KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Indiana went on the road Sunday afternoon and beat Tennessee 66-62 in a charity exhibition at the Food City Center.
Here are five takeaways from the win against the Volunteers:
Myles Rice shines in road victory
Myles Rice was considered one of the top available guards in the transfer portal last spring. His performance on Sunday showed exactly why.
Rice outplayed the SEC defensive player of the year Zakai Zeigler and scored 20 points while shooting an efficient 7-for-14 from the field. His ability to change speeds, get into the lane and finish plays at the rim stood out.
The 6-foot-3 guard got to the free-throw line eight times and made six attempts. In addition, Rice dished out four assists, had two steals and didn’t have a turnover in 31 minutes.
Indiana was +12 with Rice, a redshirt sophomore, on the floor.
Malik Reneau’s 10-0 run proves to be the difference
The Hoosiers trailed 54-50 with 8:58 remaining following a pair of free throws by Zeigler.
But Indiana’s Malik Reneau went on a 10-0 scoring run from the 6:54 mark to the 4:17 mark, which proved to be the difference.
After sinking two free throws with 6:54 left, Reneau buried a 3-pointer to give Indiana the lead at 55-54 with 6:21 to play. He made another jumper with 5:47 left to stretch the lead to 57-54. Reneau capped off the run with a 3-point play at the 4:17 mark to give IU a six-point cushion at 60-54.
Reneau finished with a team-high 21 points. He added eight rebounds, three steals, two assists and a blocked shot in 32 minutes. He also drew six fouls.
“I started to catch a groove when I came back off the bench,” Reneau said. “I was able to give a spark for our team and then the guys just came along with me.”
Indiana’s defense locked Tennessee down late
The Volunteers came out hot in the second half and built a six-point lead at 52-46 at the 10:04 mark.
But Indiana was able to get stops when it mattered in a tough road environment with over 13,000 fans in attendance.
Tennessee closed the game by missing 10 of its last 11 field goal attempts. The Vols didn’t have a field goal over the game’s final 3:50.
Mike Woodson was encouraged by Indiana’s ability to close out the win – even in an exhibition game – by making plays on both ends down the stretch.
“It’s huge because we’re up six and they hit a big…
