NEW YORK – The University of Tennessee faced a non-conference opponent as the No. 1 men’s basketball team in the country, 75-62, at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night, defeating Miami for the first time in program history.

Fifth year guard Chaz Lanier scored a game-high 22 points in the Jimmy V Classic for top-seeded Tennessee (9-0), which trailed by just 35 seconds.

Both teams made blistering starts from 3-point range, scoring four attempts in the first six minutes and six attempts in the first eleven minutes. The Volunteers opened 4-of-6 and 6-of-11, while Miami (3-7, 0-1 ACC) was 4-7 and 6-of-12.

Tennessee built a 24-18 lead at the 9:25 mark, but the Hurricanes soon responded with seven points in 65 seconds to take a 25-24 lead with 7:57 left in the first half. The Volunteers then held Miami scoreless the rest of the half, forcing eight straight missed shots and five turnovers while scoring the final 14 points of the frame to take a 38-25 lead into halftime.

Behind a 13-6 surge early in the second half that included seven points from the sophomore forward Cade PhillipsTennessee extended its lead to 18, 53-35, with 13:04 left. This left the Hurricanes without a field goal for 4:35 minutes.

The Volunteers’ lead remained at over 15 until under nine and a half minutes remained, when Miami scored nine straight points in 1:06 to get it down to eight, 59-51, with 8:14 to play. The Hurricanes took a 63-56 lead with 5:39 left, but Tennessee closed the game with a 12-6 run (in which Lanier scored seven points) over the final 4:41 to pick up its ninth win with a lead of 13:39. Plus points on just as many occasions.

Lanier shot 8 of 15 from the floor, including 4 of 7 from beyond the arc, for his fourth 20-point performance in the last five contests. Senior striker Igor Miličić Jr.scored a total of 16 points on 6 of 11 shooting and a team-best nine rebounds. Like Miličić, senior guard Zakai Zeiglerwho played about 38 miles from his hometown of Wyandanch, NY on Long Island, also came close to a double-double with 13 points and nine assists.

Graduate student center Lynn Kidd led the Hurricanes with 14 points, including 12 in the second half, and a game-high 12 rebounds. Graduate student Nijel Pack scored 12 points on 4-of-9 shooting from long range, while redshirt junior guard AJ Staton-McCray scored 11 points.

Tennessee shot 48.1 percent (25 of 52) from the floor, including 40.0 percent (10 of 25) on three-pointers, and 83.3 percent (15 of 18) at the line. Meanwhile, Miami held a 39.3 percent margin overall (24 of 61), with a 24.2 percent margin (8 of 33) from beyond the arc.

After allowing Miami’s 6-of-12 3-point start, Tennessee forced 17 straight misses before Pack scored twice in the final four minutes.

Tennessee now travels to Champaign, Ill., where it will face Illinois, its third straight Power Five opponent, live on FOX from State Farm Center on Saturday at 5:30 p.m.

To keep up with the University of Tennessee men’s basketball team on social media, follow @Vol_Hoops on Instagram and X/Twitterand /tennesseebasketball on Facebook.

TENNESSEE VOLUNTARY AFTERMATH NOTES
• Tuesday marked the 11th game in program history, with Tennessee ranked No. 1 in the AP poll at 9-2, including 8-1 as a head coach Rick Barnes‘Term.
• The Volunteers also improved to 22-4 all-time and ranked in the top three of the AP poll, including 19-2 under Barnes.
• Tennessee remained one of the only eight undefeated teams in the country and the only school undefeated in both men’s and women’s basketball.
• The Volunteers and Hurricanes have now played five games at five different locations, with Tennessee improving its record in the all-time series to 4-1.
• Tennessee improved to 1-2 all-time in the Jimmy V Classic, including 1-1 in games at Madison Square Garden.
• The Volunteers achieved an 8-12 all-time record at Madison Square Garden, including 7-9 in neutral site meetings and 3-7 in the regular season (3-4 in neutral site contests).
• Two VFLs selected in the first round of the NBA draft, Allan Houston and Keon Johnson, were in attendance at Tuesday’s game.
• Barnes improved to 15-5 against ACC schools – based on current membership – during his tenure at Tennessee, including 14-2 against all schools except North Carolina.
• The Volunteers increased their record to 125-101 all-time against current ACC institutions, including 8-1 over the past four seasons (2021-25) and 4-0 this year.
• Tennessee is now off to a 9-0 start to a season for the seventh time in program history, including the first since 2000-01.
• As announced before the start, the Volunteers played without their fifth-year guard Darlinstone Dubar (concussion protocol), leaving them with only eight scholarship players available due to previous injuries to both second-year guards Cameron Carr and sophomore forward JP Estrella.
• At the 11:28 mark of the first half, both teams were 4 of 9 from 3-pointers, 1 of 4 from 2-pointers and had two free throw attempts (Tennessee made both while Miami hit one). ).
• After starting 6 of 12 from 3-point range, Tennessee forced Miami into misses on its final six attempts of the first half, leaving it 6 of 18 (33.3 percent) before halftime to a record of 6 of 29 (20.7 percent) over 36 minutes.
• The Volunteers held the Hurricanes without a point for 8:10 between the first and second halves.
• In nine games this year, the Volunteers led 339-48 and trailed by just 6:38 of a possible 360 ​​minutes.
• All eight of Tennessee’s wins have come by more than 13 points, including six by at least 22 points and three by at least 35 points.
• Tennessee has had a lead of more than 18 points in each of its eight contests this season – the first time it hasn’t led by at least 26 points – and still hasn’t trailed by more than three.
• The Volunteers had a halftime lead of more than nine points in eight of their nine games, seven times by double-digit points, five times by more than 12 points, four times by more than 14 points and twice by more than 23 points.
• Tennessee has allowed 35 or fewer points in every first half this season, including 29 or fewer in six and 22 or fewer in three.
• Phillips made both made (five) and attempted (six) free throws in a 3:35 span of the second half, setting a career high.
• Zeigler has now recorded one point or one assist shy of a double-double seven times in his career, in addition to a program-best eight point/assist double-doubles.
• In addition to his two double-doubles this year, Miličić has now scored either a point or a rebound shy of that mark in two more games.
• Senior security guard Jordan Gainey registered multiple blocked shots for the sixth time in his career, including his first as a Volunteer.