Zeigler and No. 1 Tennessee recover from blowout and pull away late for 74-70 win at Texas

By Canadian Press on January 11, 2025.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Zakai Zeigler scored 16 points and No. 1 Tennessee beat Texas 74-70 on Saturday in the Volunteers’ first game since a 30-point blowout loss earlier in the week at No. 8 Florida.

Jordan Gainey’s 3-pointer gave Tennessee a 66-60 lead with 2:41 to play before Zeigler scored the next six points for the Volunteers (15-1, 2-1 SEC), including a reverse layup with 59 seconds left.

Gainey and Darlinstone Dubar each scored 12 for Tennessee, which had been the nation’s last unbeaten team before the rout at Florida.

The Volunteers were in another fight against SEC newcomer Texas (11-5, 0-3). Dubar’s putback dunk tied it at 56 before his 3-pointer gave them a 61-60 lead.

Freshman Tre Johnson scored 26 points on 11-of-17 shooting for Texas, but had just one basket in the final 11 minutes for the Longhorns.

Takeaways

Tennessee: The Volunteers will fall out of the No. 1 spot in the new AP rankings on Monday. Chaz Lanier, the SEC’s top scorer at nearly 20 points per game, scored 10 in the second consecutive game well below his average.

Texas: Johnson is an electric scorer and found his touch after two poor games. But he disappeared down the stretch. Arthur Kaluma scored just four points after putting up 34 in the previous game against No. 2 Auburn.

Key moment

Dubar’s flying dunk and his 3-pointer moments later shifted all the momentum for the Volunteers.

Key stat

Tennessee dominated rebounding 41-27 and points in the paint 28-16.

Up next

Both teams play Wednesday. Tennessee hosts Georgia and Texas plays at rival No. 17 Oklahoma, which also left the Big 12 for the SEC this season.

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Jim Vertuno, The Associated Press