By Ken Cross
High VOL-tage: Tennessee fought off numerous UCLA leads early in this game, but Jordan Gainey hit a three off the left base and a pair of free throws before Chaz Lanier gave the Volunteers a 32-25 halftime lead with a layup. The Volunteers’ defense locked in as it only allowed one field goal after UCLA guard Trent Perry made a three to give the Bruins a 23-21 lead with 5:27 left before halftime. The Vols held UCLA to 1-of-6 from the floor with two turnovers and two missed free throws during that period. Chaz Lanier scored eight of his game-high 20 points in the first 4:46 of the second half as Tennessee took a 46-31 lead.
Trouble ‘Bruin’: The Bruins’ couldn’t matchup on the point with Zakai Zeigler as he had 15 points and six assists in 38 minutes. Skyy Clark was the leading scorer for the Bruins with 18 points while post Tyler Bilodeau had 15. Clark tried to keep te Bruins close after Tennessee had taken the upper hand in the second half. He hit two threes and a pull up off the left side from 15-feet, but UCLA still trailed 48-35 with 10:52 to play.
Key Statistics: The Volunteers are headed to the Sweet 16 with a 29-7 ledger as Tennessee has now passed 25 wins in nine seasons, six seasons under Barnes. Tennessee trapped UCLA late in the first half as the Vols were throoughly successful in their 1-2-2 half-court trap. It was part of a defensive game plan that forced the Bruins into turnovers they only shot 37 percent and 7-of-23 from three. Tennessee outrebounded UCLA, 36-26, and scored 13 points off of 12 offensive boards.
Rick Barnes on using the trap: “We have it and sometimes we use it, sometimes we don’t, depending on the game. What Zakai said was true, we wanted to throw it out there and see how teams handle it. If they don’t, we stay with it.”
Mick Cronin on how the game unfolded: “We got off to a terrible start. We were stopping them and I don’t have the first half stats, but I think they had nine or ten offensive rebound at halftime. Our defense couldn’t have been much better early, but we didn’t do a good job on the glass in the first half for sure.”