If there were any questions whether or not the Chaz Lanier experiment would translate to SEC play, the Tennessee guard provided a resounding answer Saturday.

Lanier dazzled in his league debut, headlining the No. 1 Vols' 76-52 triumph of No. 23 Arkansas at Food City Center.

TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM

He sparked Tennessee's first half surge and then did the same in the early-going of the second, pacing the Vols (14-0, 1-0 SEC) in scoring with a season-high 29 points on 10-of-20 shooting from the field and five 3-pointers.

Lanier's supporting cast was equally impressive. Igor Milicic Jr., who was a part of the same offseason transfer portal haul, was arguably the most effective player on the floor. He turned in a double-double with 13 points and an astounding 18 rebounds.

Zakai Zeigler scored 12 and Felix Okpara finished with 10.

The Vols put on a showcase on the glass, out-rebounding the Razorbacks by a wide margin, 51-29, including 24 on the offensive end.

D.J. Wagner led Arkansas (11-3, 0-1) in scoring with 17 points and Boogie Fland had 12. Former Tennessee forward Jonas Aidoo scored 4 points and grabbed five rebounds in his return to Knoxville.

There was a different feel inside Food City Center.

From the opening tip, which Tennessee controlled and quickly paid off with an Igor Milicic Jr. dunk, it was evident that the Vols were in for the kind of challenge only conference play could bring.

Boos reigned down from the soldout seats every time Jonas Aidoo touched the ball. He even missed a pair of free throws. But both teams matched each other step for step, and that was just in the first five minutes.

So even were Tennessee and Arkansas in those first few minutes that neither team could create separation or take advantage of scoring droughts.

That changed after Felix Okpara fed a pass into a cutting Chaz Lanier, who scored the first of three baskets in as many possessions. Lanier's 3-pointer with 11:10 left in the first half headlined an 10-0 run and forced the Razorbacks into a timeout with the Vols leading, 19-12.

Whatever John Calipari meant for that timeout, it didn't work. Arkansas' scoreless stretch ticked past six minutes and an Okpara dunk swelled Tennessee's run to 14-2 over nearly eight minutes to go up 21-12.

Adou Thiero ended the Razorbacks' shooting woes after eight minutes without a field goal and Boogie Fland laced a 3-pointer from the top of the key to trim their deficit to seven before Zakai Zeigler clapped back with a three to push the Vols' lead to 28-18.

Zeigler made another a minute later and Tennessee was back up double-digits at 33-20 with the clock inside of five minutes to go before the half.

If the first half didn't seem in the Vols' complete control, the pass lobbed by Milicic and pulled down emphatically by Okapra around the two minute mark to confirmed it. Tennessee went into the intermission ahead, 42-27.

But the Vols dominated in more than scoring. The key to Tennessee's success was its overwhelming edge on the glass, out-rebounding Arkansas, 27-11, including 14 offensive boards.

The Razorbacks tried to muster some momentum coming out of the locker room, scoring first. But Lanier snatched it back, draining two 3-pointers to up the Vols' lead to 48-29 less than four minutes in.

Arkansas was on the cusp of getting its deficit back under 10 after two scores from Aidoo, but Milicic buried his second 3-pointer to up Tennessee's advantage to 52-36 with less than 13 minutes remaining.

From there, the Razorbacks never seriously threatened again. The Vols wouldn't allow them to.

Karter Knox hit a three to get within 15, but Jordan Gainey, on an afternoon where Tennessee didn't have a lot of scoring production from its bench to that point, followed through with a 3-pointer that swelled the lead to 18 with 6:12 to go. And the Vols piled on from that point.

On the possession after making his fifth 3-pointer, Lanier made a jumper to push Tennessee's lead to 21.

Another test awaits Tennessee in its second SEC game.

The Vols will go on the road for the first time in league play against No. 6 Florida at Exactech Arena in Gainesville on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET, ESPN2).

The Gators are coming off of their first loss of the season--a 106-100 defeat at No. 10 Kentucky earlier Saturday.

Tennessee has won eight of the last 10 in the series, including the last meeting between the two teams in Knoxville in January 2023.

– TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM.

– ENJOY VOLREPORT WITH A PREMIUM SUBSCRIPTION.

– SUBSCRIBE TO THE VOLREPORT YOUTUBE CHANNEL.

– FOLLOW VOLREPORT ON TWITTER: @TennesseeRivals, @ByNoahTaylor, @RyanTSylvia, @Dale_Dowden, @ShayneP_Media.