Tennessee dominates Oklahoma in Norman
The Tennessee Basketball Volunteers earned their second SEC road win on Saturday as they dominated Oklahoma. The Vols were hitting nearly every shot they took in the 1st half on their way to a 45-25 halftime lead. The Vols looked to be on cruise control in the 2nd half as they protected the lead and eventually held a 68-40 advantage before a late Oklahoma push brought the final score to 70-52. The crazy thing is even in an 18-point dominating road win Tennessee was still far from their best. The Vols turned the ball over 19 times which most of the time will get you beat on the road. Luckily for Tennessee, they dominated every other facet of the game. Tennessee shot 60% from the floor, outrebounded the Sooners 35-21, and as always showcased elite defense.
Chaz Lanier scored 21 points against the Sooners but got to that total in a different way than he normally does. Chaz shot 3-10 from three which isn’t great, but he did shoot 6-7 inside the 3-point line. SEC teams have focused on running Chaz off the 3-point line all year so it’s nice to finally see him score in other ways even when he doesn’t have a good performance from beyond the arc. Zakai Ziegler scored 17 points on 6-8 shooting and dished out 9 assists as well. A good team performance all-around is what is needed on the road in the SEC and the Vols went out and got a stress-free win. Even more important is that it afforded some much-needed rest to the high-minute players like Ziegler, Chaz, and the rest of the starters which is important as Tennessee enters the final stretch of SEC play.
Tennessee will be looking for some revenge on Tuesday night as they will head up to Lexington for their second bout with the Kentucky Wildcats. Kentucky is 1-2 since their win over the Vols and their only win was Saturday against South Carolina in Rupp. Tennessee will no doubt have to continue their recent offensive success to have a chance to win on Tuesday night. Furthermore, they need to protect the ball better than they did in Norman. 19 Turnovers in Rupp is a recipe for disaster against an offensive team like Kentucky. Protect the ball, play defense, rebound, and hit some shots. If the Vols do that they shouldn’t have any trouble dispatching the Wildcats.