.
• Phillips set career highs in free throws both made (five) and attempted (six) in the victory, all in a span of 3:35 during the second half.
• Zeigler has now finished either one point or one assist shy of a double-double on seven occasions in his career, in addition to the program-best eight points/assists double-doubles he owns.
• Along with his two double-doubles this year, Miličić has now finished either a point or a rebound shy of that mark in two additional outings.
• Senior guard Jordan Gainey registered multiple blocked shots for the sixth time in his career, including the first as a Volunteer.