No. 5 Tennessee showed its depth of weapons in its last game.
The Volunteers (22-5, 9-5 Southeastern Conference) recorded their fifth win in six games on Saturday with a 77-69 victory over then-No. 7 Texas A&M. They’ll try to continue strengthening their case for a very high seed in the NCAA Tournament when they face LSU on Tuesday night in Baton Rouge, La.
Chaz Lanier was the primary weapon against the Aggies, scoring a season-high 30 points while making 8-of-13 3-pointers and finishing 10-of-18 from the floor.
“I was just super locked in for this game,” Lanier said. “I just saw that A&M was really sinking into the paint and my guys were just finding me at the 3-point line.”
Lanier is the fourth-leading scorer in the SEC, ranks third in 3-point percentage and leads the conference in 3-pointers made.
“All we wanted to do with Chaz is get him a little bit of separation,” Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said. “He has gotten so much better because he has seen all kinds of defenses.”
But the senior transfer from North Florida doesn’t have do it by himself because of the Vols’ deep roster.
Jordan Gainey scored 10 points in the final 6:12 and Zakai Zeigler finished with a team-leading seven assists. He scored 13 of his 16 points in the second half, including a 3-pointer for a six-point lead with 21 seconds left. He also blocked a potential tying 3-pointer by Texas A&M’s Wade Taylor IV with 1:02 remaining.
“It seems like the bigger the moment, he thrives on that,” Barnes said of Zeigler.
LSU (14-13, 3-11) is hosting a Top 10 team for the second time in four days. The Tigers ended the first half with a 22-4 run to take a six-point halftime lead, then got outscored 48-28 by then-No. 2 Florida in the second half of a 79-65 loss Saturday.
“I thought the final eight minutes of the first half was the best that we’d defended all year,” coach Matt McMahon said. “I thought we moved the ball well out there in the first half and we had some guys step up and hit some big 3s for us.”
Though LSU couldn’t keep up with the Gators in the second half, it is showing signs of improvement down the stretch.
The Tigers had won consecutive SEC games for the first time all season going into the game Saturday, and a pair of freshmen are coming on strong. Robert Miller III had his first double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Curtis Givens III had 11 points, four assists and no turnovers in 31 minutes.
“For Curtis, his role’s increased because of the defensive end of the floor,” McMahon said. “He’s making a lot of winning plays for us.”
McMahon credited Miller for putting in extra work and not losing confidence in his shot after a slow start to the season.
“You see him get better and better every time out there,” McMahon said. “I really believe in his shooting and his mechanics keep getting better there.”
–Field Level Media
