Tennessee needed all it could muster in a win at Illinois last Saturday
Three days later, the Vols were seemingly on cruise control, rolling past Western Carolina in another suffocating defensive effort and typical scoring night from Chaz Lanier to win 84-36 at Food City Center.
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Lanier tallied a game-high 19 points for Tennessee (11-0) while Jordan Gainey added 17 off of the bench and Darlinstone Dubar scored 13.
Zakai Zeigler finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds and one was one assist shy of a triple-double with nine.
Outside of productive first couple of minutes of the first half on the offensive end for the Catamounts (3-7), the Vols’ defense gave them little breathing room the rest of the way, holding them to just 26% shooting from the field.
Here is everything Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes said about the performance.
On guard Darlinstone Dubar's performance off the bench
"I think one, (Dubar) is playing the role that we want him to play. I think he's getting more comfortable obviously and I think overtime as he starts stringing together some practices and more time in the game, I think it's going to help him. I just really believe that and he'll continue to get himself in better shape. That's what he needs to do right now."
On guard Zakai Zeigler's double-double, Western Carolina
"Obviously, (Zeilger) wants to make a shot and all that. I mean, he was what? One assist away from a triple-double. Just competitive like he always is...I thought early in the game, I didn't think our post guys--I thought Felix (Okpara) was locked in. I didn't think Igor (Milicic) and Cade (Phillips) were at all. (Dubar) came in and gave us some...I don't know if I've coached in a game where (the opponent) didn't score a 2-point bucket in the first half, but they came in shooting it. I thought (Western Carolina) was really well-coached, had good schemes. It was a major factor in the game. They're so well coached. They played hard. You've got to be impressed with them. Again, from where we were sitting, tough, physical. Really, the first couple of minutes of the game, they were more physical than we were."
On forward Cade Phillips' passing
"(Phillips) can do it and he likes to do it. He likes pass the ball. Sometimes he probably takes too much of a chance, but if you don't pressure him, he sees the floor well. And he'll make the right read most of the team."
On center Felix Okpara
"I thought (Okpara) started getting back to what we needed, bringing the physicality. You know, (Western Carolina) was really conscientious at the start of the game, trying to keep us off the glass. But he, again, I liked his ball-screen defense and things that we talked about after the game at Illinois. That was a big plus. I thought he came out and really tried to do the things that we talked about."
On guard Jordan Gainey's development
"I mean, Jordan (Gainey) has gotten so much better in so many different areas. But one is his conditioning. He prepares the way that you would want someone to prepare and he knows--we keep telling him that he can do more than he's done and he believes that he will continue to get better. He does drive the ball for us. I thought he turned down a couple of shots tonight that he should have taken."
On the importance of Okapra's performance heading into SEC play
"I think right now, this time and point, two games away from the SEC, we better know what we're getting from everybody. It's important to do that. But Felix (Okpara), he'll keep working. He's a hard worker. He wants to do the right thing, he wants to play well. Again, he's a very unselfish player. Two games left to go, you know, (Tennessee's next opponent) Middle Tennessee is really well coached. I have so much respect for their staff and how they want to play. So, we're going to have to be ready (Monday). We're going to have to know what we're getting from everybody."
On Dubar making an immediate impact after entering the game in the first half
“(Dubar) knows how to play in those type games. He’s really good when we’re really just trying to play and we’re not trying to run a lot of plays. Trying to use our concepts, and he’s really good in this situation because he’s got a good feel. He obviously can shoot the ball. We all know that that. I thought he tried really hard defensively. I think he was really locked in there. That’s the big thing we’ve been talking to him about. Trying to be more consistent on that end.”
On freshman guard Bishop Boswell leaving game with apparent shoulder injury, his stauts
“I think (Boswell) got bruised. We’ll see tomorrow. We’ll know more about it tomorrow.”
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