No. 11 Tennessee basketball and No. 13 Baylor square off for the first time ever on Friday night in The Bahamas. The Vols and Bears will play in the Baha Mar Championship game inside of Nassau’s Baha Mar Convention Center at 9 p.m. ET on the CBS Sports Network to conclude the two-day event. Chris Sylvester (play-by-play), Kyle Macy (analyst) and Sam Hyman (reporter) will have the call.
Baylor is the second of two teams on Tennessee’s non-conference schedule it has never played before, in addition to Montana, which UT beat, 92-57, on Nov. 13. The Bears were picked to finish fourth in the Big 12 preseason poll after going 24-11 (11-7) and, for the fifth time in a row, advancing to at least the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Tennessee is looking to begin the season 6-0 for the second time in five years, joining the 2020-21 team that started 7-0.
GoVols247’s Tennessee basketball beat writer Ben McKee is not in attendance for Friday night’s matchup between the Vols and Bears, but is following along from Knoxville. You can follow along with his coverage for live score updates and conversation in the link below.
***LIVE UPDATES: No. 13 Baylor vs. No. 11 Tennessee basketball***
Tennessee beat Virginia, 64-42, on Thursday night in its first game of the two-game event. UT outscored UVA in the second half, 42-21, to extend its winning streak on the young season to five.
Senior guard Chaz Lanier led the second-half surge, scoring 18 of his game-high 26 points in the final frame. The North Florida transfer scored UT’s first 11 points, and 13 of the first 17 points, to extend Tennessee’s lead to as many as 26 after only leading by one at the break. UT would prove to lead for nearly 33 minutes in the win.
Lanier hit back-to-back threes to begin the second half. Nine of his 11 straight points to start the frame were courtesy of the three-point line, as he shot 4-of-8 from distance in 17 minutes.
In total, Lanier finished 10-of-23 from the field and 6-of-12 from three. He added four rebounds — two on the offensive glass — and a steal. His plus/minus of +29 in 30 minutes was the second-highest on the team.
Baylor wins in double OT
Baylor beat No. 22 St. John’s, 99-98, on a three at the buzzer in double-overtime to advance to the event’s championship contest. After the Red Storm’s Zuby Ejiofor missed a pair of free throws that could have extended their lead, Norchad Omier grabbed the rebound and threw a quick outlet to Jeremy Roach, who pulled up on the right wing and nailed the game-winner.
The Bears trailed by as many as 18 in the first half. They took their first lead with less than three minutes left in regulation. Baylor finished 15-of-29 from three, including 10-of-18 in the second half and two overtime periods.
Freshman Rob Wright and Cal transfer Jalen Celestine were both 4-of-5 from 3-point range and scored 17 and 14 points, respectively. St. John’s also struggled keeping Baylor off the offensive glass, giving up 22 points on 16 offensive boards.
