SEC/ACC Challenge: Tennessee dominates Syracuse.

The Tennessee basketball Volunteers dominated Syracuse on Tuesday night in TBA. After a somewhat back and forth first half the Vols led 45-35. Tennessee was 2-15 from beyond the arc in the first half while Syracuse shot 56% from the floor. Tennessee finally got hot from deep in the second half though as they shot 8-14 from beyond the arc and ended up winning by a score of 96-70. This marks the third time the Vols have broken 90 points on the young season and with all the threats they have to score it certainly won’t be the last.

Chaz Lanier once again led Tennessee in scoring as he poured in 26 points on 8-16 from the floor. Zakai Zeigler turned in another great game as he made several highlight plays including lob passes, steals, and a 4-point play for good measure. Igor Milicic overcame foul trouble to notch a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Jordan Gainey had a terrific stretch in the second half where he scored 10 points in a row on his way to a 12-point performance. However, the surprise of the game came from sophomore forward Cade Phillips. Phillips played with ferocious energy on the block when he was in the game and cleaned up missed shots with putbacks. Add in a couple alley-oop finishes and it was a confidence building performance from a player who will be asked to play a bigger role moving forward after the unfortunate news of J.P. Estrella being out for the rest of the season.

The Vols will travel to Madison Square Garden for the Jimmy V Classic next Tuesday to play the Miami Hurricanes who just lost to Arkansas by a score of 76-73. The Hurricanes are currently on a 5-game losing streak but with a tiny little number 3 next to Tennessee’s name now they are going to get everyone’s best shot.