Chaz Lanier, Tennessee Basketball Dispose of Mississippi State in Bounce-Back Win

Tennessee basketball got a huge win over Mississippi State thanks to Chaz Lanier’s big night.

Jan 21, 2025; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Volunteers guard Chaz Lanier (2) shoots a three-point basket against the Mississippi State Bulldogs during the first half at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-Imagn Images | Randy Sartin-Imagn Images

No. 6 Tennessee bounced back in a big way from its heartbreaking loss to Vanderbilt with a 68-56 win over No. 14 Missippi State on a freezing-cold Tuesday night in Knoxville.

The Vols (17-2, 4-2 SEC) were led in scoring by Chaz Lanier, who had 23 points with five made 3-pointers. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs (15-4, 3-3) could not buy a basket in the first half and then could not rally back in the second half against a motivated Tennessee team. The Vols held Mississippi State to their lowest point total of the season.

Zakai Zeigler orchestrated things as he always does with nine points and seven assists. He also had five steals to lead a great defensive effort from the Vols. Jordan Gainey was solid off the bench with 8 points, and Jahmai Mashack had 10. Felix Okpara had nine points and 12 rebounds in another solid performance for him in conference play.

Lanier opened the scoring with a 3-pointer from the right wing and then Mashack hit a sweeping layup to make it 5-0 Vols. Lanier hit his second 3-ball of the day to force an early Mississippi State timeout with 17:15 to go in the first half.

The Vols’ defense was stifling to start and the Bulldogs were 1-12 from the floor with 12 minutes to play. Igor Millicic Jr. hit a 3-pointer that put the Vols up 15-4. Zeigler was starting to get rolling with back-to-back steals, one of which led to a highlight play layup at the rim by the Vols’ star point guard.

Lanier’s hot first half saw him hit four 3-pointers, while Zeigler dominated in his own way with four steals in the first half. Mississippi State struggled mightily to score, thanks in large part to suffocating defense by Tennessee. The halftime score was 34-16 after a Mashack jumper closed the half out.

The second half did not start well for Tennessee with Missippi State going on an 8-0 run in the first two minutes. Zeigler ended that run with a layup to make it 36-24. The Bulldogs were only down seven points after Josh Hubbard cut to the basket for a layup.

Okpara hit his first 3-pointer of the season as the shot clock expired and stopped some Bulldog momentum. The Vols took that momentum and turned it into a nice run to lead 50-33 with 10:29 left after a Mashack corner 3-pointer bounced off the front rim and in.

Mashack hit another 3-pointer from the same corner to put him in double figures for the game. Lanier kept pouring it on and was up to 23 points after another midrange to make it 64-45 with four minutes left as Tennessee would not let the Bulldogs back in the game.

The Vols held serve the rest of the way to cruise to a comfortable win over a quality top 15 opponent.

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