It had all the hallmarks of a game that could challenge top-ranked Tennessee.

A mid-major opponent in Middle Tennessee State, hours after being ranked No. 1 in the major polls for the third-straight week and two days before Christmas and a lengthy break with SEC play looming.

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For more than a half, it looked like that, too. The short-handed Vols, who have outside of a last-second shot at Illinois, haven't been pushed the brink in the non-conference quite like the Blue Raiders pushed them on Monday night. But in the end, Tennessee pushed back to remain perfect, using a strong second half to score a 82-64 victory at Food City Center.

The Vols (12-0) trailed by six at the half before out-scoring MTSU, 48-24 in the second half and held the Blue Raiders without a field goal in the final four minutes.

Chaz Lanier led Tennessee in scoring with 23 points on 8-of-19 shooting from the field and five 3-pointers. Zakai Zeigler turned in another double-double, finishing with 17 points and 15 assists.

Felix Okpara scored 12 points and Jordan Gainey totaled 10.

Camryn Weston was undoubtedly the biggest challenge for the Vols on the defensive end. He led MTSU with 24 points, but was held to 7 over the last 20 minutes.

Tennessee started slow on the offensive end, but Felix Okpara provided a spark with dunks on back-to-back possessions.

Chaz Lanier hit two 3-pointers in succession to answer MTSU scores and keep the Vols in front, then Darlinstone Dubar laced another from deep off of the bench and out of a timeout to stretch the advantage to 14-8 with under 13 minutes left in the half.

The Blue Raiders answered again, taking advantage of a Tennessee scoring drought that last for more than two minutes and allowed them to pull within two at 14-12 after two-straight baskets from Camryn Weston.

The Vols rattled off a run of their own, starting with a deep 3-pointer from Zakai Zeigler that bounced high off the rim and fell through to open the way for an 8-0 scoring stretch that provided a double-digit cushion at 24-14 with inside of nine minutes before the intermission.

Turnovers plagued Tennessee and allowed MTSU to trim its deficit again. In a two-minute stretch, the Vols turned the ball over five times and the Blue Raiders trailed by just six following a contested layup from Weston.

Lanier answered with another three, but it didn't quell MTSU's scoring burst. Jestin Porter buried a 3-pointer to pull the Blue Raiders within one at 30-29. His second three few possessions later gave MTSU its first lead at 32-30 with around three minutes left.

Okpara gave Tennessee a much-needed score with a dunk off of an inbound pass after a timeout to draw even, but Tre Green clapped back a 3-pointer late in the shot clock to put the Blue Raiders back in front.

Torey Alston and Weston closed out the half with scores and Lanier was unable to get a shot off to try and give the Vols any kind of momentum before halftime. Instead, they trailed at the half for the first time this season, 40-34.

Tennessee's defense was suffocating to open the second half and it yielded results on the end. Jahmai Mashack blocked a corner three attempt, grabbed his own deflection and tossed the ball to Zeigler while balancing on one leg along the baseline.

Zeigler drove down and scored. Mashack helped set up another score when he knocked the ball loose from Essam Mostafa after a defensive rebound, leading to a Lanier jumper.

MTSU burned an early timeout with 16:43 left following another Lanier score seconds later that pulled Tennessee within one at 43-42.

Mashack's willingness to not give following a missed shot led to another point. He took an elbow to the face that was ruled a flagrant foul against Chris Loofe and the ensuing free throw tied the score at 43-43.

After MTSU pulled ahead again on an and-1, Jordan Gainey knocked down a three from the corner to draw the Vols even for the second time in a minute at 46-46 with 15 minutes to go.

Whatever adjustments Tennessee coming out of the locker room, it still didn't have an answer for Weston. He continued to give the Vols fits and put the Blue Raiders back in the lead, 49-46 with a deep 3-pointer.

The turning point started when Lanier tried to go up for an emphatic dunk. He missed, but was fouled and his free throws put Tennessee ahead. A defensive stand led to Lanier rattled in a three and suddenly the Vols were up 55-51 and MTSU was spending another timeout to talk about it.

After fighting for it for 25-plus minutes, it felt like Tennessee had the momentum, enough to survive. But the Blue Raiders didn't go away. The two teams started trading baskets as if they were in a prize fight trading blows.

MTSU stayed within reach as the clock ticked inside of eight minutes. Free throws kept the Vols in front. So did their defensive effort: blocked shots, rebounds and deflected passes. Any Blue Raiders possession that didn't end in a score made the clock all the more favorable for Tennessee.

MTSU went nearly five minutes without a score and Gainey--finally--landed the knockout blow: a transition 3-pointer with 4:19 remaining that pushed the Vols' once narrow lead back to double digits for the first time since the first half at 70-59.

Tennessee has one more tune-up before opening its SEC slate.

The Vols will get eight days off and then play Norfolk State on Dec. 31 at home (3 p.m. ET, SEC Network+). Tennessee hosts No. 23 Arkansas in its league opener on Jan. 4.

KenPom projects the Vols to beat the Spartans, 81-56.

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