When the schedule came out, it might have been hard to see, but when the halftime buzzer went to zeroes, it was there.
The Tennessee Vols Monday matchup was just two days before Christmas against an undervalued in-state opponent which ranked second in the country in three-point percentage defense.
The stage was set for a trap game.
And the nation’s top team almost fell for it. Had Monday night’s opponent been just a bit more challenging, Tennessee would have earned its first loss of the season.
Instead, the Vols circumvented its biggest upset in years despite an outstanding effort by the MTSU Blue Raiders.
Most of those in attendance – myself included – expected this one to be a breeze, but it turned into a heavyweight slugfest and the blows didn’t stop until the waning minutes.
It was a peculiar evening from the jump. The game had a fast pace but not the volume of scoring that usually accompanies the speed. That theme would remain throughout.
After both teams exchanged misses, Jordan Gainey entered just one minute and ten seconds into the contest. In a similar fashion to Zakai “Zip” Zeigler in years past, he has established himself as the “sixth starter” for the Vols. Gainey took the place of Jahmai Mayshack, who has had trouble with confidence on the offensive end of late but swished a wide open three to close out the scoring for the evening. If that shot gets him going, it could end up being the most important points of the contest, regardless of the insignificance of them in the moment.
UT’s first basket came on an alley top from Zip to junior forward Felix Okpara a couple minutes in. Just seconds later, the pair repeated the job and the Vols led 5-2 early. MTSU flew after each basket, though, and both times the Raiders scored via layup. MTSU was not intimidated and seemed to relish in the thought that they had been overlooked.
After an emphatic block by senior transfer Igor Milicic Jr., senior transfer Chaz Lanier hit his first three. On the other end, junior forward Kamari Lands answered with an equally pretty trey. Lanier went five of ten from three and led the Vols with 23 points. Zeigler added 17 points and tied his career high with 15 assists. He was also fouled ten times and made eight of nine free throws. Lands finished second for the Blue Raiders in scoring with 13 while Camryn Weston led MTSU with 24.
After Lanier followed with his second three a couple of possessions later, the referees stopped play Lands hobbled off the floor. Five minutes in, he had accounted for five of MTSU’s seven points.
Darlinstone Dubar and Cade Phillips were the next Vols to check in off the bench. Dubar hit a three on his first offensive possession. His presence is large in both stature and scheme. While at Hofstra, Dubar shot 40% from behind the arc. He’s an imposing presence on the court and he can guard multiple positions with his frame. It will be interesting to watch his development and with the loss of Cameron Carr, who left the program earlier in the day.
At the second media timeout – which takes place at the first whistle under 12:00, Tennessee held a slim two point lead.
Thanks to a Milicic Jr. offensive rebound after a second missed Okpara free throw, Zip was fouled on a successful three. The free throw was missed and the number one team in the country couldn’t quite separate from the scrappy Murfreesboro bunch.
Lands was able to return after a quick timeout from the Blue Raiders but his three was long and Milicic Jr. made ’em pay with a confident drive to the hoop to give the Vols a little breathing room at 21-14 with 10:30 to go in the first half. Zip got to the rack on the Vols next two possession and the lead as 25-14.
Tennessee was sloppy with its next few possessions. Head coach Rick Barnes was visibly upset due to the strange mix of the Vols lackadaisical nature of play and over confidence. The Blue Raiders had nothing to lose in this one and the Vols looked rusty.
With 9:31 to go in the first half, MTSU got hot and went on an 26-9 run to end the half. When the squads went to the locker rooms for the break, the Blue Raiders led 40-34.
MTSU’s three losses thus far have come at the hands of Belmont, Murray State and Bradley. All three have had a presence in the NCAA tournament in recent years, so the score made a little more sense during halftime research. After Monday, MTSU had already played five teams who were projected to win their conference. As a result, the Raiders were not intimidated.
The Vols came out of the tunnel with a renewed vigor for the final 20 minutes. Tennessee forced three turnovers in a row to open the second half to trim the lead to 40-38. The first was on a Mayshack block with the second and third turnovers coming via steals from Lanier and Okpara.
UT finally regained the lead with 12:20 to go at 52-21. It was the Vols first lead in 11 minutes of game time and about 45 minutes of real time. On the next possesh, Zip dropped a dirty dish to the trailing Lanier and his three was pure. The crowd went ape and MTSU head coach Nick McDevitt had seen enough, even though the next dead ball would have stopped the clock with a media timeout. The lead was 55-51 Vols with 11:48 remaining in the game.
Cade Phillips crammed one to stretch it to six, but a Lands three quieted the crowd a bit. Phillips thought nothing of it, though, and followed with another, equally enthusiastic dunk.
It wasn’t until 4:20 remaining that the Vols finally pulled away. Gainey caught a transition pass, turned and shot a three without dribbling. I didn’t hear it, but there’s no doubt that Vols radio color commentator Bert Bertelkamp screamed “Money.”
MTSU played extremely well before gassing out in the final five minutes and McDevitt seems poised to have a long career in the craft.
Tennessee will take a break for Christmas before hosting Norfolk State on New Year’s Eve at 3:00 p.m. at Thompson Boling Arena.
On January 4th, Tennessee will play the first of 18 consecutive conference games. The SEC is the deepest it has been in years, if not decades, and the winner of the conference may end up with four or five losses. The first month features Arkansas, Florida, Texas, Georgia, Vanderbilt, Mississippi State, Auburn and Kentucky.
Here we go.
