Success is any romp on the road, a three-game winning streak and a chance for revenge at Kentucky.

Tennessee reached that modest level of excellence Saturday with an overwhelming first half at Oklahoma and a 70-52 victory over the Sooners. The No. 4 Volunteers are 20-4, a landmark for Rick Barnes, his 25th season with 20 or more wins. He didn’t seem to notice.

The coach was far more focused on what there was to fret about, 19 turnovers, close enough to a world record. The game was no contest.

Defense fed the offense. Tennessee connected on 14 of its first 16 shots. It hit nine in a row. Vols made their first five threes. Take another look at those numbers: In the first 12 minutes, the Volunteers missed two total shots on their way to 33 very fast points.

“It’s a crazy game sometimes,” said Barnes. “I mean, it really is.”

Tennessee led by 45-25 at intermission. It could have been worse. They flubbed four consecutive possessions – three stray passes and a walk.

Tennessee shot 69.2 percent in the first half and made seven of 12 from outer space. The Sooners seemed stunned. Fans were as quiet as the proverbial church house mouse.

The Vols didn’t exactly take the second half off but it was different. They committed a dozen turnovers. They hit only half their shots. Officiating changed. Tennessee was charged with but two fouls in the first half, none against starters. Felix Okpara got three quick whistles in the second half. Free throws helped the Sooners reduce their problem to 49-34.

Forward Cade Phillips #12 brings some defense at Oklahoma.

Recovery was out of reach. Tennessee dominated the backboards (35-21). Tennessee had eight steals. Tennessee blocked eight shots. Tennessee’s inside game was far superior.

The Vols had 36 points in the paint to Oklahoma’s 20. Defense was tough in there.

“Rim protection is huge,” said Barnes.

Chaz Lanier led the winners with 21 points on nine-of-17 accuracy. Zakai Zeigler scored 17, had nine assists, four steals and four rebounds. Alas and alas, he was charged with four turnovers. Igor Milicic, Jahmai Mashack and Cade Phillips had three each.

Barnes was relatively calm.

“We turned it over. They turned us over some and we turned ourselves over too much.”
Barnes gave that some thought.

“Overall, we had a good day.”

Tennessee’s defense was very disruptive. Oklahoma came in third in the conference in field goal percentage (.483). It hit 32 percent against the Vols. The Sooners had been third in 3-point accuracy. They made only six of 23.

“We just never really got on one of those runs,” coach Porter Moser said. “We couldn’t ever get anything going – just a struggle offensively.”
Barnes didn’t seem all that surprised that the Vols took away passing lanes and refused to let the Sooners run their offense. Oklahoma’s 52 was season-low.

“Well, that’s what we’ve tried to be all year,” said the coach. “We’ve always felt that’s what our program was built on. I thought we had great rim protection today.

“Our guys really focused hard. We talked a lot about personnel obviously, but that’s kind of what we’ve done all year.”

Barnes linked the first half against Oklahoma with the recent game against Missouri.

“We made shots early. We really put together two – the second half of the Missouri game and here today – maybe two of our best halves offensively all year. We were able to make shots. Things always go well when you’re doing that.

“When you’re making shots, it looks good even if you’re not playing well. And the fact that we were locked in defensively and started making those shots, the first half was pretty special.”

Sixty-nine percent on the road?

“We got some guys that can make shots. I mean, certainly Chaz has proven he can make some shots.”

The coach traced some of the success to Ziggy.

“Zakai has been really good the last couple games. He’s really managed the game well for us. He’s looking for guys when he gets going in certain areas.”

Coach Moser thought this game was very different.

“In the beginning of the season, we fought well through emotional issues and came out on top. Today and against Auburn, we didn’t fight through and we couldn’t string anything together or get anything going.”

Could be Auburn and Tennessee have more talent.

Oklahoma is 3-7 in Southeastern Conference play but isn’t as bad as Barnes’ defense made it look. The Sooners beat Vanderbilt by 30. Before the SEC race started, the Sooners defeated Providence, Arizona, Louisville, Georgia Tech, Oklahoma State and Michigan.

Barnes was aware. He took Oklahoma seriously.

“In the Battle of Atlantis, against a great field, they came out as champions of that tournament.”

The SEC schedule puts a time limit on happiness. The Vols will be in Lexington on Tuesday for the rematch with Kentucky. ESPN will have the show starting at 7. Perhaps you recall how the Wildcats won at Food City Center.

If you are a glutton for punishment, you may remember that Ziggy missed 10 of 11 three-point tries.

Marvin West welcomes comments or questions from readers. His address is marvinwest75@gmail.com