Tennessee Stays Hot, Dominates Oklahoma for Third Straight Win
Tennessee had the kind of first half that would have prompted ESPN’s Mark Jones to break out his signature “hotter than fish grease” call. The fourth-ranked Volunteers (20-4, 7-4 SEC) overwhelmed Oklahoma (16-7, 3-7) with a dominant shooting performance, cruising to a 70-52 road victory on Saturday.
The Vols caught fire from beyond the arc early, connecting on 7-of-12 three-pointers in the first half while shooting an overall 69% from the field. Five different Tennessee players hit a three-pointer, with Chaz Lanier leading the charge. Lanier knocked down 3-of-4 from deep and scored 13 first-half points, while Zakai Zeigler and Igor Milicic Jr. chipped in eight each. By halftime, Tennessee had built a commanding 45-25 lead.
Oklahoma briefly cut the deficit to 15 early in the second half, but Tennessee quickly pushed the margin back to 20 and extended it to as many as 28 points. A late 12-2 run by the Sooners made the final score look more respectable, but the outcome was never in doubt.
With 12 minutes left in the first half, Tennessee led by just five points before unleashing a barrage of three-pointers. Over the remainder of the half, the Vols drained six more shots from deep while Oklahoma struggled, missing 11 of its final 16 attempts before the break.
Tennessee shot 60% from the field and 43% from three-point range overall, finishing 9-of-21 from deep despite cooling off in the second half. In contrast, Oklahoma managed just 32% shooting from the floor.
Lanier led all scorers with 21 points on 9-of-17 shooting, while Zeigler delivered an all-around standout performance with 17 points, nine assists, and a 6-of-8 shooting clip, including 3-of-4 from three-point
