No. 1 Tennessee takes care of Miami in the Jimmy V Classic, 75-62

NEW YORK — The shooting display Tennessee and Texas Tech put on three years ago in the Jimmy V. Classic was so bad that Syracuse and Villanova fans, who were at Madison Square Garden waiting on the second game of the doubleheader, booed when the final horn sounded with the Vols and Red Raiders tied.

Five more minutes of that kind of basketball wasn’t something anyone in the building was looking forward to. 

Tennessee returned to Madison Square Garden and to the Jimmy V. Classic Tuesday with a No. 1 ranking and a performance that made past trips to the corner of 33rd Street and 8th Avenue in Manhattan easy to forget. 

Chaz Lanier scored 22 points to lead Tennessee, Igor Milicic added 16 points and nine rebounds and Zakai Zeigler had 13 points, 10 assists and five rebounds in his New York homecoming as the Vols beat Miami 75-62.

Jordan Gainey scored eight off the bench for Tennessee (9-0). Cade Phillips had nine and Jahmai Mashack scored seven. Darlinstone Dubar did not play due to concussion protocol.

Miami (3-7) got 14 points and 11 rebounds Lynn Kidd.

The Vols climbed to No. 1 in the rankings on Monday for just the third time in program history and are off to their best start since winning nine straight to start the 2000-01 season.

Tennessee looked the part the final eight minutes of the first half.

Miami took a 25-24 lead thanks to a 7-0 run with 7:57 left before halftime, but the lead would last only 35 seconds. The Vols answered with a 14-0 run to close the half while Miami missed eight straight shots. 

Tennessee led 38-25 at the break behind 11 points from Lanier and 11 from Milicic. The Vols stretched the lead to as much as 18 points in the second half, at 57-39 with 10 minutes left, but Miami answered with a 9-0 run to cut the deficit to eight with seven to go.

Another Milic three with 4:41 lead got the lead back to double-digits, at 66-56, then Lanier scored on a drive to the rim with 4:02 to go, after Gainey blocked a three on the previous Miami possession.

Tennessee made seven 3-pointers in first half

A Milcic three at the 9:25 mark in the first half made the Vols 6-for-11 from the 3-point line. They went 6-for-39 from three in 45 minutes against Texas Tech three years ago. They went 6-for-23 two years ago in the Sweet Sixteen loss to Florida Atlantic at The Garden in the East Regional semifinal. 

Lanier made a three just 14 seconds into Tuesday’s game and finished 3-for-4 from the 3-point line in the first half. The Vols went 7-for-17 from three, shooting 41.2% from deep and 41.9% from the field in the first half. 

Zeigler had five points and six assists to help lead the 14-0 run to close the first half. Gainey hit two threes of his own and Mashack and Milicic hit one each.

Miami started the game 9-for-15 from the floor before the eight straight misses to end the first half.

Up Next: No. 1 Tennessee at Illinois, Saturday

Tennessee takes its No. 1 ranking on the road at Illinois on Saturday in a 5:30 p.m. Eastern Time start on FOX. It’s the second game in a two-year home-and-home that started with a home win for the Vols last December at Food City Center.

Tennessee then returns home for the final three non-conference games of the season, hosting Western Carolina on December 17, Middle Tennessee on December 23 and Norfolk State on December 31.

The Vols start SEC play against Arkansas at Food City Center on January 4.