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Tennessee Basketball Blows Out Louisville 77-55

The Vols are 2-0 after getting their first road win over the Cardinals.

Tanner Johnson

Nov 9, 2024; Louisville, Kentucky, USA; Tennessee Volunteers guard Zakai Zeigler (5) dribbles against Louisville Cardinals forward James Scott (0) during the first half at KFC Yum! Center. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Rhodes-Imagn Images
Nov 9, 2024; Louisville, Kentucky, USA; Tennessee Volunteers guard Zakai Zeigler (5) dribbles against Louisville Cardinals forward James Scott (0) during the first half at KFC Yum! Center. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Rhodes-Imagn Images / Jamie Rhodes-Imagn Images
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Tennessee basketball passed its first test of the season with flying colors by defeating Louisville 77-55 on Saturday at the KFC Yum! Center.

The No. 12 Vols (2-0) dominated the Cardinals (1-1) from the opening tip and used a suffocating defense to hold Louisville to 26.7% from the floor. Zakai Zeigler led the Vols with 19 points and six assists despite 11 turnovers. Chaz Lanier also had 19 points, including three 3-pointers.

The Vols opened with a 6-0 lead at the first media timeout. Lanier had four early points courtesy of two free throws and a smooth free throw line jumper. The Cardinals could not get anything going early agaisnt the Vols' defense and struggled to get into their sets.

Louisville finally broke the seal on the rim with a 3-pointer by Reyne Smith to make the score 10-3 with 14:35 to go in the first. The Vols led 18-8 at the 12-minute timeout after a Ziegler and Jordan Gainey each hit 3-pointers. Things started going worse for the Cardinals as Jahmai Mashack hit a 3-pointer, and then Felix Okpara scored four straight points. Cade Phillips started to make an impact off the bench. by blocking a Cardinals 3-point attempt and then scoring on the other end to give Tennessee a 27-13 lead with 8:10 to go in the first half.

The Vols' domination continued as they led 36-16 with 4:17 to go in the first. Louisville was able to close the half on a 10-0 run before Gainey answered with a jumper to stop the bleeding. The halftime score was 40-26.

Lanier kept his scoring rhythm in the second half with another 3-pointer to give him 14 points. The lead was 46-32 with 15:39 remaining in the second half. The Cardinals cut the lead to nine points with another 3-pointer by Smith, but Zeigler answered with a deep triple to quiet the crowd. Lanier then went on a personal 5-0 run to put the Vols up 55-38 with 10 minutes left.

Ziegler hit back-to-back threes to give the Vols their largest lead of the game at 65-43 with 7:33 to go in the game. Things got even worse after the timeout, and another Louisville timeout came after Tennessee's run ballooned to 14-3. The Vols emptied their bench with 1:15 to play and went on to win 77-55.

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Tanner Johnson
TANNER JOHNSON

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