The Volunteers controlled this one all night.
Tennessee held serve on the road Tuesday night, beating LSU 65-59. It was a tricky spot for the Volunteers, who were coming off of a huge road win at Texas A&M. They also have a showdown looming with Alabama this weekend.
Even on a night where the shooting really wasn’t there, Tennessee found a way. That way was on the boards, where the Vols typically hold an advantage. Tennessee won the rebounding battle 44-28, and more importantly the offensive rebounding, 17-8.
“I thought we, mentally, were sloppy on offense, but (LSU) had something to do with that,” Rick Barnes said after the game. “I thought they played hard, they screened hard. But we felt coming in that was our number one emphasis, that we had to get to the offensive board, had to get to the lane as much as we could.”
Tennessee held a three point advantage at the halftime break after LSU clawed back into the game. The Volunteers used a couple of runs to extend that lead out to 15 points with five minutes to play.
LSU would go on a frantic 11-1 run late to stay alive, but Tennessee closed the door. Zakai Zeigler stayed hot, once again doing most of his damage in the second half. Zeigler led all Tennessee scorers with 17 points.
Chaz Lanier scored 14 points on 3-8 shooting from three-point range, but it was his impact on the boards that turned heads. Lanier came away with nine rebounds on the night, making an impact in a totally different way.
“Chaz is more than a shooter,” Barnes said. “We know he’s a terrific standstill, spot-up shooter. But when he wants to drive the ball, he’s proven he can do that. And the fact that you mentioned his rebounding, that’s something he didn’t do very much of at the beginning of the year. And he’s trying to impact the game different ways.”
Felix Okpara also made a big impact on the offensive end, going 6-6 from the floor to score 15 points.
Tennessee is left with games against Alabama, at Ole Miss and South Carolina.
Florida’s loss on Tuesday night could be the Vols’ gain as they gun for the first No. 1 seed in program history. Houston is also in the mix.
UP NEXT: The Volunteers will host Alabama on Saturday at 4 p.m. ET on ESPN.