Vols ride strong start to win over LSU

Tennessee's offense looks as complete as it has all season.

After hitting on seemingly anything they wanted in a crucial and emphatic road win at Kentucky four days ago, the No. 6 Vols put on another shooting clinic for more than a half against LSU at Food City Center Wednesday.

Tennessee shot better than 64% from deep in the first half, jumping out to a commanding lead before having to hold off the Tigers down the stretch in a 88-68 win.

TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM.

ENJOY VOLREPORT WITH A PREMIUM SUBSCRIPTION.

Dalton Knecht paced the Vols (17-5, 7-2 SEC) with 27 points while Jordan Gainey scored 18 and Zakai Zeigler finished with 17. Jonas Aidoo totaled 10 points.

Tennessee shot 54.4% from the field and 45.8% from deep, but lost on the boards, 40-27.

Will Baker led the LSU (12-10, 4-5) with 16 points.

Zeigler and Knecht hit 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions and James scored on a reverse layup to open up a 10-0 lead just over two minutes into the first half.

The quick start forced LSU into an early timeout, but it did little to slow Tennessee down. Aidoo blocked a shot and James hit another three on the other end to pull the Vols ahead 13-0 before the Tigers' first point, which came the free throw line.

LSU managed to cut Tennessee's lead down to six at 21-15 after hitting four-straight field goals, including a Derek Fountain 3-pointer with less than 11 minutes left in the half, but Gainey, who provided the Vols with 10 points off the bench in a five minute span, laced two threes to go up 29-18.

Tennessee extended its run to 6-0 and continued its success with the long ball with Zeigler's 3-pointer with under eight minutes remaining to swell its lead to 32-18. Even when LSU scored, the Vols clapped right back, stretching their lead to 40-22 after a Knecht three with four minutes, 40 seconds to go before the half.

The Tigers made just one field goal over the last three minutes of the half while Tennessee continued its offensive onslaught, putting the stamp on a commanding first 20 minutes with Jahmai Mashack's three to lead 50-27 at the intermission.

If LSU thought a break would cool off Tennessee's shooting, James dashed those hopes with a 3-pointer just minutes into the second half. The Tigers had even less success stopping the Vols from getting to the basket.

Zeigler weaved his way through the defense and laid in the ball with his back facing the goal, which put Tennessee up 20 at the under 16 minute timeout while Knecht added a layup seconds later to propel the Vols' lead to 59-38.

Gainey built off a strong first half, drawing a foul on a three-point attempt and making all of his free throws before Zeigler darted a pass to him on the opposite end of the floor after Santiago Vescovi steal that led to another score and a 64-41 Tennessee lead.

LSU made its most significant push with two-straight 3-pointers from Mwani Wilkinson and another from Jordan Wright that trimmed the Vols' lead to 10 with six minutes, 32 seconds to go.

Fountain scored off of an offensive board to pull the Tigers within eight but Kencht scored and drew a foul in the process, pushing Tennessee's lead to 75-64 after the free throw, though Baker scored on a put-back to again get LSU within single digits.

Despite LSU's best efforts, the Vols' offensive showcase in the first half was too much for the Tigers to overcome and Tennessee tacked on enough points over the final four minutes to prevent a comeback.

A Knecht jumper that gave the Vols a 81-67 lead with one minute, 46 seconds on the clock was the dagger.

Good things happen for Tennessee when Gainey is providing its bench with double-scoring figures.

It took just a few minutes for Gainey to reach that mark after entering the game with 15 minutes, 23 seconds to go in the first half. He had a hand in the Vols building up a convincing lead before halftime, scoring 10 points, including multiple 3-pointers.

Gainey, who has hit shooting slumps at times, particularly early in league play, has been a key contributor off the bench, which especially helps on nights when Tennessee is getting the most out of its starting lineup.

The Vols found their rhythm at Kentucky and picked up where the left off with an even more impressive shooting performance against LSU. They had five players record at least one made three and shot 64.3% in the first period, which loomed larger when LSU made a significant cut into their lead late in the second half.

Tennessee goes back on the road next week, beginning with a match up against Texas A&M in College Station Saturday and following it up at Arkansas Wednesday.

The Aggies (13-8, 4-4), who are coming off of a one-point win over Florida last Saturday, are currently on the bubble as far as its NCAA Tournament prospects are concerned and play at Missouri late Tuesday.

Texas A&M beat the Vols, 68-63 in the last meeting between the two teams on Feb. 21, 2023.

Tip-off at Reed Arena is set for 7 p.m. ET on ESPN.

–––––

– 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, @TMansfieldMedia, @ByNoahTaylor, @RealTBannerman, @RyanTSylvia, @Dale_Dowden, @ShayneP_Media, @TylerIvens.

–––––