The Tennessee Volunteers got the last laugh over one of their former players on Saturday afternoon at the Food City Center at Thompson-Boling Arena. The Vols clobbered the Arkansas Razorbacks 76-52 in the SEC opener for both teams.
The major storyline was the return of former Vol Jonas Aidoo, who transferred to Arkansas back in April after a tough finish to his 2023-24 season in the NCAA tournament. Things will remain tough for him in Knoxville even with a new team, as Aidoo – who was booed loudly during introductions and the game – didn’t do too much on Saturday, finishing with just 4 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 blocks.
Conversely, the Vols had four players in double figures on the scoreboard. Chaz Lanier totaled 29 points on 10-20 shooting (5-9 from three). Zakai Zeigler had 12 points with a game-high 7 assists. Igor Milicic, Jr. and Felix Okpara had 13 and 10, respectively.
Also, ironically, with Aidoo on the opposing bench , Tennessee had perhaps their most dominant rebounding performance of the season, dominating the Hogs on the glass 51-29, with 24 offensive rebounds. Milicic was a monster on the boards for Tennessee with 18 rebounds.
As far as the action, Tennessee took control midway through the first half and never let Arkansas get back into the game. Lanier scored 9 of 11 points to turn a 12-12 game into a cushion that the Vols would hold for the rest of the half. After Arkansas cut the game to 7, Zeigler responded with 8 points over the span of a minute to give Tennessee a 33-20 lead approaching the half. The Vols took a 15-point lead into the locker room.
Lanier set the tone early in the second half for more of the same, splashing home back-to-back threes early in the second half to push the lead up to 19 points. Arkansas would get no closer than 14 the rest of the way, as the Vols turned the scoreboard into a real laugher by the end with a 16-7 run over the final six minutes and change.
At 14-0, Tennessee heads to Gainesville for a mid-week matchup with #6 Florida. The Gators lost to Kentucky 106-100 on Saturday, so they’ll be looking to rebound against the Vols in a huge early season SEC matchup.