It was supposed to be a close basketball game, maybe even a signature win for Louisville’s new coach and his 15 transfer stars gathered from all over the jump-and-shoot world.

There was a lot of preliminary excitement, almost 17,000 raucous fans dressed for a ceremonial whiteout of the Volunteers. The big event became a depressing wipeout for the Cardinals.

What happened was Tennessee dominated on defense, hit one more than half its long shots, seized ownership of the backboards and won in an absolute romp, 77-55.

Rick Barnes’ travelers spoiled a lot of appetites at famous KFC Yum Center (the initials are for Kentucky Fried Chicken).

The Vols scored the first 10 points. They had a very impressive 17-3 run. They led by 22 in the first half. The home team reduced the deficit to nine. The crowd got loud again. Tennessee answered with a knockout. Zakai Zeigler beat the shot clock with a really long three and started a 22-5 outburst.

The game was over long before the clock ran out.

Ziggy and shooting guard Chris Lanier scored 19 each. Tennessee hit 56.6 percent to Louisville’s 26.7. Tennessee had 14 more rebounds. Tennessee had a 40-10 bulge in points in the paint. It won 15-5 in second-chance points. Jahmai Mashack was a holy terror on defense.

“Obviously extremely disappointed,” said Louisville coach Pat Kelsey.

“Tennessee punched us in the mouth from the very beginning. The only way to describe it is they beat us in almost every single facet of the game. The fact of the matter is they were the better team.”

Part of the pain for Kelsey was the big buildup. He described the arena as electric.

“We asked people to come out and they came out big. It was as elite of a college basketball atmosphere as you’re going to find anywhere.”

The other part of the hurt was what was lost in addition to the game. Louisville had talked itself into a rejuvenation of optimism. The Cardinals had won 12 and lost 52 in the past two seasons. In March they were ranked 203rd in the country.

Kelsey did a remarkable job replacing all the former players with transfers. Several were famous. There was talk of a top 10 team. Somebody recited an out-of-date putdown of Tennessee: “You find out what’s inside the orange when you squeeze it.”

Now we know.

“Really proud of the defensive effort,” said Barnes. “Transition defense was really important early. We really did a good job there. We felt one of the big keys was perimeter defense.”

The coach said Mashack, at one time or another, guarded every position on the floor, even a post player.

“I mean, he was just dominant. And he does all the things that go into winning. And his effort was great. I thought everyone’s effort defensively was there.”

I don’t think the coach said what he thought of Ziggy’s point-guard play. He set a world record (for him) with 11 turnovers, nine in the first half.

Barnes covered well. He said give Louisville a little bit of credit. He noted that Tennessee still was able to control the game.

“It was our defense, it really was. It kept us in there.”

He also noted that Ziggy took over the game when Louisville generated the little comeback.

Zeigler hit seven of 13 shots, four of seven threes. He had seven assists. Felix Okpara was four-for-four on field goals and good for six rebounds. Jordan Gainey scored nine and had four assists, four rebounds and two steals. Cade Phillips was a strong contributor, six points and six rebounds.

Bits and pieces: Tennessee plays Montana on Wednesday at Food City Center … Barnes has 204 victories as coach of the Vols, tied with Don DeVoe, coach from 1978 to 1989 … freshman guard Bishop Boswell made his debut and scored on a driving layup.

Points to ponder: This was the second time in 15 seasons that the Volunteers shot over 56 percent and kept a Division I opponent under 27. It happened to Austin Peay in 2022.

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