Sometimes lie-detector tests get in the way of colorful basketball reporting. There are limits to what can be accomplished with adjectives.

Tennessee defeated Wofford, 77-62, on Thursday evening in the NCAA Midwest Regional Tournament in Lexington. It wasn’t so-what. It was a full notch above incidental. It counts, but it looked like men at work in a warm-up game. There was no tension, no fuss. There never was any doubt about the outcome. The only thing missing were coffee breaks.

There was a significant prize. Tennessee advanced to the second round and a Saturday matchup against big-time UCLA, a 23-10 team. That will provide more reliable information about what life is actually like in March Madness.

Rick Barnes, far more honest than the average coach, tried to turn Wofford into a preliminary challenge.

“We know that we have a very tough first-round opponent.”

He said Coach Dwight Perry has done a great job with his team (the Terriers are finished at 19-16).

Barnes thinks I and others just don’t understand how extremely hard it is to win this time of year, at this level. He mentioned the magic word, rebounding, and what else it takes, absolute focus, details, competitive spirit, working as hard as you can and understanding the importance of every possession.

I can safely say Tennessee pulled it off. The Volunteers were bigger. They were faster. They could jump higher. Chaz Lanier was some degree of outstanding. He scored 29. He had six threes. Zakai Zeigler was Zakai Zeigler. He had a nice, clean double-double, 12 points and 12 assists without a turnover.

There were two interesting sidelights. Wofford wouldn’t go away. It continued to compete. The Vols failed to pull the betting line. They were favored by 18.

Barnes said he was really proud of how his players prepared for the first game, how hard they had to play to win.

“It was a hard-fought game, exactly what we thought. We were concerned about them. They came into the tournament as hot as any team in the country from the three-point line.”

The Terriers stayed warm. They shot better from behind the arc – 11-26 – than elsewhere on the floor – 12-29.

Tennessee trailed for 13 seconds of the first minute. It established control with a 12-0 run midway through the first half. Lanier hit three threes and had 14 points at the rest stop. The Vols were up, 36-27, despite making only one shot in the final seven minutes.

Wofford never gave up. Three times it reduced the deficit under 10 but it couldn’t handle Lanier. Twice he answered with threes. Twice he hit favorite jumpers off elbow curls around screens.

Questions and answers …

Tell us, Coach Perry, how come your guys didn’t stop that pet play?

“He’s a great player, right? He elevates on his jumper; he has a high release. So even if you’re there, he’s still going to be able to get those shots off, so credit to him.

“No matter if you’re in front of him or not, he can get a shot off against anybody. He’s quick. I think he does a really great job of utilizing screens and they do a great job with their physicality setting screens for him.

“When you face really good players and really good teams, you’re not going to be able to pitch a shutout.”

Question for Ziggy: How about that career assist record?

The gritty little guard now has 726, most in Tennessee history. Johnny Darden had the mark at 715, set in 1975-79.

‘Breaking a record that was 50 years old is a really big blessing and it means a lot to me.”

Zeigler now has the third-most assists in SEC history.

Tell us, Coach Barnes, how can Tennessee get ready for UCLA on short notice?

“Before we came, we scouted everybody that we could possibly play against. Now we got a day to get ready. It will be different. We don’t do much physically because we were in a really physical game.

“We will enjoy this for a little bit, and go to work … anybody in this tournament, they’re here because they’re playing well … it’s such a fine line between winning and losing … I think I’ve got the best coaching staff in the country … they’re going to do what they need to do to get our guys ready.”

Skyy Clark and Eric Dailey each scored 14 for the Bruins. Aday Mara, 7-3 reserve center, added 10 points.

UCLA hit 55 percent in the first half and broke the game open with a 12-2 run for a 39-27 intermission advantage. The winners had a 17-7 surge early in the second half. The Bruins made 10 threes. Utah State shot 30 percent.

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