Tennessee Basketball defeats Middle Tennessee after a lackluster first half.
The top-ranked Tennessee Basketball Volunteers defeated the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders on Monday evening, but it was not stress-free. MTSU came into TBA ready to play and it showed throughout the game. The Blue Raiders closed the first half on a 21-6 run, giving them a 6-point lead heading into the break. Camryn Weston was making Tennessee’s elite defense look like an NAIA school and Tennessee was turning the ball over and missing free throws on the other side of the court. Needless to say, a stern talking to was necessary from Rick Barnes in the locker room, and it seemed to have done the trick.
The Vols came out of halftime with energy and aggressiveness on defense and started to drive the ball to the basket on offense. However, MTSU held the lead for nearly 8 minutes into the second frame before Chaz Lanier finally put the Vols back in front at the free-throw line. After that point, Middle Tennessee stayed within a possession or two until the Vols stretched it to 70-59 with 4 minutes to play. Tennessee ended up coasting to the finish line with an 82-64 win, but in reality, that margin doesn’t indicate how well the Blue Raiders played on Monday night. Chaz Lanier led the Vols in scoring with 23 points including a 5-10 night from beyond the arc. Zakai Zeigler looked like prime Chris Paul as he notched a double-double with 17 points and a career-high 15 assists. Felix Okpara seems to have found his role and it’s pretty simple. Finish lobs from Zeigler and protect the rim on defense. The only thing that’s concerning is his lack of rebounding which will have to improve as the Vols get into conference play.
Tennessee was tested on Monday night by a solid team and responded well after the horrid first half. However, the first loss will come real soon if the Vols play a first half like that again in conference play. Take this game and learn from it. Come out ready to go from the start even when you are playing an opponent you are more talented than. The Vols will be back in action on the final day of the year when they host Norfolk State to close out non-conference play.