LEXINGTON, Ky. — The Second Round bout between Tennessee and UCLA late Saturday night was expected to be a rock fight.
It turned into a record-breaking shooting night for Chaz Lanier that helped send the 2-seed Vols dancing into the wee hours of Sunday morning with a 67-58 triumph over the 7-seed Bruins at Rupp Arena.
TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM
Tennessee (29-7) will head to the Sweet 16 for the third-straight season. UCLA (23-11) will go back to Los Angeles.
Make no mistake, defense was still a headliner. The Vols were just better on the other end and it set up another masterful postseason performance from Lanier, who broke the program’s single-season record for made 3-pointers set by Chris Lofton in 2007-08 with X threes.
Lanier finished with 20 points. That record shot might as well have been the dagger. The Bruins couldn’t keep up, worn down by an 8-0 Tennessee run to close out the first half and the Vols’ patented, suffocating brand of basketball.
UCLA turned the ball over 11 times and Tennessee held it under 40% shooting from the field.
It translated on the other end for the Vols, who had shot better than 42% from the field and 50% from three-point range. Zakai Zeigler scored 15 and Jordan Gainey totaled 13.
The Vols won the boards, too, out-rebounding the Bruins 36-26 with Igor Milicic Jr., Felix Okpara and Cade Phillips combining for 20 rebounds.
In a match up of two of the top defenses in the NCAA Tournament, Tennessee and UCLA looked the part early, especially the Bruins.
The Vols didn’t get many open looks in the four-plus minutes, missing their first five field goals and getting all of their points at the free throw line before Chaz Lanier took advantage of some space and buried a 3-pointer to pull within one at 8-7 with 15:52 left in the first half.
Aday Mara scored twice to stretch the the UCLA lead, but Lanier answered back with his second three to draw Tennessee even at 12-12 and tie Chris Lofton for the program record in single-season made-threes at 118.
Zakai Zeigler hit one of his own a few minutes later and the Vols lead, 17-14 with just over 10 minutes to go in the half.
A Vols scoring drought that lasted more than four minutes allowed the Bruins to pull back in front as foul trouble and UCLA’s side plagued Tennessee. A Mara and-1 and jumper from Tyler Bilodeau–the two heralded Bruins’ bigs–put the Vols down 20-17.
Felix Okpara ended the scoreless stretch after pulling down a lob from Zeigler, then a Igor Milicic Jr. steal led to a Jordan Gainey layup that suddenly had Tennessee leading, 21-20 with six minutes remaining.
Gainey provided another big basket later in the half after Zeigler, late in the shot-clock, kicked a pass out to him in the corner before he fired off a shot that rattled in for a 27-25 Vols lead.
That shot opened the way for an 8-0 Tennessee run over the last 2:50 of the half, that included Lanier stepping in front of pass at mid court and taking it the other way, scoring in transition and drawing the foul.
The ensuing free throw gave the Vols a 32-25 edge halftime.
That stretch extended into the second half, too. Zeigler drove to the basket, finished with a layup and was fouled on his way up, giving Tennessee its largest lead to that point at 35-24 just a minute into the half.
Zeigler struck again, poking the ball away from Skyy Clark and turning it into an assist to Lanier for another score.
UCLA answered back with a three from Clark, but Lanier uncorked and landed his third 3-pointer of the night to break the program single-season record with his 119th. It pushed the Vols’ lead to 40-31 with 15:32 left.
The scoring flurry didn’t end there, either. Gainey fired one off from the perimeter seconds later and Lanier tallied his fourth three to put Tennessee on the brink of pulling away for good at 46-31 14:14 to go.
The Vols didn’t let up on the defensive end, and UCLA never looked again looked like the team that was answering everything thrown at it in the first 10 minutes of the first half.
Jahmai Mashack, one of those unrelenting defenders, all but landed the haymaker–a three to go up 51-35. It was a rout from there.
Milicic drove to the basket and finished with an emphatic, one-handed dunk. Gainey made his third 3-pointer and Zeigler tallied his second from deep for a convincing 61-42 advantage that had Tennessee’s sights set on the Sweet 16 already with 5:15 left.
Tennessee will play in the Sweet 16 for the third-straight year and the 11th time ever with a chance to punch its ticket to the Elite Eight in back-to-back seasons.
The Vols will face the winner of 3-seed Kentucky and 6-seed Illinois, who will face off in the Second Round on Sunday in Milwaukee (5:15 p.m. ET, CBS), next Friday at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
It would potentially be the third time that Tennessee has played the Wildcats this season and the second that it has faced the Fighting Illini.
The Vols went a combined 1-2 in those matchups, dropping two to Kentucky and beating Illinois on a Jordan Gainey layup at the buzzer back in December.
Start times and TV network designations are to be determined.
