At the Buzzer: Indiana 66, Tennessee 62
Quick thoughts on a 66-62 win at Tennessee:
How it happened
It was an ugly start to Sunday’s exhibition on Sunday afternoon at the Food City Center in Knoxville. Indiana turned it over on its first four possessions. Fortunately for the Hoosiers, the Vols also got off to a rough start and scored just two points over the first four-plus minutes of game action. IU found its footing after the sloppiness to start and built an 8-2 lead by the 16:16 mark. That would be the largest lead for either team over the first 20 minutes. The Hoosiers and Vols combined to shoot just 3-for-31 from the perimeter in a first half that also featured three technical fouls. Point guard Myles Rice was the clear bright spot for Indiana. The Washington State transfer totaled 10 points over 16 first-half minutes. Indiana trailed 26-25 by intermission despite scoring just .641 points per possession.
The scoring picked up to start the second half. By the first media timeout at the 15:16 mark, Tennessee’s lead was 41-37. The Vols went 6-for-8 from the field before the break and Indiana was 4-for-7, including a pair of 3-pointers. The Tennessee lead remained at four – 48-44 – by the under 12 media timeout as the teams continued to trade buckets. Mackenzie Mgbako, who went scoreless in the first half, had 10 points in the first 7:15 of the second half. By the under eight media timeout, Tennessee’s lead remained at four at 54-50.
The Hoosiers took the lead at 55-54 on a Malik Reneau 3-pointer with 6:21 left and extended it to three at 57-54 on another Reneau bucket with 5:47 remaining. A 3-point play by Reneau stretched the IU lead to 60-54 with 4:17 to play. After the Vols got within one at 60-59, Rice’s jumper from the left wing gave IU a 62-59 lead with 1:38 left. After Zakai Zeigler split a pair of free throws, Rice found Reneau for a dunk with 1:02 left to give IU a 64-60 advantage. Zeigler hit two free throws to make it 64-62 Indiana with 33.8 seconds to go. Tennessee fouled Rice, who hit one of two free throws to make it 65-62. Zeigler missed a 3-pointer on Tennessee’s next possession and the Vols had to foul Rice, who made one of two free throws to make it 66-62 with 10.4 seconds left. Tennessee turned the ball over on its final possession and IU dribbled out the clock for the exhibition win.
Standout performers
Rice and Reneau were the clear standouts for the Hoosiers. IU’s new point guard finished with 20 points and four assists. Reneau, a junior, led the Hoosiers in scoring with 21 points and also had eight rebounds.
Statistic that stands out
Indiana held Tennessee to just 30.5 percent shooting.
Final IU individual statistics
Assembly Call postgame show
(Photo credit: IU Athletics)
Filed to: Tennessee Volunteers