No. 3 Tennessee Basketball Dominates Syracuse To Remain Unbeaten

Tennessee basketball continued to look like one of the best teams in the country during a 96-70 win over Syracuse.

Tanner Johnson | 13 Hours Ago

Tennessee basketball coach Rick Barnes during the NCAA college basketball game against Austin Peay on Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024, in Knoxville, Tenn. / Saul Young/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Tennessee Volunteers

Tennessee basketball continued to look like one of the best teams in the country during a 96-70 win over Syracuse.

Just like in football and baseball, black uniforms meant victory for Tennessee basketball.

The No. 3 Vols defeated Syracuse 96-70 to improve to 9-0 on the year for the first time since 2001. Tennessee was led in scoring by Chaz Lanier with 26 points. Zakai Zeigler had 14 points and eight assists, while Cade Phillips had 12 off the bench.

The Vols got out to an 8-2 lead capped off by a Lanier alley-oop dunk, but the Orange answered with five quick points. Cade Phillips scored three straight buckets at the rim and Zakai Zeigler hit his first jumper of the game to make it 18-13 Tennessee with just over 11 to play in the half.

Lanier hit a layup and then a midrange before a Zeigler lob to Phillips made it 24-18 Vols with 10 minutes left in the first. Zeigler hit a four-point play to cap off a 10-0 run for the Vols. It was 34-28 after Lanier hit two out of three free throws after being fouled on a 3-pointer. Zeigler hit his second trey of the game to put the Vols back up 11 with 4 minutes to play in the first.

The Vols' halftime lead was 45-35 despite a poor 2-15 half from 3-point range. Igor Millicic Jr. hit a 3-pointer immediately to open the second half. The lead was up to 57-39 with 15:42 to play after an offensive burst to open the half. Jordan Gainey hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Vols a 65-43 lead with 12:45 to play. Gainey had 12 points in the first 11 minutes of the second half.

The Vols were up 84-53 after back-to-back Lanier treys, and the game was blown open. It was a very impressive second-half performance from Tennessee offensively. The Vols coasted the rest of the way for a comfortable win.