NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The fourth-seeded University of Tennessee men’s basketball team claimed an 83-72 victory Friday afternoon over No. 13-seeded Texas in its first game of the SEC Tournament.

No. 8/6 Tennessee (26-6, 12-6 SEC) never trailed at Bridgestone Arena on its way to locking up a semifinal berth behind a game-high 23 points from fifth-year guard Chaz Lanier, back in his hometown.

Lanier poured in 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting in the first 8:46 to help the Volunteers build a 21-14 advantage. Texas (19-15, 6-12 SEC) answered with a 6-0 spurt in 78 seconds to make it a one-point game, 21-20, with 9:10 left in the frame, but Tennessee soon scored six straight points of its own to again go up by seven, 29-22, with 7:18 on the timer.

Lanier ultimately finished the half with 19 points on an 8-of-11 clip and helped his team take a 41-38 lead into the locker room. The Longhorns shot 15-of-27 (55.6 percent) from the floor, 4-of-8 (50.0 percent) on 3-pointers and a perfect 4-of-4 at the line in the opening 20 minutes. Tennessee, though, had an 8-4 margin on the offensive glass that led to a 13-5 edge in second-chance points, plus had with twice as many points at the line, shooting 8-of-11 (72.7 percent).

Senior guard Zakai Zeigler, scoreless in nine foul-plagued first half minutes, had six points and an assist—the latter of which gave him both the Tennessee single-season record and 700 in his career—in the first 3:03 after the intermission to put the Volunteers back up by seven, 49-42.

Tennessee held Texas without a made field goal for a stretch of 4:40 early in the second half, including scoring seven straight points in 79 seconds, and built its lead all the way to 14, 61-47, with 12:23 to go. It stretched the margin as high as 15, 65-60, with 9:54 remaining

The Volunteers retained a 14-point cushion, 75-61, with under 4:15 to go and a 13-point advantage, 78-65, with under 1:45 on the timer. The Longhorns went on a 7-1 run to make it 79-72 with 39 ticks left, but Tennessee scored the last four points from the line to register its second consecutive double-digit and its 19th of the year.

Lanier finished 9-of-15 from the floor his 13th 20-point showing of the season. Zeigler scored all of his 19 points in the second half, as he shot 6-of-7 in the final 20 minutes. The Long Island, N.Y., native posted a game-best six assists and two steals.

Senior guard Jahmai Mashack excelled all around with 13 points, a co-game-best seven rebounds, a season-high-tying four assists and one steal. He shot 7-of-8 from the line, with both marks the second-best of his career. Senior forward Igor Miličić Jr., totaled 12 points, equaled Mashack with seven boards and paced all players with three blocks.

Graduate forward Kadin Shedrick had 14 points to co-lead the Longhorns, making all five of his field goals and all but one of his five free-throw attempts. He led the team with six rebounds in the setback. Junior guard Jordan Pope also scored 14 points for Texas, while the Volunteers—buoyed by a stellar defensive performance from Mashack—held the SEC’s leading scorer, freshman guard Tre Johnson, to 11 points on 3-of-8 shooting.

Tennessee shot 27-of-54 (50.0 percent) from the floor, tied its season high in made free throws (24) and allowed just six fast-break points.

The Volunteers return to the Bridgestone Arena court Saturday at 1 p.m. ET to take on third-ranked, top-seeded Auburn in the SEC Tournament semifinals.

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
• Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes upped his career win total to 832, passing Cliff Ellis for sole possession of the No. 10 spot on the all-time wins list (min. 10 years in Division I).
• The Volunteers improved to 75-58 all-time in the SEC Tournament, including 72-57 in regulation, 65-53 at neutral sites, 46-18 in openers, 12-7 under Barnes and 1-0 versus Texas.
• In addition, Tennessee now possesses a 25-19 mark in SEC Tournament games in its home state, including a 16-13 ledger in Nashville.
• The Volunteers improved to 7-4 in their all-time series with Texas, including 6-2 in the last eight matchups.
• Friday marked the fifth time Tennessee and Texas have met in the last five seasons—they had not played since Nov. 24, 2007—with this the fourth different location, joining Austin (1-1), Charlotte (1-0) and Knoxville (1-0).
• Over the course of those five series contests, the Volunteers are now 4-1, including a perfect 4-0 in the four meetings since the start of the 2022-23 season.
• Tennessee has now eliminated Texas in a postseason tournament in back-to-back years, as it defeated the Longhorns, 62-58, in the 2024 NCAA Tournament Round of 32.
• Barnes, who served as the head coach at Texas for 17 years (1998-2015), is now 6-3 all-time in Tennessee/Texas matchups, as he is 4-1 with the Volunteers after going 2-2 with the Longhorns.
• Tennessee has reached the 26-win mark for the eighth time ever, including the fifth under Rick (all in the last eight years) and the third in the last four years.
• The Volunteers’ prior 26-win campaigns are as follows: 27-9 in 2023-24, 27-8 in 2021-22, 31-6 in 2018-19, 26-9 in 2017-18, 31-5 in 2007-08 and 26-7 in 1999-2000.
 • Texas did not have a player with double-figure points until 30-plus minutes into the contest, when Johnson reached 10 points on a made free throw with 9:54 remaining.
• Shedrick is the second player to make five field goals without a miss against Tennessee this year, joining Kentucky’s Koby Brea, who did so Jan. 28.
• The Volunteers have held a halftime advantage in 22 of their 32 outings this season, including a margin of seven-plus points 13 times, double digits 11 times, 12-plus 10 times, 14-plus eight times, 20-plus four times and 23-plus thrice.
• Friday marked just the sixth time in 32 outings this season the Volunteers conceded 36-plus points before the break.
• The Volunteers have held a lead of 15-plus points in 19 of their 32 contests this season, including leading by 18-plus in 17 of them, 20-plus in 15, 26-plus in 11 and 32-plus in five.
• Nineteen of Tennessee’s 25 wins are by double digits, with 17 by 12-plus points, nine by at least 20, four by at least 35 and two by 40-plus.
• The Volunteers’ 24 made free throws matched their season high, set Nov. 17, 2024, on 33 attempts versus Austin Peay.
• Tennessee’s 35 free throws passed that 33 mark against Austin Peay for its season best and marked its first time reaching that number since a 27-of-35 showing on Feb. 28, 2024, versus Auburn.
• The last game Tennessee played in which it never trailed came was a Jan. 21, 2025, home victory over Mississippi State, 68-56.
• For the second time in their last three outings, the Volunteers held their opponent to 0-of-8 long-range shooting in the second half.
• On his fourth assist of the game, a pass to Mashack with 17:43 left in the second half, Zeigler reached 228 on the season to break the program single-season record of 227 set by Rodney Woods in 1974-75.
• That same assist by Zeigler also made him the fourth player in the SEC history to reach 700 assists in a career, joining Tennessee’s Johnny Darden (715 from 1975-79), Arkansas’ Kareem Reid (749 from 1995-99) and Ole Miss’ Sean Tuohy (830 from 1978-82).
• Zeigler’s two steals pushed his total this year to 60, marking the 15th 60-steal campaign in program history and tied for the No. 11 spot on the program’s single-season leaderboard.
• Zeigler and Mashack improved to 105-34 (.755) as Volunteers, passing Quinn Cannington and Wayne Chism, who went 104-38 (.732) from 2006-10, for the most victories by a four-year player in Tennessee history.
• Mashack’s 13 points eclipsed his previous season best of 11, set both March 1 versus Alabama and Jan. 15 against Georgia.
• The 13 points for Mashack tied for the fourth-highest total of his career and marked the fifth time he reached that figure.
• The only prior appearance as a collegian in which Mashack had seven-plus made free throws and/or eight-plus attempts came in an 8-of-10 showing Nov. 17, 2024, versus Austin Peay.
• Mashack previously recorded four assists twice this season: Nov. 27, 2024, against Austin Peay and Feb. 1 versus Florida.
• Lanier’s two made 3-pointers increased his 2024-25 total to 107, moving him past Chris Lofton (106 in 2006-07) for third place on the program’s single-season list and making him the only player other than Lofton with a top-three spot.
• Lanier recorded 20-plus points for the 28th time in his career, including the 13th in his lone campaign at Tennessee.
• Lanier eclipsed the 1,500-point mark as a collegian, the second active Volunteer to do so, alongside senior guard Jordan Gainey.
• Sophomore forward Cade Phillips grabbed six rebounds, tied for his third-most as a collegian and his 10th time reaching five-plus.
• Phillips pulled down five offensive rebounds, tying his mark set Nov. 27, 2024, versus UT Martin for the highest mark of his career.