Western Carolina Catamounts at Tennessee Volunteers

Lanier scores 19 as No. 1 Tennessee routs Western Carolina 84-36

The Volunteers (11-0) tied for the third-best start in program history. Jordan Gainey scored 17, Darlinstone Dubar added 13 points and Zakai Zeigler just missed a triple-double with 10 points, 10 rebounds and 9 assists.

The Catamounts (3-7), who struggled offensively after leading 9-3 in the first few minutes of the game, were led by Bernard Pelote with 10 points.

Takeaways Western Carolina: Early season lopsided losses to Florida State and Marquette, and an impressive showing against Wake Forest, didn’t help prepare the Catamounts for the buzzsaw they ran into in Knoxville. The start of the Southern Conference season against Furman on New Year’s Day will be welcomed.

Tennessee: Defense is a priority for Tennessee. The Vols have set 64 points as their defensive goal. So far, they have kept opponents at or under that mark nine of 11 times. Only Syracuse (which scored 70 points) and Austin Peay (68) have exceeded it.

Key moment Tennessee trailed 9-3 early in the game. The Vols went on a 35-6 run to end the half and head to the locker room with a convincing 38-15 lead.

Key stat Western Carolina averaged 30 3-point shot attempts heading into the Tennessee game. The Catamounts launched 28 in the first half Tuesday night. All of their first-half points (15) came on 3-pointers. They made just 17.9% of their shots (5 of 28). For the game, they attempted a season-high 39 3-pointers and connected on just 6 (15.4%).

Up next The Catamounts will host Milligan on Thursday and Tennessee takes on Middle Tennessee State at home Monday.

How can I watch Western Carolina vs. Tennessee?

• TV Channel: Western Carolina at Tennessee 2021 College Basketball, week 7, is broadcasted on ESPN+.
• Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo Free trial.
  Try Vidgo for free.

Matchup Prediction