Fan reaction to Chaz Lanier going OFF on Texas A&M in 1st half of top-10 matchup

In the first half of the season, one player who played himself into the National Player of the Year discussion was Chaz Lanier. The 6’4 senior guard had several big individual performances, including 25 points in a win over Baylor and 26 to beat Syracuse.

But SEC play was a bit rough for the former North Florida star, with Lanier having several inefficient shooting games. Still, he’s been a double-digit scorer for the last nine games, coming off a 21-point outing against Vanderbilt last week.

Tennessee needed Lanier at his best on Saturday, taking on the Texas A&M Aggies in a top-10 matchup to start the day off. The Aggies are known for being among the nation's best defensive units and have stopped plenty of talented guards.

But Lanier wasn’t one of them. After scoring just eight points in the first eight minutes, the senior guard went off on a personal scoring stretch to give the Vols the lead. Lanier, who shoots 40% from three-point range on the season made six of seven in the first half, scoring 20 points total. 

That included several heat checks where Texas A&M looked to be caught off-guard. No one else for the Vols made more than one field goal, so they needed literally all of Lanier’s offense to even stay in the game. He made the final shot for the Vols to finish the half with 22 points to give the road team a 36-32 halftime lead, making 8/10 from the field. 

This kind of performance can get Lanier back into the All-American and SEC Player of the Year discussion. There are still 20 minutes left in the game and expect Coach Buzz Williams to scheme up a way to slow him down. But on a Saturday slate that will features a ton of starpower, Lanier started things off right with a massive half for the Vols.