Over the first 20 minutes of action in Knoxville, Tennessee was far from its best self. Mizzou had taken advantage, leading for much of the early going against the Vols.
Then, Tennessee found its final form again.
Its defense became suffocating. Its offense dominated in the paint. While the Vols didn’t thump Mizzou like they thumped Florida on Saturday, their air-tight attack paved the way to an 85-81 victory.
The second half featured a quartet of Tennessee’s top players tearing up the hardwood. Back from absence against Florida, Zakai Zeigler was doing a lot of swishing (21 points) and dishing (eight assists), the latter of which was common for the SEC leader in assists per game.