Zakai Zeigler turned toward the Tennessee student section and flashed a smile.

The Vols' senior guard looked like even he couldn't believe the run he was on against Georgia at Food City Center late Wednesday. His third 3-pointer in the span of a minute swelled Tennessee's lead to 21, brought its home floor back to life and turned a slugfest into a rout.

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After an abysmal offensive display from both teams in the first half, Zeigler's takeover powered No. 6 Tennessee to a 74-56 triumph of the No. 23 Bulldogs, making its return to Knoxville in more than a week a convincing one.

Zeigler finished with 16 points and shot 50% from three-point range. It carried over to everyone else, too.

The Vols, who were 9-of-33 from the field in the first 20 minutes, couldn't be stopped over the 15. Zeigler was the kick-starter, but Jordan Gainey scored a game-high 19 points, 14 of which came in the second half.

Jahami Mashack had his best offensive performance of the season, scoring a season-high 11 points while Cade Phillips added 10. And Tennessee (16-1, 3-1 SEC) did it against one of the best defensive teams in college basketball.

Georgia (14-3, 2-2), which was coming off of back-to-back ranked wins over Kentucky and Oklahoma, was holding teams to just 64.2 points per game before Wednesday.

Tennessee and Georgia entered Wednesday as the two top defenses in the SEC. Through the first five minutes, they looked like it.

The Vols scored on their opening possession--a Jahami Mashack layup--then forced the Bulldogs into a shot-clock violation on theirs. It was followed by four-minute scoring drought with Tennessee missing its first four three-point attempts despite some decent looks early.

A forced turnover on the defensive end led to Igor Milicic Jr. lacing the Vols' first 3-pointer to pull ahead, 5-4 out of the first media timeout. Georgia responded with three-straight scoring trips to take the lead at 7-5 with less than 14 minutes left in the first half.

Compared to the slow start, one seven-minute stretch felt more like a shootout with Tennessee scoring and the Bulldogs answering back. But when the Vols settled into another drought, their defense kept Georgia from taking advantage, coming up with turnovers or being the beneficiary of a few unforced miscues.

It bought enough time for Zakai Zeigler, who started 0-for-7 shooting, to knock down his first 3-pointer and give Tennessee a 17-16 advantage with inside of eight minutes to go before halftime.

Scoring--no matter how--remained at a premium, though. The Vols didn't score for more than four minutes. Georgia failed to do is in nearly that long, but did string together a 6-2 run that appeared to put it in position to go into the intermission up by multiple possessions.

Instead, a Chaz Lanier jumper and Cade Phillips put-back trimmed Tennessee's deficit to just one, 26-25 at the half.

Mashack opened the second half like he opened the first and to the same result: a basket for the lead. His reverse layup put the Vols back in front, then he rattled in a corner 3-pointer to extend it.

After Felix Okpara put back a missed three with an emphatic dunk, Tennessee had its largest lead at 32-26 just four minutes into the second half, but the new-found momentum didn't stop there.

Zeigler snagged an in-bounds pass and dished the ball to Jordan Gainey, who finished with a layup to stretch the Vols' lead to 36-27. The steal moved Zeigler ahead of Santiago Vesvoci, his former teammate, program-lead in career steals with 213.

Tennessee's run was 8-0 before Asa Newell quelled it with a 3-pointer, but it hardly mattered. Zeigler answered back with one of his own and then another. He totaled three 3-pointers in a little over a minute and the Vols were suddenly up 21 with 12:30 to go.

Georgia tried to claw its way back, pulling within 12 after Zeigler's scoring burst. But if the dagger hadn't been driven in yet, Gainey rammed it through with a steal that he turned into a dunk with under seven minutes left.

Tennessee will go on the road for the third time in less than two weeks Saturday against another improved team.

The Vols play Vanderbilt at Memorial Gymnasium in Nashville (3 p.m. ET, SEC Network). Tennessee has won 13 of the last 14 meetings, including two-straight.

The Commodores, who have reached the NCAA Tournament in seven years, are 14-3 overall and 2-2 in SEC play head coach Mark Byington's first season. They used a go-ahead score with .6 seconds left to beat South Carolina Wednesday.

Tennessee came from behind to beat Vanderbilt, 75-62 in the last meeting between the two teams in Nashville on Jan. 17, 2024.

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