Norman, OK – The #4 Tennessee men’s basketball team used a scintillating first-half shooting performance to claim a commanding lead in the opening minutes and never looked back, en route to a thorough 70-52 triumph Saturday afternoon at Oklahoma.
Fourth-ranked Tennessee (20-4, 7-4 SEC) made 15 of its initial 17 field goals in its first-ever game at the Lloyd Noble Center and led by as many as 28 points in the dominant result. Fifth-year guard Chaz Lanier led the way with a game-high 21 points in the first conference matchup between the two programs.
The Volunteers hit six of their first seven shots, including hitting five in a row, to take an early 13-9 lead after just 4:34. Following a miss, they made eight consecutive shots, extending the start to 14-of-16 overall and 5-of-5 beyond the arc, to go up by 14, 33-19, with 8:57 left in the frame. Lanier personally scored 13 points on a perfect 5-of-5 ledger in the first 10 minutes alone.
Tennessee went 3:35 without a field goal, committing four turnovers and making one free throw, but then continued its offensive onslaught. It pushed the field goal streak to nine in a row, making it a 15-of-17 tally through 15 minutes. Soon thereafter, the visitors went ahead by 20 points, 41-21, with 3:49 on the first-half timer, behind a 17-of-21 clip from the floor that featured a 6-of-7 long-range count.
Senior forward Igor Mili?i? Jr., gave Tennessee its largest lead of the half, 22, on a four-point play with 1:56 to go in the frame, stretching the margin to 45-23. Oklahoma (16-7, 3-7 SEC) scored the final two points of the session to make it 45-25 at the break.
The Volunteers missed their final two field goals, both from the field, in the opening 20 minutes to give them an 18-of-26 (69.2 percent) overall figure, including a 7-of-12 (58.3 percent) register from deep. At the other end, they held the Sooners to 11-of-28 (39.9 percent) shooting from the floor, with a 3-of-10 (30.0 percent) mark on 3-pointers.
Tennessee committed five fouls in the first-three-and-a-half minutes of the second stanza to give Oklahoma six free throws, all of which it made, on the way to cutting the deficit to 49-34 with 16:33 left. However, the Volunteers held the home team without a point for the next 3:05—that came during a 6:30 span in which it allowed no made field goals, forcing six misses in a row—to go back ahead by 21.
A 9-0 run, started with a 3-pointer by senior guard Zakai Zeigler, in 4:22 helped Tennessee grab a game-best 28-point advantage, 68-40, with 5:30 to play. Oklahoma countered with the next seven points, part of a 12-2 game-ending run to make it an 18-point final cushion.
Lanier, who shot 9-of-17 from the field, added five rebounds and two assists to his line. Zeigler, who notched a 6-of-8 field-goal clip that included a 3-of-4 mark from deep, logged 17 points, as well as led all players in assists (nine) and steals (four).
Mili?i? posted eight points, as did junior forward Felix Okpara, who also registered a game-leading and co-season-best four blocked shots.
Just one Sooner finished with double-digit points, as senior forward Jalon Moore notched 12 on a 4-of-12 field-goal clip. Graduate guard Brycen Goodine was Oklahoma’s second-leading scorer with nine points, but Tennessee limited him to 2-of-7 shooting, including a 1-of-4 figure beyond the arc.
Despite missing six of its final 10 shots, including three of its last four after going up by 28, Tennessee still concluded the contest with a dazzling 60.4 percent (29-of-48) mark from the field. It compiled a 42.9 percent (9-of-21) figure on 3-pointers.
On the defensive side of the floor, Tennessee held Oklahoma to its lowest point total since February 28th, 2024, and its lowest mark at home since November 7th, 2022. The former was also the last time the Sooners made fewer than a third of their shots, with February 17th, 2024, the last time they did so at home. In addition, the 18-point margin was the program’s co-fifth-largest home loss in the last 30 seasons (1995-2025).
Oklahoma finished with a 32.1 percent (17-of-53) clip from the field in the setback, but did go a perfect 12-of-12 at the stripe. It also got outscored by 16 in the paint points, as Tennessee accumulated a 36-20 margin around the rim.
Next Up For UT Men’s Basketball
The Volunteers play their second consecutive road game Tuesday at 7:00pm at No. 14 Kentucky, live on ESPN from Rupp Arena in Lexington, KY.
To keep up with the University of Tennessee men’s basketball team on social media, follow @Vol_Hoops on Instagram and X/Twitter, as well as /tennesseebasketball on Facebook.
