Top-ranked Tennessee will attempt to remain unbeaten as it closes out its nonconference schedule against Norfolk State on Tuesday in Knoxville, Tenn.
The Volunteers (12-0) are coming off back-to-back 80-point outings, beating Western Carolina 84-36 on Dec. 17 and Middle Tennessee 82-64 on Dec. 23. Chaz Lanier led Tennessee in both games, scoring 19 and 23, respectively.
Lanier also leads Tennessee in scoring for the season, averaging 19.3 points per game on 47.4 percent 3-point shooting. Jordan Gainey (11.9), Zakai Zeigler (11.8) and Igor Milicic Jr. (11.2) are also scoring in double figures. Zeigler leads the team with 8.3 assists, while Milicic averages a team-high 8.1 rebounds per game.
The quartet carries the Volunteers’ offense, as no one else on the team averages more than 7.0 points per game. As a team, they average 81.2 points per game.
Tuesday will be Tennessee’s first game in eight days, its longest stretch between contests this season.
The Volunteers had some internal turmoil last week, as sophomore guard Cameron Carr left the team with the expectation of transferring after missing the last month to injury.
“It didn’t surprise me,” Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said about Carr’s departure. “I actually made that comment to the coaches. That’s all I can tell you.
“We’re around these guys all the time. We know when guys are locked in and when they’re not. We know these guys like the back of our hand. We know they talk. We talk. So if you ask me, I was not the least bit surprised.”
Norfolk State (9-6) has enjoyed a solid start to its season. The Spartans enter Tuesday’s contest on a three-game winning streak, punctuated by a nail-biting 77-74 road triumph over High Point on Sunday.
Brian Moore Jr. led the Spartans with a career-high 33 points in that win and also leads the team with 19.4 points per game. Moore has reached double figures in all 15 games this season and has scored at least 15 points in 12 of those games.
Norfolk State also receives significant contributions from Christian Ings, who averages 12.9 points and a team-high 3.7 assists per game. Jalen Meyers leads the team with 5.2 rebounds while chipping in 10.4 points per game.
High Point coach Alan Huss had some postgame insight into Norfolk State, led by 12th-year head coach Robert Jones.
“They run a set play almost every single time down,” Huss said of the Spartans. “They got us on some of those. Ings and Moore are going to drive the basketball with those right hands. Even though Ings is technically a lefty, he wants to get to his right. They’re tremendous on the offensive side of the ball and they execute their stuff at a high level.”
Tennessee and Norfolk State faced off for the first time last season, an 87-50 win for the then-No. 5 Volunteers. Zeigler led Tennessee with 17 points in that contest, outscoring teammate and 2024 first-round NBA draft pick Dalton Knecht by two points.
–Field Level Media
