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1- A lightning-fast start
Friday night saw a fast start for the Vols. Two 3’s by Chaz Lanier had Baylor calling for a timeout. Lanier hit seven threes in the first half, five of which were early in the game. Zakai Zeigler had four early steals. At one point, the score was 42-14 with a few minutes to go in the half. Simply put, Tennessee shot well early and used strong defense and turnovers to shell-shock Baylor.
2- Tennessee’s defense shuts down Baylor
Going into the game, the headline was all about the clash between UT’s always-elite defense against Baylor’s top-five offense. It’s worth noting that Tennessee coasted to the finish of the game, as the Bears scored 62. But the final score did not reflect how dominant the Vols’ performance was throughout the game. Baylor was held to 1.07 points per possession and had 12 total turnovers which led to 20 Volunteer points. 15 second-chance points also helped the cause. Baylor shot 42% from the field and 27% from beyond the arc.
3- Depth showing a difference so far
Jordan Gainey had 16 points for 3/6 beyond the arc. Cade Phillips grabbed four rebounds and tallied 11 points and a block in 21 minutes of play. Phillips and Oxpara had a few notable dunks to add to the highlight reel. Tennessee’s bench had 30 points and helped relieve the offense when needed.
“In the game, we got we got a flow going early,” said Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes. “When you get a lead like that, it’s really hard to play because you want to continue to be aggressive, but you don’t want to get sloppy…we have a chance to have a really good basketball team.”
Overall, Tennessee’s win over a ranked Big 12 opponent was great. The Vols claimed the Baha Mar Tournament championship and returned to Knoxville to prepare for some out-of-conference games before SEC play in January.