NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The time has come for postseason basketball.
Tennessee basketball begins its journey in Nashville with the 13th-seeded Texas Longhorns in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament.
Texas enters its third game in the last three days, coming in off a double overtime thriller to defeat Texas A&M. Meanwhile, the Vols are playing their opener of the week after doing enough during the regular season to secure a top-four seed.
Follow along for live updates from The Daily Beacon.
FINAL: Tennessee 83, Texas 72
3:43 2H: Zakai Zeigler makes two tough shots to keep Tennessee ahead by double digits.
7:25 2H: Texas continues to try and claw back into the game but Tennessee is doing enough to hold off the Longhorns. The Vols, however, are in a three-minute drought without a made field goal.
Tennessee 67, Texas 56
13:47 2H: Zakai Zeigler gets the steal and a layup on the other end to extend the Vols’ lead to double digits. Rodney Terry wants a timeout.
Tennessee 55, Texas 45
15:39 2H: Tennessee continues to hold the lead at the first media timeout.
Tennessee 49, Texas 44
17:43 2H: Zakai Zeigler dished his fourth assist of the game, putting him in sole possession of the Tennessee single season assist record.
HALFTIME: Tennessee 41, Texas 38
Tennessee leads at the break in large contribution to Lanier and Mashack. The pair have combined for 27 of the Vols’ points, while Mashack’s defensive efforts are strong.
1:04 1H: Jordan Gainey is forced to throw up a shot with the shot clock expiring and it misses everything. Tennessee maintains the lead by a small margin as halftime nears.
Tennessee 39, Texas 36
2:57 1H: Texas is fighting to stay around, but Tennessee is doing just enough to hold a competitive edge. Jahmai Mashack is stuffing the stat sheet with six points, four assists and three rebounds.
Tennessee 37, Texas 33
7:18 1H: Felix Okpara emphatically blocks a shot on one end and Igor Milicic Jr. gets fouled on the other as a timeout brings a break. Tennessee leads by six with free throws coming.
Tennessee 28, Texas 22
11:51 1H: Tennessee maintains a four point lead at the second media timeout. The Vols are shooting 66.7% from the field while the Longhorns follow with 45.5%.
Tennessee 17, Texas 14
13:29 1H: Lanier drills a step back jumper in the face of his defender to push his point total to double digits.
14:38 1H: Intense defensive action has the margin at four points at the first media timeout. Tennessee is shooting 56% from the field.
Tennessee 11, Texas 7
15:23 1H: Lanier buries a three to put the Vols ahead 11-7.
15:58 1H: Lanier puts a jumper down and is up to six points to lead all scorers.
18:59 1H: Chaz Lanier gets the basket to fall for the first points of the game.
20:00 1H: Tennessee wins the opening tip.
STARTERS
Tennessee: Zakai Zeigler, Chaz Lanier, Jahmai Mashack, Igor Milicic Jr., Felix Okpara
Texas: Tre Johnson, Jordan Pope, Tramon Mark, Kadin Shedrick, Arthur Kaluma
A quick look at the Longhorns
Texas finished with a lackluster record in the regular season, but it has already proved to be dangerous through two postseason games. True freshman Tre Johnson has been the leader of the Horns, posting 20.1 points per game across his rookie campaign. Against Vanderbilt on Wednesday, Johnson posted 19 points to then follow with 20 in the win over Texas A&M on Thursday.
To aid Johnson, Tramon Mark and Jordan Pope have been crucial scorers as well over the two-game stretch in Nashville. Mark posted 19 points on Wednesday and 15 points on Thursday to help lead the quarterfinal push. Pope responded with 14 points and 13 points in the same timeframe. Pope was crucial in the double overtime win to ensure the Longhorns would be playing on Friday.
Tennessee and Texas have already played once this season. It went down in January, allowing the Vols to steal a win on the road early in conference play, 74-70. Darlinstone Dubar had his best game of the season with 12 points and six rebounds in 17 minutes on the court.
“We got to defend, we got to rebound, we have to take care of the basketball,” assistant coach Justin Gainey said. “Those are the three things, regardless of who we play, we have to do. But our guys will be amped up, they’ll be prepared, they’ll be ready to rock and roll.”
Award recipients
Tennessee basketball received multiple postseason honors. Zakai Zeigler walked away with three recognitions, landing on All-SEC first team, All-Defensive team and SEC Defensive Player of the Year honors. Chaz Lanier landed on the All-SEC second team alongside an SEC Newcomer of the Year selection, while Jahmai Mashack picked up an All-Defensive team nod.
