In a tune-up for the Bahamas Championship, the No. 11 Tennessee Volunteers look to stay unbeaten when they host the Austin Peay Governors on Sunday.
Tennessee (3-0) is vying for its second straight 4-0 start following three convincing victories. Last time out, the Volunteers followed up a 22-point win at Louisville with Wednesday’s 92-57 home drubbing of Montana.
Tennessee led by just seven early in the second half before pulling away for its largest margin of victory this season. Charlotte transfer Igor Milicic Jr. led the way with 18 points and 10 rebounds, while Felix Okpara, Chaz Lanier and Cameron Carr each chipped in 13 in the Volunteers’ balanced scoring effort.
Milicic, who also tallied five assists, upped his season scoring average to 11 points per game, third on the team behind Lanier’s 16.7 and Zakai Zeigler’s 14.3.
“Igor can handle and shoot the ball, and he showed that,” Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes said. “But he changed his mindset tonight. I thought he made good plays as opposed to thinking he’s got to score every time the ball is in his hand. I thought he played with flow, made some really good passes. We thought his versatility was the biggest thing he could bring to our team.”
A key in Tennessee’s last two wins has been its edge on the glass, as the Volunteers have outrebounded Louisville and Montana by a combined total of 78-43.
“(Rebounding) is a big part of what we talk about in our program,” Barnes said. “It’s a major emphasis for us and it’s a compliment to the players, because it’s not an easy part of the game. It’s something that takes determination and fight to do it. … It’s important. You can’t be a great defensive team if you can’t finish with a rebound, and you don’t want to be a one-and-done offensive team either.”
Barnes and Tennessee hope the advantage continues Thursday, when the Volunteers take on Virginia in the first round of the Bahamas Championship. Tennessee will play either Baylor or St. John’s in the next game.
Before that, Austin Peay comes to Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville in hopes of its second upset this year. The Governors (3-0) won at Butler 68-66 on Nov. 8, before beating Chattanooga 67-61 at home on Monday.
LJ Thomas leads Austin Peay with 19.7 points per game, followed by Sai Witt’s 12. Witt, a Preseason All-ASUN Conference first-teamer, recorded 17 points and eight boards in Monday’s victory over the Mocs.
“Sai is a force to reckon with,” Austin Peay head coach Corey Gipson said. “He is great at working angles. He does his work early. When he is playing against defenders that don’t do their work early, they have to pay. I don’t think you can guard him in one-on-one coverage, and teams are starting to double him, but since we have such good spacing, he is savvy enough to play inside-out.”
Austin Peay is 1-10 all-time against Tennessee, with its one victory a 74-70 upset in December 2011.
–Field Level Media
