Tennessee’s first game this basketball season as the nation’s top-ranked team was also its closest contest.
Not that it was confused for a photo finish.
The Volunteers used a 14-0 run to close the first half and coasted Tuesday night to a 75-62 dumping of Miami at the Jimmy V Classic in New York City’s famed Madison Square Garden. Tennessee improved to 9-0 behind Chaz Lanier, who had 22 points on 8-of-15 shooting, including 4-of-7 from 3-point range.
Igor Milicic added 16 points and nine rebounds for the Vols, while Zakai Zeigler had 13 points and nine assists.
“We closed the first half the way you would like to, because they didn’t score in the last eight minutes,” Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said afterward on the Vol Network. “I just thought we did some uncharacteristic things in the second half, allowing dunks and uncontested rim shots. The fact that they cut it to seven and we responded was a good thing.
“Overall, though, I was not real pleased with a lot of things.”
The Vols had been 0-2 in Jimmy V Classic matchups, falling to Virginia in 2000 and to Texas Tech in overtime in 2021. Tuesday’s triumph enabled Tennessee to improve to 4-0 this season against Atlantic Coast Conference opposition, but it was the first game in which the Vols didn’t build a 26-point lead.
A Cade Phillips dunk off an assist by Zeigler with 12:14 to play allowed Tennessee to match its largest advantage at 55-37. Miami pulled within 63-56 with 5:39 left on a Divine Ogochukwu free throw, but Milicic answered with a 3-pointer to restore a double-digit cushion.
“We know that basketball is unpredictable,” Milicic said. “We knew it wasn’t going to be easy, and we’ve got to approach every game like this. We have to be ready for anything they throw at us. We know teams can catch heat.
“That’s what happened tonight, but we were tougher, and we’re proud of ourselves for that.”
The Hurricanes dropped to 3-7 and are now 18-24 since reaching the Final Four of the 2023 NCAA tournament.
A Lynn Kidd jump hook at the 7:57 mark of the first half provided Miami its lone lead at 25-24, but Zeigler was then fouled on a 3-point attempt and made all three free throws. Zeigler’s free throws also ignited Tennessee’s 14-0 surge that included a Jordan Gainey 3-pointer, a Milicic dunk off a Zeigler assist, and a Jahmai Mashack layup.
The Vols return to action Saturday afternoon (5:30 on FOX) when they visit Illinois.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com.