An easy day.
Tennessee had an easy afternoon at Food City Center on Sunday afternoon, taking care of Austin Peay in another tune-up game, 103-68. The Volunteers quickly jumped out to a double-digit lead against the 3-0 Governors and never looked back.
Tennessee shot over 70 percent from the field in the first half, powered by Igor Milicic. The Charlotte transfer is coming on strong so far in this early season, pouring in 17 first half points while shooting 80 percent.
The Vols led 52-29 at halftime. The lead moved out past 30 points after the break after a quick 11-0 run and the Volunteers cruised to another blowout win.
Milicic led the way again with 23 points on 11-14 shooting from the field. He added nine rebounds, four assists and two blocks.
“I think he has relaxed, and I think that’s the right word,” Rick Banes said of Milicic. “I think he’s rewired his brain and the fact that he doesn’t have to do something every time he gets it. He sees the game in a great way, and he’s getting better understanding what we need defensively.”
Tennessee had six players in double figures on Sunday — Milicic (23), Zakai Zeigler (19), Jordan Gainey (15), Cade Phillips (13), Felix Okpara (12) and Jahmai Mashack (10). Chaz Lanier scored just five points on 1-6 shooting from the floor.
Zeigler, after nine first half turnovers against Louisville, has settled in with 15 assists over the last two games combined. He’s also 10-15 from the three-point line over his last three games, giving Tennessee a huge boost offensively as they continue to move forward with Dalton Knecht now in the pros.
“It’s phenomenal what that guy has done,” Barnes said of Zeigler. “For a guy that wasn’t recruited but believes so much in himself and the way he’s kept working at the game and doing what he does. But I think right now with him, the biggest thing is he’s learning how to play with a new team. And this is a whole, we got new guys around him. He’s learning how to play with Igor. He’s learning how to play with Chaz. He’s learning how to play with Felix, those guys, I mean, he’s learning how to do that, and we need him to continue, and he will.
“I mean, what he does — you all know what he does on the defense end, but he has improved so much in all the different areas on the offensive end. And it seems like every year has been a different team with him, but he’s found a way to adapt and adjust and get better with it.”
Tennessee now moves to the more challenging part of their non-conference slate, beginning with a trip to the Bahamas to play in the Baha Mar Championship. The Vols will face Virginia at 9:30 p.m. ET on Thursday night. Depending on the results, Tennessee will move on to face either Baylor or St. John’s in either the consolation or championship game.