What do the haters have to say now?! Entering the SEC Tournament, not a lot of people gave the Tennessee Vols a chance of making it past the semifinals, as a date with Auburn was going to be on the way if everything went according to plan.
On Saturday, the Vols and Tigers faced off and Tennessee just posted a remarkable 70-65 win. These two teams kept going back and forth, but in the end, the Vols indeed were able to come out on top and they'll now face either Florida or Alabama on Sunday with the hardware on the line. In this piece, we've got our takeaways from the action, which of course includes the stellar play of the senior leaders.
3. Tennessee's seniors stepped up again for Rick Barnes
We're running out of great things to say for both Zakai Zeigler and Chaz Lanier. On Friday, the two were sensational in the win over the Texas Longhorns, and more of the same was on full display against the Tigers.
Lanier started off hot vs. Auburn and he closed the day out with 12 points. Zeigler, who scored 20 points, was also exceptional on both ends of the floor. His 3-pointer to give Tennessee an 11-point lead in the second half FIRED up Vols fans everywhere. These two are a joy to watch, no doubt. Let's not forget about Jordan Gainey, who chipped in with a huge 15 points. All three of these guys deserve a ton of love.
2. Tennessee was able to overcome questionable calls from the officials
The first time these two teams went to battle this season, some questionable calls late from the refs haunted Tennessee in a heartbreaking loss. This time around, more bogus decisions from the group in stripes arrived, but the Vols were able to overcome things.
Hands to the face. Jay Bilas said it was nothing but come on, this should have been a flagrant 1 pic.twitter.com/uN75BOjDue
— All For Tennessee (@allfortennessee) March 15, 2025
In the first half, Johni Broome delivered a stiff arm to Jordan Gainey that countless people were expecting would be called a flagrant 1. It wasn't, which is something we still can't believe. Broome was getting away with a lot down in the low post. The fifth foul on Felix Okpara was a joke too. Everything went against UT, which can't keep happening.
1. Tennessee's incredible free-throw shooting was massive in the win
Following the win over Texas, Rick Barnes was not happy with how Tennessee shot the ball from the charity stripe down the stretch. In that victory over the Longhorns, the Vols shot 24-of-35 from the free-throw line, which is never going to cut it.
That changed in the best way possible against the Tigers. The Vols shot 25-of-27 from the FT line, which we don't have to tell you was awesome to see. With 14 seconds left in the game, Jahmai Mashack was fouled with the Vols clinging to a 68-65 lead. He hit both and the rest is history.