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No. 4 Tennessee can't miss in blowout at Oklahoma, 70-52

IMG_3593by:Grant Ramey•about 10 hours•

GrantRamey

Zakai Zeigler, Tennessee Basketball | Tennessee Athletics, Andrew Ferguson
Zakai Zeigler, Tennessee Basketball | Tennessee Athletics, Andrew Ferguson

Rick Barnes said Wednesday night that if he could coach making shots, he could coach until he was 110. The 70-year-old Barnes might want to clear his schedule for the 2064-65 Tennessee Basketball season after what the Vols did in the first half at Oklahoma on Saturday.

Tennessee scored 31 points in a seven-minute stretch Wednesday, rallying from down 11 points to beat Missouri 85-81 at Food City Center. The Vols picked up right where they left off at the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman.

Tennessee shot 69.2% from the floor, made seven of its first 10 3-point attempts and led the Sooners by 20 points at halftime in their own gym, never letting up on the way to a 70-52 win.

Chaz Lanier paced the fast start for Tennessee (20-4, 7-4 SEC) with 13 points in the first half, making his first three 3-point shots. He finished with a game-high 21 points, five rebounds and two assists.

Zakai Zeigler and Igor Milicic combined or 16 points in the first half, scoring eight each. Zeigler ended the day with 17 points, nine assists, four rebounds and four steals and Milicic had eight points, four rebounds and three assists.

The Vols finished shooting 60.4% from the field and 42.9% from the 3-point line, going 9-for-21.

Oklahoma (16-7, 3-7) got 12 points from Jalon Moore, Brycen Goodine had nine and freshman guard Jeremiah Fears scored eight. The Sooners have lost seven of their last 10 after starting the season 13-0.

Tennessee made nine straight shots, led 45-23 lead in first half

Tennessee’s fast start peaked with 5:22 left in the first half. Milicic made a three to make the Vols 5-for-5 at the 3-point line and give the team nine straight made shots. Lanier missed a three on the next trip down, but Felix Okpara grabbed the missed and dunked it home to put Tennessee up 38-19. 

Milicic later in the half was fouled on a made three with 1:56 left before halftime. He made the free throw to convert a rare four-point play to put Tennessee up 22, the biggest lead of the half, at 45-23.

The lead was 28 after a 9-0 run in the second half.

Zeigler made his third 3-pointer of the game, Jahmai Mashack scored on a layup and Okpara caught a lob from Milicic, forcing an Oklahoma timeout with 5:29 left with the Sooners down 68-40.

Up Next: No. 4 Tennessee at No. 14 Kentucky

Tennessee is back on the road Tuesday, making the return trip to Kentucky just two weeks after the Wildcats beat the Vols 78-73 at Food City Center. The game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. Eastern Time start on ESPN2 at Rupp Arena, where Tennessee won 103-92 last season. 

It has been two different responses from the two teams since they last met.

Tennessee bounced back from the Kentucky loss with a 64-44 win over Florida and an 85-81 win over Missouri. The Wildcats, on the other hand, lost at home against Arkansas, 89-79, and at Ole Miss, 98-84.

The road game at Oklahoma Saturday started a stretch of four out of five games on the road. After going to Kentucky Tuesday, Tennessee hosts Vanderbilt on Saturday, then goes to Texas A&M and LSU. 

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