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Rick Barnes says Tennessee has had its best offensive halves in last 2 games
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
Rick Barnes was pleased with his Tennessee team’s offensive output against Oklahoma on Saturday during a 70-52 win. The Volunteers shot 60.4% from the floor, helped by a 45-point first half that was a carryover from their 57-point second half against Mizzou on Wednesday.
“We really put together two — the second half of the Missouri game then here today — maybe two of our best halves offensively all year,” Barnes said after Saturday’s game.
Unsurprisingly, Chaz Lanier and Zakai Zeigler were at the middle of the action for the Vols. The duo combined for 38 points. Lanier led all scorers with 21.
“Certainly Chaz has proven he can make some shots,” Barnes said. “I thought at the end he actually had some better looks and he missed, where the ones earlier were contested. It’s a crazy game sometimes. It really is.”
Zeigler wasn’t perfect, but close to it. He shot 6-of-8 from the floor, including 3-of-4 from three-point range, and dished a game-high 9 assists.
“I thought that Zakai has been really good the last couple games, where he’s really managed the game well for us,” Barnes said.
Tennessee, winners of 3 straight and now 20-4 overall (7-4 SEC), travels to Kentucky on Tuesday.
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
