Soft officiating was the topic of conversation throughout Tennessee's Saturday afternoon game against Illinois. It is the Vols' second road win in as many games this year, and it was an intense, physical battle from the tip until the final buzzer.
Several Vols were in foul trouble throughout the second half, including Zakai Zeigler and Chaz Lanier, who quickly earned their fourth foul early in the second half. Both players eventually fouled out, which forced Rick Barnes to go deep into his bench, and he did it fantastically.
Jordan Gainey is the MVP of this game. He scored 23 points, leading the team in scoring. He caught fire in the second half and made sure Tennessee would leave Champaign, Illinois, with another tick in the win column, scoring the game-winning layup at the buzzer.
The soft officiating forced Gainey, Darlinstone Dubar, and Cade Phillips to play a lot of meaningful minutes throughout the game and became important factors down the stretch. Dubar shot two for three in the second half, and Phillips battled in the paint to grab five rebounds.
While the soft officiating isn't ideal, this win shows how dangerous Tennessee could be down the stretch later in the season. Tennessee was without Zeigler and Lanier, two of its best players, for most of the second half, yet the Vols continued to battle through the 24 called fouls and found a way to win with the players on the court.
Tennessee is deep and even better than last season. Throughout last year, we watched different players step up and help Tennessee win. That could be amplified even more this season, as we saw on Saturday. The Vols have no less than eight players who can win a game for Tennessee in any given matchup.
With Tennessee's win, it has improved to 10-0 on the year. It's the first start since the 1999-2000 season that Tennessee has started the year with ten straight wins.
Tennessee will take a much-needed few days off before playing its next game when they welcome Western Carolina to town on December 17. The Vols and Catamounts will tip off at 7:00 PM on SEC Network+ and ESPN+.