Chaz Lanier shoots No. 2 Tennessee basketball to win vs No. 15 Wofford in March Madness
LEXINGTON, Ky. − Chaz Lanier's first NCAA Tournament resembled many games the lethal scorer played this season.
It just happened to be one of the best in Tennessee basketball's March Madness history.
The Vols guard smoothly popped out for 3-pointers. He slunk into midrange jumpers. He was at his best and the Vols are marching into the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
No. 2 seed Tennessee downed pesky No. 15 seed Wofford 77-62 on Thursday at Rupp Arena in their March Madness opener. The Vols (28-7) will face the winner of No. 7 seed UCLA (22-10) and No. 10 seed Utah State (26-7) on Saturday. The game time and TV designation have yet to be announced.
Lanier had 29 points, the third-most in an an NCAA Tournament game in UT history. He made six 3-pointers to tie the UT NCAA Tournament record.
UT's four senior guards combined for 57 points against Wofford (19-16) to get Tennessee to the second round for the fourth straight season. Zakai Zeigler had 12 points and 12 assists.
Lanier opened up the NCAA Tournament like he opened up the SEC Tournament with a high-scoring game.
He was in the middle of a 12-0 run that vaulted the Vols to a double-digit first-half lead. The All-American hit a pair of midrange jumpers then a 3-pointer to extend Tennessee's lead to 22-8 midway through the half.
The senior jolted Tennessee's offense quickly in the second half each time Wofford made a push. The Terriers got within 10 points four times in the first eight minutes. Lanier made a field goal to restore Tennessee's lead after three of the four times.
Lanier now has the second-most 3-pointers in a season in Tennessee history behind Chris Lofton, who made 118 in the 2007-08 season. Lanier has 116.
CHAZ: How Tennessee's Chaz Lanier developed the fastest shot in college basketball
Tennessee has put an emphasis on rebounding in the past month and dialed it up after Florida dominated the Vols in the SEC Tournament title game.
It needs to keep putting an emphasis on it after Wofford gave the Vols problems rebounding. The Terriers and Vols both had 31 rebounds after the Terriers outrebounded Tennessee 11-3 to open the second half.
Wofford had 11 offensive rebounds.
Bishop Boswell played four first-half minutes and scored Tennessee's only field goal in the final 6:45 before halftime.
The freshman drove late in the shot clock and spun for a layup. It was his first field goal since Nov. 21 against Virginia in the Baha Mar Championship. Boswell snuck in and swiped an offensive rebound away from Wofford shortly after scoring.
Lanier hit a 3-pointer at the 6:45 mark after which Boswell scored and UT made five free throws before the half.
Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.com and follow him on X @ByMikeWilson or Bluesky @bymikewilson.bsky.social. If you enjoy Mike's coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Chaz Lanier shoots No. 2 Tennessee to win vs No. 15 Wofford in March Madness
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