Tennessee's performance against LSU on Wednesday night can best be categorized as "Aliens" or "Terminator 2."
It was a sequel worth watching.
After racing past rival Kentucky 103-92 Saturday night in Rupp Arena, the No. 6 Volunteers returned to the Food City Center and overwhelmed the Tigers 88-68. Tennessee posted its second straight wire-to-wire triumph and placed four players in double figures, with Dalton Knecht scoring 27 points, Jordan Gainey 18, Zakai Zeigler 17 and Jonas Aidoo 10.
"I thought Zakai was terrific tonight, and Dalton had a good, balanced game," Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said afterward on the Vol Network. "I thought Jordan Gainey was terrific off the bench. Overall, it was a really good win, because they're an explosive offensive team.
"I was really glad with the way our guys responded at the start of the game based on having a big win in Lexington."
Tennessee's win coupled with Auburn's 99-81 downing of Alabama has resulted in a four-team logjam atop the Southeastern Conference standings. Alabama, Auburn and surprising South Carolina are each 8-2 in conference contests, while the Vols are 7-2 in the league to go along with their 17-5 overall mark.
LSU did pull within 72-64 with 4:39 remaining on a Derek Fountain putback, but the Vols answered on their ensuing possession with a Knecht layup and free throw, which ignited their 16-4 closing surge. Tennessee finished with 23 assists and seven turnovers, while the Tigers (12-10, 4-5) had seven assists and 16 turnovers.
"I think it's important to note that they have really good players around Knecht," LSU coach Matt McMahon said in a news conference. "They've got some guys who are more experienced than NBA starting fives."
Tennessee used 3-pointers by Zeigler, Knecht and Josiah-Jordan James within the game's first three minutes to snag an impressive 13-0 lead. LSU regrouped and got within 21-15 on a Fountain 3-pointer at the 11:21 mark of the first half, but two more Zeigler 3-pointers keyed an 11-2 run that put the Vols in control at 37-20.
Zeigler in his last two games has racked up 43 points and 22 assists.
"My teammates tell me I'm the best guard in the country and to go out there and believe it," Zeigler said on the SEC Network, "and that's how I feel like I'm going out there and playing right now."
The Vols took a 50-27 lead into intermission after shooting 18-of-31 (58.1%) from the floor and 9-of-14 (64.3%) from behind the arc.
"I wish we could have bottled that first half for two halves," Barnes said. "I told our guys that if we could do that, then we could go a long way."
A James 3-pointer a minute into the second half gave Tennessee its biggest lead at 53-27.
Tennessee will visit Texas A&M on Saturday (8 p.m. Eastern on ESPN). Alabama and Texas A&M are the two rotating opponents the Vols are playing twice this season in addition to their permanent twice-a-year foes of Kentucky, South Carolina and Vanderbilt.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com.