Tennessee put on a basketball clinic in its two games in the Bahamas. The Vols beat Virginia on Thursday night in a heavyweight defensive fight and followed that up with an all-around dominant win over Baylor on Friday night.
Chaz Lanier led the offense, lit up the court from virtually everywhere, and made a career-high seven three-point shots in the first half alone. His 25 first-half points gave the Vols a 47-20 lead in a near-perfect first half for Tennessee.
Baylor attempted to make a comeback in the second half, but the Vols were too strong for any momentum the Bears could build on either end of the court. Tennessee's 77-62 is not Tennessee's first dominant showing of the season.
The Vols are 6-0 to start the season and are already beginning to pad their resume early in the season with dominant wins over Baylor, Virginia, and Louisville. They have more high-profile matchups against Syracuse, Miami, and Illinois on deck.
Rick Barnes is typically known for building programs with a strong defense, but his execution of the transfer portal and traditional recruiting has recently brought Rocky Top an offensive renaissance built around physicality and up-tempo scoring.
Dalton Knecht thrived in Barnes' offense last year, and first-year guard Chaz Lanier is putting up similar numbers early in his Tennessee career. Additions like Igor Milicic and Felix Okpara to pair with Lanier and returning stars like Zakai Zeigler and Jahmai Mashack have put together a roster threatening to be one of the best and most efficient teams on both ends of the court.
Tennessee is currently fifth in the country in field goal percentage, with a 53.2% shooting percentage to start the year. That is lightyears better than some teams in the past, which could be the difference in this team being the real deal once we get to March.
There is still a lot of basketball to play, but the team looks like it is having fun. Barnes has built an efficient and effective system where players can thrive on each end of the court and develop into stars while winning many games for the Vols.