The No. 11 Tennessee Volunteers are feeling good about how they’re playing this season heading into their game with Montana on Wednesday night in Knoxville, Tenn.
Especially on defense.
In their most recent game, the Volunteers dominated Louisville 77-55 on Saturday to improve to 2-0.
A key player in the victory was Jahmai Mashack, who scored only three points but grabbed seven rebounds in displaying his versatility as a defender.
Mashack also tallied three steals to help lead Tennessee’s strong effort.
“I mean, he was just dominant,” Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said of Mashack. “And he does all the things that go into winning. And his effort was great. I thought everyone’s effort defensively was there.”
Tennessee forced Louisville to shoot only 26.7 percent from the field, and opponents are shooting only 34.8 percent against the Vols this season.
Offensively, Tennessee has shown how dangerous it can be, especially with veteran guards Zakai Zeigler and Chaz Lanier leading the way.
Zeigler scored 19 in the win over the host Cardinals, including 11 in the final 13 minutes, and is averaging 16.0 points per outing.
Lanier, a fifth-year standout, leads the team at 18.5 points per game. He scored a season-best 19 against Louisville. Felix Okpara also scored in double figures, chipping in 10 points.
Lanier told reporters after the game that the fact that Tennessee played so well on the road in a tough environment is huge for the program moving forward as it aims to contend for a title this season.
“It’s just toughness,” Lanier said. “Bottom line is it just shows how tough we are.”
Montana (2-1) dominated Northwest Indian College 94-44 on Sunday but now will face its biggest test of the year so far as it goes on the road to face a Southeastern Conference opponent.
The Grizzlies allowed their fewest points since 2021 in Sunday’s win and had a 50-26 rebounding advantage. Nine players scored for Montana, including Kai Johnson, who contributed a team-high 22 points. He is averaging a team-best 16.3 per game this season.
The Grizzlies will face their second Power Five school of the year after losing 79-48 to Oregon in their opener on Nov. 8.
Montana is feeling good about its direction but knows it’s far from the team it wants to be at this point in the season.
“We’ve had a lot of guys in and out,” Grizzlies coach Travis DeCuire said. “We’ve had multiple guys miss a lot of practices. I think we’re looking at three guys in the rotation that have missed 10 or more practices. For chemistry, for flow, that’s playing a bit into where we’re a little behind where we want to be right now.”
Matching the Volunteers won’t be easy, especially with Tennessee’s ability to knock down 3-point shots in addition to the team’s defensive toughness.
The Vols made 10 3-pointers against Louisville — out of 19 attempts — and have connected 18 times from 3-point range this season.
