Tennessee basketball won its second-round matchup in this year's NCAA Tournament against UCLA. The Vols beat the Bruins 67-58 to advance to the Sweet 16 for the third straight year.
It is the first time in program history that the Vols have advanced to the Sweet 16 in three consecutive years as the Vols hope to make the most of it and advance past the second weekend for the first time in program history.
While the Vols were able to open things up in the second half and pull away thanks to their stifling defense, it was a tough first half.
The game started as a physical battle, with both teams taking their shot and looking to make haymakers to set the tone. That type of game is right in both teams' wheelhouse, but it resulted in both teams finding foul trouble early.
They combined for 18 first-half fouls with multiple missed foul calls that could have put UCLA in even deeper foul trouble early in the game.
Jahmai Mashack faced most of Tennessee's foul trouble and played limited first-half minutes after quickly getting two fouls. He opened the second half, only playing the first three minutes before drawing his third foul.
Despite the struggle on the court's offensive end as a result of physicality, Chaz Lanier showed up on fire, coming off a 29-point first-round performance and looking to be the Vols' offensive leader once again.
Lanier finished the game with 20 points and made some big shots in the first half to get the Tennessee offense going. Those shots were huge for a team that can start the game slow offensively, especially against a great defensive team like UCLA.
His hot start also contributed to Lanier's setting the program record for most three-pointers made in a season, passing Chris Lofton in the Tennessee record books.
Lanier made his 119th three-pointer of the season early in the second half and continued to be hot from beyond the arc throughout the game.
In the second half, Tennessee put on a defensive clinic to pair with Lanier and the offense's shot-making. As a result, the Vols held UCLA to one of its lowest NCAA Tournament scoring totals in program history.
Tennessee will now prepare for the second weekend of the tournament for the third straight season. The Vols will play the winner of the Kentucky-Illinois game on Sunday afternoon in the Sweet 16.