KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee basketball program wraps up its season-opening, three-game homestand on Tuesday, hosting Georgia Tech at Thompson-Boling Arena for a 9 p.m. ET tip.
ESPN2 will carry the broadcast on Tuesday night, which can also be streamed online through WatchESPN. Fans can also listen live on their local Vol Network affiliate to hear Bob Kesling and Bert Bertelkamp describing the action. Tickets are still available online at AllVols.com.
Tennessee (2-0) enters the season’s second week off an 87-65 victory over Louisiana last Friday night. For the second straight game, all five UT starters finished the game in double-digit scoring, led by junior Grant Williams’ 31 points on 11-of-15 shooting. As a unit, Tennessee’s first five of Jordan Bone, Jordan Bowden, Admiral Schofield, Kyle Alexander and Williams are averaging a combined 73.5 points per game through the first two outings of the season.
Those efforts from the starting unit have gotten UT off to a quick start offensively this season. Through two games, Tennessee has scored a combined 173 points, the most points by a Tennessee team through the first two games of the season since the 2011-12 campaign (177). Additionally, the Vols continue to share the rock effectively, averaging 25.0 assists per game compared to just a 9.0 apg clip for their opponents.
Tuesday’s showdown with Georgia Tech marks the final meeting of a four-game contract between the Vols and Yellow Jackets that began in 2015. Tennessee dropped the first game of the series that November, but has won each of the last two contests—81-58 in Knoxville in 2016 and 77-70 last season in Atlanta.
A WIN WOULD…
- Tie Rick Barnes for 26th on the all-time wins list with legendary coach John Wooden (664).
- Improve UT’s record vs. current members of the ACC to 110-99.
- Give the Volunteers their fourth win over an ACC team during the last two seasons.
- Move UT to 3-0 on the season heading into the NIT Season Tip-Off.
ABOUT GEORGIA TECH
- There is plenty of history in this series, as these programs met annually from 1945-68 (Tech was a member of the SEC from 1932-64).
- Georgia Tech opened its season last Friday night, running past Lamar 88-69 in Atlanta. Tech never trailed in the game and dished out 26 assists on 32 made baskets.
- Four Yellow Jackets scored in double figures in the win, led by Brandon Alston’s 17 points.
- The Yellow Jackets lost three of their top four scorers from last season, including first-round NBA Draft pick Josh Okogie (18.2 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 2.5 apg) and former ACC Defensive Player of the Year Ben Lammers (11.7 ppg, 8.1 rpg, 2.4 bpg).
- Jose Alvarado (12.1 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 3.1 apg, 1.7 spg in 2017-18) is the team’s top returning player. The sophomore guard started all 25 games he played in before suffering a season-ending injury during conference play. Alvarado tallied 14 points on 6-of-12 shooting on Friday night against Lamar.
- After sitting out last year due to transfer rules, former Vol guard Shembari Phillips eligible to compete this season for the Yellow Jackets. He got the start in Tech’s season-opener, scoring 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting to go with four rebounds and four assists.
GEORGIA CONNECTIONS
- Tennessee also has produced two All-Americans who are Georgia natives: Reggie Johnson (Ellenwood) was a first-team All-American in 1979 and 1980; Dale Ellis (Marietta) was a first-team All-American in 1982 and 1983.
- Third-year Vols assistant coach Desmond Oliver worked as an assistant at Tech rival UGA in Athens, Georgia, from 2004-09. He was on the Bulldogs staff when UGA won the 2008 SEC Tournament in Atlanta.
- During Oliver’s time at UGA, the Bulldogs were 2-3 against the in-state rival Yellow Jackets.
SCHOFIELD, WILLIAMS NEARING 1,000-POINT MILESTONE
- Senior wing Admiral Schofield and junior forward Grant Williams enter UT’s game against Georgia Tech less than 25 points away from eclipsing the 1,000-point mark for their careers.
- A total of 48 Vols have accomplished that feat during their time on Rocky Top, with Robert Hubbs III being the most recent addition to the 1K Club in 2016-17.
- Schofield (988 points) and Williams (977 points) could both reach the milestone on Tuesday night. The last time a UT duo achieved the feat in the same season was during the 2013-14 campaign, as eventual NBA Draft picks Jordan McRae (1,521 points) and Jarnell Stokes (1,129 points) joined the club while helping lead Tennessee to a Sweet Sixteen appearance.
- All-time, UT has had 10 duos reach 1,000 points in the same season, including Ernie Grunfeld and Bernard King in 1975-76.
- Along with this year’s All-SEC duo, junior guard Lamonté Turner also could surpass 1,000 career points this season. At 644 career points, the 2018 SEC Co-Sixth Man of the Year needs just 356 points to reach 1,000. Last year, Turner finished the season with 381 points. If all three were to eclipse the mark, it would mark the first time a Tennessee trio has done so in the same year.
BARNES APPROACHING JOHN WOODEN’S CAREER WINS TOTAL
- Rick Barnes owns 663 Division I wins in his 32 seasons as a head coach. Legendary UCLA coach John Wooden totaled 664 victories during his 29-year career.
- Barnes needs only two more wins to ascend past Wooden into 26th place on the all-time D-I wins list.
PICK YOUR POISON
- Tennessee’s roster features five different players who have multiple 20-point games during their careers.
- Grant Williams owns a team-high 12 20-point games, while Admiral Schofield follows with seven such performances.
- Lamonte Turner has scored 20 or more points five times, and fellow juniors Jordan Bone and Jordan Bowden each have done so twice.
- So far this season, UT’s starting five has eclipsed the double-digit scoring margin for both games.
UP NEXT: NIT SEASON TIP-OFF
- Tennessee heads to New York City for the NIT Season Tip-Off next week. The Vols open their stay in the Big Apple with a showdown against Louisville on Wednesday, Nov. 21.
- UT will play again on Nov. 23, facing either No. 1 Kansas or Marquette.
- Tennessee last appeared in the NIT Season Tip-Off in November 2010. That year, the Vols walked away as champions after defeating VCU in the semifinals and Villanova in the title game.
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