No. 5 Tennessee rallies from 16-point deficit to defeat Vanderbilt, 81-76

The No. 5 Tennessee men's basketball team endured a major scare at home versus in-state rival Vanderbilt before rallying for an 81-76 win on Saturday in Knoxville.

The Volunteers took a 67-64 lead with 4:59 remaining in regulation on a Chaz Lanier 3-pointer and held on from there. A corner 3 by Jahmai Mashack with 2:27 remaining was effectively the dagger, giving Tennessee a 74-70 lead.

Jason Edwards kept the Commodores close with two consecutive 3s, part of 11 consecutive points he scored for Vanderbilt. But a Zakai Zeigler layup with 19 seconds left made it a two-possession game and clinched the victory. Tennessee improved to 8-5 in SEC play and 21-5 overall.

With 2:06 remaining in the first half, the Volunteers trailed 42-26. The Commodores shot 55% percent from the floor (and 50% on 3-pointers) in the first half against a Tennessee defense that ranks No. 4 in the nation, going into halftime with a 44-31 lead.

That was the most points the Volunteers have allowed in a half this season. Vanderbilt also outrebounded Tennessee 21-10 in the first half.

"We were awful," Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said afterwards. "I can't tell you how many times I heard our guys say on the bench, 'We went over that.'"

Edwards and Jaylen Carey each scored 10 points for Vanderbilt in the opening 20 minutes. The junior guard made both of his 3s, while Carey added six rebounds and three assists. For the Vols, Lanier tallied 13 and five boards, hitting a jumper at the buzzer to close the Commodores' margin to 13 points at the half.

As could be expected playing at home, Tennessee came charging back in the second half, cutting the deficit to 52-50 at the 12:30 mark, then tying the score at 55-55, both times on 3s from Zeigler. The Vols subsequently took a 57-55 lead on a Lanier layup.

Zeigler led the Vols with 22 points — all scored in the second half — and eight assists, shooting 3-of-4 on 3s. Lanier followed with 21 points and eight rebounds, while Mashack added nine (hitting 2-of-3 from 3) with six boards.

Edwards scored a game-high 24 points (shooting 6-for-10 on 3s) for the Commodores, who dropped to 5-7 in conference play and 17-8 overall in coach Mark Byington's first season. Carey finished with 18 points and seven rebounds before fouling out with 4:13 left in the game.

"You’ve gotta be really good to beat a team like Tennessee in this building and we’re just not there yet," Byington told reporters after the game.

With the win, Tennessee splits the regular-season series with Vanderbilt. The Commodores won the first matchup in Nashville on Jan. 18, 76-75.

Tennessee gets a week off before traveling to No. 8 Texas A&M (20-5, 9-3) next Saturday for a 12 p.m. ET matinee. Vanderbilt visits No. 15 Kentucky (17-7, 6-5) for a Wednesday matchup at 7 p.m. ET.