In yet another game that plenty of Tennessee basketball fans thought would be a close one for the Vols, the opposite turned out to be the case. On Saturday, the No. 1 team in the country welcomed No. 23 Arkansas for a dance in Knoxville.
While things were a bit tight early on, that didn't last long, as the Vols were able to cruise to a dominant 76-52 victory. This was the SEC opener for Tennessee and things could not have gotten off to a better start. In this piece, we have our four main takeaways from the action, of course including the strong play of Chaz Lanier.
4. Chaz Lanier continues to look like one of the best players in the country
Forget just being one of the top players in the SEC. Nope, it's time for Lanier to enter the National Player of the Year conversation. Once again, the sharpshooter looked brilliant with the ball in his hands, drilling some big-time shots for Rick Barnes on Saturday.
For the third consecutive game, Lanier finished with at least 20 points. Against the Razorbacks, Lanier dropped 29 points (a new season high), lighting up the floor from behind the 3-point line. Lanier is a ton of fun to watch and he's going to keep playing at a high level for this program.
3. Tennessee's rebounding was on point vs. Arkansas
You know what probably makes Barnes a happy man? No question when he sees his players work their tails off around the glass to come down with a rebound. That's exactly what we saw against Arkansas, with everyone busting their hump to come down with the ball.
In the first half alone, Tennessee posted 27 total rebounds, while Arkansas was held to just 12. This tells us that Tennessee simply wanted things more. This is the kind of intensity the Tennessee playmakers need to showcase for the rest of the season.
2. Igor Miličić Jr. continues to be Mr. Reliable for the Vols
While we're always going to give Lanier a ton of love for his fantastic play, and rightfully so, people can't forget about the impact Igor Miličić Jr. makes on both ends of the floor. Milicic can do a little bit of everything for this team, which is a huge help.
Entering this contest, he was averaging 10.7 points and 8.2 rebounds per contest. He's quite consistent and against Arkansas, he posted 13 points and 18 rebounds. With that showing, Milicic has now recorded at least 10 rebounds in three consecutive games for the Vols. The 18 boards are a new career-high for him. What a player.
1. Tennessee should be the favorite to win the SEC title
Earlier in the week, plenty of eyebrows were raised when the Vegas oddsmakers revealed the latest odds for teams to win the conference, with Tennessee at No. 2 with +290 odds, while Auburn is at the top at +130. Yes, the Tigers are a powerhouse too and Bruce Pearl has them looking sensational.
However, Tennessee continues to turn heads, they're the No. 1 team in the country and the squad is barely breaking a sweat in taking down top teams. We might be a little biased, but Tennessee should be the frontrunner to win the SEC this year and then once March Madness gets here, people better be ready for the Vols to make a ton of noise.