Tennessee's winning formula of balance and tough defense were on full display Thursday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament as the third-seeded Volunteers simply grinded Wright State into the floorboards at American Airlines Center in Dallas, winning 73-47.

Sophomore guard Lamonte Turner had a game-high 19 points and nine assists off the bench as Tennessee (26-8) advanced to the second round of the tournament's South Region and will play 11th-seeded Loyola-Chicago on Saturday. The 14th-seeded Raiders, who won the Horizon League Tournament to earn an automatic bid, finished the season at 25-10.

Wright State couldn't become a Cinderella because it didn't gain traction against the physical Volunteers. Freshman center Loudon Love scored 12 points for the Raiders and freshman forward Everett Winchester added 11 for Wright State.

Tennessee, which defied preseason predictions of a 13th-place finish in the Southeastern Conference to share the SEC's regular season title with Auburn.

entered the game fourth nationally in defensive efficiency. The Volunteers looked the part in holding the Raiders to 31.7 percent shooting (19-for-60) from the field and 18.2 percent (4-for-22) marksmanship on 3-pointers.

Senior guard Grant Benzinger, named Most Valuable Player of the Horizon League tourney, made only 2-of-16 shots and finished with only five points for Wright State. Benzinger entered the day averaging 14.5 points per game.

Meanwhile, 11 players hit the scoring column for the Vols, with three hitting in double figures. In addition to Turner, junior forward Admiral Schofield chipped in a 15-point, 12-rebound double-double. Sophomore starting forward Grant Williams contributed 14 points and nine rebounds.

Tennessee took the lead for good just over four minutes into the game on a driving layup by sophomore guard Jordan Bowden that started an 18-4 run. Williams scored six straight points in that spurt, and Turner finished it with a driving layup at the 8:23 mark to make it 21-8.

Benzinger's driving layup with 4:01 left pulled Wright State within 25-17, but the Vols made it a 34-23 game at the half as senior guard James Daniel III hit two foul shots with 15 seconds remaining. The lead stayed in double figures the entire second half.

--Field Level Media