Zeigler scores 22 to rally No. 5 Tennessee over Vanderbilt 81-76

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Zakai Zeigler scored 22 points, all in the second half, and No. 5 Tennessee rallied from a 16-point first-half deficit to beat Vanderbilt Saturday, 81-76.

Chaz Lanieradded 21, for the Volunteers (21-5, 8-5 Southeastern Conference).

Jason Edwards led the Commodores (17-8, 5-7) with 24 points. Jaylen Carey came off the bench to score 18 before fouling out with 4:13 left in the game.

Edwards and Carey had 10 points each as Vanderbilt jumped to a 44-31 lead at halftime. The Commodores were prolific down low. They held an advantage in points in the paint (20-12).

Takeaways

Vanderbilt: Jaylen Carey has evolved into a force off the bench for the Commodores. He has scored in double figures in five of the last eight games and has proven to be productive as a rebounder. Carey was instrumental in igniting the Vanderbilt offense early against Tennessee.

Tennessee: Last year, Dalton Knecht was good enough to help the Vols through the games in which shots weren’t falling. The 2022-23 and this season have been more challenging. Even though its defense is considered among the best in the country, Tennessee hasn’t found a consistent answer to a sluggish offense — which has resulted in occasional losses.

Key moment

After trailing by as many as 16 points in the first half, Tennessee tied the game on a Zakai Zeigler 3-pointer with 9:41 left in the game.

Key stat

After being outrebounded 21-10 in the first half, Tennessee dominated the boards 20-12 in the second half.

Up next

Vanderbilt will travel to Kentucky Wednesday and Tennessee is off for the week before traveling to Texas A&M next Saturday.

___

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

By AL LESAR
Associated Press