#1 Tennessee Defeats Miami, Arkansas Outlasts #14 Michigan
Chaz Lanier scored 22 points, and No. 1 Tennessee beat struggling Miami 75-62 on Tuesday night at the Jimmy V Classic in Madison Square Garden.
Igor Milicic Jr. added 16 and nine rebounds for the Volunteers, who took the top spot in the AP Top 25 this week for the first time since February 2019. Zakai Zeigler added 13 points and nine assists for Tennessee, which pulled away late in the first half and withstood a Miami comeback attempt for its first 9-0 start since 2000-01.
Lynn Kidd scored 14 as the Hurricanes (3-8) dropped their seventh straight game. Nyjel Pack added 12 and AJ Station-McCray added 11 for Miami, which shot 39.3%.
The Hurricanes held a two-point lead on a hook shot by Kidd with 7:52 remaining in the first half. The Volunteers never trailed after Ziegler hit three free throws 30 seconds later to start a 14-0 run.
Takeaways
Tennessee: The Volunteers won their ninth straight by double digits and looked the part of a top-ranked team.
Miami: The Hurricanes started decently by making four of their first seven 3s but finished 8 of 33.
Key moment
Miami made a comeback and cut the deficit to 63-56 with 5:36 left but Milicic hit an open 3 nearly a minute later and Lanier coasted in for a layup to put the Volunteers back up by double digits on the next possession.
Key stat
Tennessee made 10 3-pointers, the third straight game it hit at least 10 and fifth time overall.
Boogie Fland scored 20 points as Arkansas stormed back from a 15-point deficit, withstood a late comeback attempt and hung on for an 89-87 victory over No. 14 Michigan on Tuesday night in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden.
D.J. Wagner added 16 points for the Razorbacks (8-2), who went without a basket for the final 3:01 and nearly blew an 18-point lead. Trevon Brazile added 15 points and a key block on Vladislav Goldin with 14 seconds left.
Goldin scored 17 for Michigan (8-2), which had won seven straight games and was trying to match last season’s win total already. Danny Wolf added 14 points, while Will Tschetter and Roddy Gayle Jr. contributed 13 apiece.
After cutting a 15-point deficit to 49-45 by halftime, the Razorbacks took an 18-point lead midway through the second period before allowing a 16-2 run. Michigan pulled to 88-87 on a basket by Wolf with 88 seconds left but did not score again.
Takeaways
Michigan: The Wolverines shot 57.6% but were extremely streaky. Besides hitting 11 in a row to get the big lead in the first half, they also made seven straight to chip away at the 18-point deficit.
Arkansas: Depth showed up for the Razorbacks, who had five players score in double figures.
Key moment
Razorbacks guard Johnell Davis deflected a Michigan pass along the baseline in the final seconds, forcing Gayle to take a contested fadeaway jumper that was short at the buzzer.
Key stat
Arkansas scored 69 points combined in the paint and behind the 3-point line.