LEXINGTON, Ky. – The second-seeded University of Tennessee men’s basketball team defeated seventh-seeded UCLA, 67-58, Saturday night at Rupp Arena to advance to the Sweet 16 for the third consecutive season, a program first.

Sixth-ranked Tennessee (29-7, 12-6 SEC) led for the final 22-plus minutes in its first-ever victory over the Bruins, extending its margin as high as 19 in a commanding decision. Fifth-year guard Chaz Lanier, who set a new program single-season record for made 3-pointers, led all scorers with 20 points.

The Volunteers, who trailed UCLA (22-11, 13-7 B1G) by four through four minutes, missed their first five field-goal attempts during a 1-of-9 start, but then connected on four of their next five to take a 17-14 edge with 10:39 left in the opening frame. They followed that stretch with five consecutive misses during a 4:27 scoreless streak, as the Bruins scored six in a row to go in front by three.

Tennessee then made two shots in 18 seconds to go up, 21-20, with 5:57 left before the break. After a 3-pointer by the Bruins at the other end, the Volunteers scored 11 of the next 13 points to go up by a then-game-best seven, 32-25, with 27 ticks on the first-half clock. That remained the score as the sides entered the locker room, as Tennessee held the Bruins without a point for the final 3:21 of the stanza.

Lanier led all players with 12 points at the break; six came from behind the 3-point line, another three came from a 3-pointer attempt on which he was fouled and the last three were on a transition three-point play to close the first-half scoring. The Volunteers notched a 9-4 advantage on the offensive glass through 20 minutes, leading to a 9-2 lead in second-chance points.

Tennessee opened the second-half scoring on a three-point play by senior guard Zakai Zeigler to make it an 11-0 run across 2:52 of action, dating to the last 2:23 of the opening session. That pushed the margin to 10, 35-25, just 29 seconds into the frame. The Bruins countered by sandwiching a pair of 3-pointers around a Tennessee basket to get within six, 37-31, with 17:44 to play.

The Volunteers, though, responded with three straight long-range shots of their own—the first gave Lanier the record—in just 1:53 to go in front by 15 points, 46-31, with 14:14 left. That came during a span of 3:51 during which Tennessee forced five missed field goals and did not concede a point. After the Bruins snapped their skid, the Volunteers held them scoreless for another 3:05, as they allowed just two points in 6:56.

Tennessee stretched its lead all the way to a game-high 19 points, 58-39, with 7:05 remaining. The lead held at 19 with 4:01 to go, at which point the Bruins rattled off a 6-0 run in 46 seconds to make it 61-48 with 3:15 left, but senior guard Jahmai Mashack drilled a 3-pointer just 24 seconds later to effectively ice the victory. The Bruins did score 10 of the last 13 points in the last 1:44 to make it a nine-point closing margin after Tennessee led by double digits for nearly 15 consecutive minutes in the thorough victory.

Lanier, who became the eighth Volunteer with multiple 20-point showings in NCAA Tournament action and the sixth to achieve the feat in back-to-back contests, went 4-of-5 from 3-point range and made all four of his free throws. He added four rebounds, two assists and one steal in the Round of 32 triumph.

Zeigler totaled 15 points, a game-high six assists to tie the SEC single-season record (260), a game-best three steals and a perfect 5-of-5 free-throw clip. Fellow senior guard Jordan Gainey scored 13 points and dished out three assists.

Junior guard Skyy Clark paced the Bruins with 18 points, shooting 4-of-8 beyond the arc and 4-of-4 at the line, while the junior forward Tyler Bilodeau had 15 points. No other player had even eight-plus points and no one on the roster pulled down greater than five rebounds.

The Volunteers shot 42.9 percent (21-of-49) from the field, 50.0 percent (11-of-22) beyond the arc and 87.5 percent (14-of-16) at the stripe. They held UCLA to a 37.0 percent (20-of-54) clip on field goals, including a 30.4 percent (7-of-23) ledger from long range.

Tennessee will take on either third-seeded, No. 18/21-ranked Kentucky or sixth-seeded Illinois in the Sweet 16. Action is slated for Friday at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, with the game time and TV network designation still to be determined,

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

TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS POSTGAME NOTES
• Saturday’s game, initially scheduled to begin at 9:40 p.m., officially tipped off at 9:53 p.m.
• Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes upped his career win total to 835, remaining tied with John Calipari for the ninth-most all-time (min. 10 years in Division I) and for the most among active coaches.
• Barnes also moved his career NCAA Tournament record to 32-28, good for the sixth-most victories of any active Division I head coach and the second-most in the SEC.
• This is the 10th time Barnes has led his team to the Sweet 16, including the fourth in seven NCAA Tournament appearances—all in the last six events, since 2019—at Tennessee.
• The Volunteers improved to 30-27 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, including 26-25 in regulation, 10-8 in the second round, 11-6 under Barnes, 2-1 in Kentucky, 2-0 in Lexington and 1-0 against UCLA.
• Tennessee is now 10-4 as a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament, as well as 3-2 against No. 7 seeds, 13-21 versus singles-digit seeds and 25-11 against lower seeds.
• Tennessee now has a three-year streak of reaching the Sweet 16, the first such occurrence in program history.
• The Volunteers are one of two teams, alongside Houston, to already clinch a Sweet 16 berth for at lest the third season in a row, while just two others—Alabama and Connecticut—can join that list Sunday.
• Saturday marked just the second all-time meeting between Tennessee and UCLA, joining a 103-89 triumph for the eighth-ranked Bruins over the seventh-ranked Volunteers on Jan. 30, 1977, in Atlanta.
• Tennessee improved to 36-44 all-time against current Big Ten members, including 9-8 in Barnes’ 10-year tenure.
• Barnes upped his career record versus the current Big Ten membership to 42-40, including 4-1 against UCLA.
• Tennessee has reached the 29-win mark for the third time ever, including the second in Barnes’ tenure, with the 2024-25 campaign joining 2018-19 (31-6) and 2007-08 (31-5).
• The Volunteers now have 200 wins over the last eight seasons (2017-25), one of just eight schools at that mark in that time period, alongside Houston (240), Gonzaga (239), Duke (217), Kansas (212), Purdue (206), Auburn (200) and Saint Mary’s (200).
• Tennessee missed its first five field-goal attempts, scoring its first four points at the line, before a second-chance 3-pointer by Lanier at the 15:52 mark.
• The two sides combined for four personal fouls—two each way—in the opening 72 seconds, as well as for eight—five on UCLA—in 4:38.
• The Volunteers went on to enter the first-half bonus with 6:27 left before the intermission and the double-bonus with 40 seconds on the timer, while UCLA entered the former with 3:55 to go and did not reach the second.
• After not allowing a point for the final 3:21 of the first half, Tennessee did not concede any for the first 50 seconds of the second, good for a span of 4:11.
• Tennessee has conceded 35 or fewer first-half points in 29 of its 36 contests thus far, including 29 or fewer on 17 occasions and 23 or fewer eight times.
• The Volunteers have held a halftime advantage in 24 of their 36 outings this season, including a margin of seven-plus points 15 times, double digits 11 times, 12-plus 10 times, 14-plus eight times, 20-plus four times and 23-plus thrice.
• The Volunteers have held a lead of 15-plus points in 21 of their 36 contests this season, including leading by 18-plus in 19 of them, 20-plus in 15, 26-plus in 11 and 32-plus in five.
• The six assists for Zeigler extended his total this year to 260, matching Ole Miss’ Sean Tuohy (1979-80) for the most in a single season in SEC history.
• Zeigler’s six assists also increased his career total in NCAA Tournament play to 56, over twice as many as second-place Bert Bertelkamp (27) on the Tennessee’s leaderboard.
• Zeigler’s three steals upped his 2024-25 figure to 69, moving him from co-seventh all the way to fourth on the Tennessee single-season list.
• The 15 points for Zeigler increased his career count to 1,533, passing Jordan McRae (1,521 from 2010-24) for the No. 19 spot on the program’s all-time leaderboard.
• With his 136th appearance in a Tennessee uniform, Zeigler tied Josh Richardson (2011-25) for sixth-most in program history.
• Zeigler’s 38 minutes increased his career total to 3,961, surpassing Dale Ellis (1979-83) for the seventh-most in Tennessee history.
• The four 3-pointers for Lanier increased his 2024-25 tally to 120, moving him past Chris Lofton (118 in 2007-08) for the single-season program record.
• Lanier made his first two 3-pointers of the night and tied the record on a shot with 12:55 left on the first-half clock and broke it with 16:07 remaining in the second half.
• The four made 3-pointers to extend Lanier’s total this year to 120 also moved him from No. 10 all the way to sixth on the SEC single-season leaderboard, as he passed Kentucky’s Jodie Meeks (117 in 2008-09), South Carolina’s Jamel Bradley (117 in 2001-02), Florida’s Michael Frazier (118 in 2013-14) and the aforementioned Lofton.
• Lanier is the eighth Volunteer with multiple 20-point showings in NCAA Tournament action, joining Dale Ellis (three), Ernie Grunfeld, Reggie Johnson (three), Dalton Knecht (three), Chris Lofton (four), Jordan McRae (three) and Ron Widby.
• Just five prior Volunteers have scored 20-plus points in back-to-back same-season NCAA Tournaments, as Lanier has: Knecht (2024), McRae (2014), Lofton (three in 2007), Johnson (1980) and Widby (1967).
• Lanier reached 20 points for the 30th time in his career, half of which are during his lone season at Tennessee.
• Mashack has now appeared in eight NCAA Tournament victories, breaking a tie with Wayne Chism for the most by a single player in Tennessee history.
• In addition, Mashack is the second Volunteer to play in 11 NCAA Tournament games, alongside Chism, who did so from 2006-07 to 2009-10.
• Junior forward Felix Okpara, who co-led all players with seven rebounds, blocked one shot in the win to up his 2024-25 total to 61, tying Grant Williams (2016-17) for the fifth-most in a single campaign in Tennessee history.