Tennessee basketball rebounds from a bad first half to defeat in-state rival Vanderbilt 81-76 in a must-win game for the Vols.
The Vols trailed by 13 points at halftime and another disappointing performance and loss was staring Tennessee in the face. All of that changed thanks to a 50-point second half performance from Tennessee's offense.
It was a tale of two halves as Tennessee's 13 point first half deficit became and 18 point second half advantage. Tennessee shot 65% from the field in the second half, 19% better than its first half shooting numbers and doubled its points in the paint from the first half.
Zakai Zeigler also came alive in the second half, scoring 22 points. The locker room leader and Chaz Lanier took off as Tennessee's offensive leaders, combining for 43 of Tennessee's 81 points in the SEC rivalry win.
The win comes on the heels of the NCAA Committee releasing its rankings for the top 16 teams in the country. Tennessee was ranked as the No. 5 team in the country, pushing the Vols out of its spot for a No. 1 seed and being replaced with Florida.
Tennessee still has an opportunity to get back into the one line and earn its first No. 1 seed in program history, but Tennessee can't suffer losses in winnable games in the final stretch of the season.
The Vols will face another top-ten team this week as their next matchup will be against No. 8 Texas A&M in Aggieland and then the Vols will finish the week on the road against LSU.