#6 Vols’ Comeback Bid Falls Short at Vanderbilt, 76-75
Courtesy / UT Athletics

#6 Vols’ Comeback Bid Falls Short at Vanderbilt, 76-75

January 19, 2025

Game Recap: Men’s Basketball | January 18, 2025

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee men’s basketball team dropped a 76-75 decision to Vanderbilt in front of a sold-out Memorial Gymnasium crowd Saturday evening.

Fifth-year guard Chaz Lanier, playing in his hometown, scored a team-high 17 points for sixth-ranked Tennessee (16-2, 3-2 SEC), which had multiple chances to tie the game in the closing seconds after trailing by 16 with under 11 minutes to go and by 10 with fewer than four minutes left.

Vanderbilt (15-3, 3-2 SEC) scored the first five points, but the Volunteers quickly shrugged off the slow start. Tennessee made five consecutive 3-pointers, three of which were during an 11-1 run in 2:50 that gave it a game-high eight-point edge, 19-11, with 12:21 on the first-half clock. It also did not allow a made field goal for 5:03, forcing six straight misses until the 10:20 mark.

The Commodores, though, answered right back and soon used an 11-0 run in 4:08 to go up by seven, 35-28, with 2:21 to play. They held Tennessee scoreless for a span of 5:03, during which the visitors missed all five of their field goals and both their free throws, plus committed three turnovers.

The Volunteers cut the margin to two with 26 ticks left in the half, but Vanderbilt ended the frame with a four-point play three seconds before the horn to go up by six, 41-35, at the intermission. Tennessee shot 7-of-14 (50.0 percent) from deep in the opening half and allowed just a 3-of-11 (27.3 percent) mark at the other end, but it went 6-of-8 (75.0 percent) at the line compared to Vanderbilt’s 12-of-14 (85.7 percent) tally and conceded a 10-5 margin in second-chance points.

Senior forward Igor Miličić Jr., scored the first five points of the second frame to make it 41-40, but Vanderbilt responded with back-to-back-to-back-to-back 3-pointers in just 1:37 to take a 13-point lead, 53-40, with 16:39 to go. The Volunteers twice got the deficit down to nine, but Vanderbilt pushed it up to a game-best 16, 68-52, with 10:57 remaining.

Tennessee thrice sliced the deficit to eight, but did not make it down to a two-possession game until the clock showed 1:39, when a layup by Miličić trimmed the margin to six. Tennessee stole the ensuing inbounds pass and Lanier hit a layup of his own to bring the score to 76-72 just 10 seconds later.

After a defensive stop, senior guard Zakai Zeigler connected on a pair of free throws with 45.1 ticks to go, cutting the margin to two, 76-74. Tennessee forced another miss and got the ball back with a chance to tie or take the lead, but Vanderbilt graduate guard Chris Mañon blocked a shot and the Commodores got the rebound.

Vanderbilt freshman guard Tyler Tanner went to the line with four seconds to go, but missed the front end, Lanier got the board and drew a foul with 2.8 to go. He hit the first free throw, but missed the second and the Commodores earned the one-point win despite not scoring in the last 3:48 and giving up a 9-0 run in the final 2:46.

Four just the fourth time in the last 20 seasons (2005-25), Tennessee had four players score 16-plus points. In addition to the 17 from Lanier, who went 4-of-6 from 3-point range, the Volunteers got exactly 16 apiece from Miličić, Zeigler and junior forward Felix Okpara.

Miličić shot 5-of-8 from the floor, 2-of-4 beyond the arc and 4-of-4 at the line, plus co-led Tennessee with five rebounds. Zeigler, who made all six of his free throws, dished out a game-best 10 assists to logged his 12th collegiate double-double. Okpara, who had five alley-oop dunks, went a perfect 7-of-7 from the floor—he is the third Volunteer (fourth occurrence) in the last 17 years with seven-plus makes and no misses—to tie his career best in both points and field goals, plus paced all players with a season-best four blocks.

Vanderbilt junior guard Jason Edwards scored a game-high 18 points, finishing 6-of-10 from the field, 3-of-6 beyond the arc and 3-of-3 at the line. Sophomore guard Jaylen Carey notched 14 points on 5-of-6 field-goal shooting to go along with a game-leading 10 rebounds.

Junior guard Tyler Nickel had 13 points for the Commodores, posting a 4-of-7 ledger from deep. Graduate guard A.J. Hoggard added 11 points and a team-high six assists, the latter mark tied for the most by a Tennessee opponent this season.

Vanderbilt registered a 20-8 cushion in bench points, along with an 18-9 tally in second-chance points behind a 12-8 edge on the offensive glass. That helped the home team overcome the Volunteers’ excellent shooting line of 48.0 percent (24-of-50) overall, 47.6 percent (10-of-21) on 3-pointers and 81.0 percent (17-of-21) at the stripe.

The Volunteers resume play Tuesday at 7 p.m. when they host No. 15/18 Mississippi State at Food City Center, live on ESPN2.

To keep up with the University of Tennessee men’s basketball team on social media, follow @Vol_Hoops on Instagram and X/Twitter, as well as /tennesseebasketball on Facebook.

TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS POSTGAME NOTES
• The Volunteers fell to 131-77 all-time against Vanderbilt, with the 131 wins still their most against any team, 31 greater than its tally against Georgia (100).
• Tennessee is now 13-2 in its last 15 matchups versus the Commodores—dating to Jan. 9, 2018—with the only two setbacks on the road by one point.
• Ranked Tennessee teams are now 23-9 all-time against unranked Vanderbilt squads, including 15-3—all three losses are by a single point—since Feb. 3, 2001.
• Saturday marked the 13th time in the last 15 series meetings—since Jan. 9, 2018—Tennessee was ranked for its matchup with Vanderbilt and the Commodores were not, including the eighth time in that stretch—fifth in a row—the Volunteers were in the top 10.
• Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes fell to 15-5 against the Commodores during his tenure with the Volunteers, including 14-3 after his first year (2015-16).
• Mark Byington is the fourth different Vanderbilt head coach whom Barnes has faced during his 10 years (2015-25) at Tennessee.
• Tennessee is now 34-7 (.829) against in-state teams under Barnes, including 17-2 (.895) in its last 19 such outings.
• Vanderbilt’s 76 points surpassed the 73 by Florida (Jan. 7, 2025) on its home court for the most by a Tennessee foe this year, while the 70 by Texas (Jan. 11, 2025) on its home floor and the 70 by Syracuse (Dec. 3, 2024) on the road were the only two other times a Tennessee opponent had 70-plus.
• Saturday marked the first time in 2024-25 the Volunteers gave up greater than 40 points in the first half, as well as just the fourth time they trailed at the intermission.
• The four-point play by Nickel with three seconds left in the opening half was the first by a Tennessee opponent since Dec. 14, 2024, when Illinois’ Kasparas Jakucionis had two.
• Tennessee made five of its first six 3-pointers of the first half, while Vanderbilt hit five of its first six in the second half.
• Prior to Hoggard posting six assists, the top total by a Tennessee foe in 2024-25 was five by Florida’s Walter Clayton Jr., on Jan. 7.
• Tennessee entered Saturday at 42-6 over the past four seasons (2021-25) when making 10-plus 3-pointers in a contest, now dropping to 42-7.
• The Volunteers’ last defeat by one point came on Feb. 11, 2023, an 86-85 home setback versus Missouri, which was just three days after a one-point loss, 66-65, at Vanderbilt.
• The only three prior times in the last 20 seasons (2005-25) the Volunteers had at least four players score 16-plus points were Feb. 2, 2019 (four at Texas A&M), Jan. 15, 2019 (four against Arkansas) and Dec. 23, 2006 (five in an overtime game against a Texas team coached by Barnes).
• Okpara is the third Volunteer—fourth occurrence—in the last 17 seasons (2008-25) to make seven-plus field goals in a game without a miss, joining Olivier Nkamhoua (10-of-10 on Jan. 7, 2023, at South Carolina), Nkamhoua again (8-of-8 on Nov. 26, 2021, versus Tennessee Tech) and Jordan Bone (7-of-7 on Feb. 2, 2019, at Texas A&M).
• Before Okpara, the last SEC player to make seven-plus field goals in a game without a miss was Kentucky’s Justin Edwards on Feb. 24, 2024, with a 10-of-10 showing at Alabama, while the last to go 7-of-7 in any road contest was Auburn’s Jaylin Williams on Jan. 17, 2024, at Vanderbilt.
• Okpara is the sixth SEC player to make seven-plus field goals in a game without a miss this season, joining Vanderbilt’s Devin McGlockton (10-of-10 on Nov. 4, 2024, against Maryland Eastern Shore), Florida’s Alex Condon (7-of-7 on Nov. 7, 2024, versus Jacksonville), Auburn’s Dylan Cardwell (8-of-8 on Nov. 27, 2024, against Memphis in Maui, Hawaii), South Carolina’s Collin Murray-Boyles (10-of-10 on Dec. 7, 2024, versus East Carolina) and Kentucky’s Lamont Butler (10-of-10 on Dec. 14, 2024, against Louisville).
• Okpara’s 16 points eclipsed his prior season high of 13 on Nov. 13, 2024, against Montana and matched the career high he set on March 19, 2024, versus Cornell in the NIT, while with Ohio State.
• That same matchup with Cornell is the only prior team Okpara has made seven field goals as a collegian, as he went 7-of-13 in the contest.
• The four blocks by Okpara marked the 10th time in his career he has hit that mark, including the first in 2024-25.
• Miličić made the 100th appearance of his college career, 82 of which came across his seasons at Virginia (2021-22) and Charlotte (2022-24).
• Zeigler registered his 12th collegiate double-double, tied for No. 30 on Tennessee’s all-time leaderboard.
• Of Zeigler’s 12 double-doubles, 11 are points/assists, giving him six more than any other player in program history.
• Zeigler has now recorded double-figure assists 12 times in his career, including on four occasions in 2024-25.
• Zeigler’s 16 points upped his career total to 1,274, moving him from No. 33 into the top 30 on the Volunteers’ career scoring list.
• With two made 3-pointers in the game, Zeigler increased his career total to 200, making him the eighth player in program history to hit that threshhold. 
• Senior guard Jordan Gainey played a team-high 33:31, his first time leading Tennessee in minutes across 54 appearances over two seasons.

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