Tennessee basketball announced it would be a force last season in its charity exhibition against Michigan State.
It announced it has plenty of work to do Sunday in this season’s charity exhibition against Indiana.
The No. 12 Vols had a slow shooting start and suffered through an unpleasant offensive outing in their final regular-season tune-up. They lost 66-62 to No. 18 Indiana at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center.
Zakai Zeigler led Tennessee with 13 points. Indiana went on a 10-0 run late in the second half to pull away and UT trailed for the final 6:21.
The Vols open the regular season Nov. 4 against Gardner-Webb.
Chaz Lanier is not shy about shooting the ball
Chaz Lanier let it fly often in his Tennessee debut but didn’t have much to show for it. The North Florida transfer was 3-for-16 shooting, including 2-for-12 on 3-pointers. He had 10 points.
Lanier averaged 19.7 points and shot 44.4% on 3-pointers last season. He came off the bench while Jordan Gainey started alongside Zeigler and Jahmai Mashack at guard.
Tennessee got a little bit of clarity at the four but needs more
Igor Milicic Jr. started at the four for Tennessee, which was expected. Cade Phillips was first off the bench ahead of Hofstra transfer Darlinstone Dubar, which was a little bit unexpected.
Milicic settled in early in the second half with a pair of baseline drives. He had eight points and eight rebounds. Phillips was Tennessee’s most efficient rebounder but also had turnover woes. Dubar didn’t have much of an impact in limited minutes.
That position remains the most unsettled on the roster heading into the regular season.
Tennessee settled for 3-pointers in the first half
The Vols were 3-point happy, shooting five in the first three minutes. They didn’t calm down in the first half.
UT was 1-for-15 beyond the arc to start the game before Gainey and Zeigler made back-to-back 3-pointers in a 45-second window. Then it resumed missing and finished the first half 3-for-20. IU missed all 11 3-point attempts in the first half.
ROSTER: What does Tennessee basketball’s roster look like? A look at the Vols lineup vs Indiana
Tennessee was much better early in the second half, making four of its first seven attempts. It finished 8-for-35 on 3-pointers. Zeigler was 2-for-10.
Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.com and follow him on Twitter @ByMikeWilson. If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it.
