KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The 11th-ranked Tennessee men’s basketball is set to open its 113th season in program history, taking on in-state foe Tennessee Tech Monday night at 7 p.m. ET inside Thompson-Boling Arena.
Fans can catch Monday’s game on SEC Network+ and online or on any mobile device through WatchESPN. WatchESPN can be accessed through the ESPN App, or online at espn.com/watch. Michael Wottreng and VFL Steve Hamer will have the call.
Fans can also listen live on their local Vol Network affiliate to hear Bob Kesling and Bert Bertelkamp describing the action.
In its lone exhibition game prior to this season, Tennessee defeated No. 2 Gonzaga on Oct. 28 in the Legends of Basketball Classic in Frisco, Texas, 99-80. On a night where the Vols shot 57 percent from the field and had 28 assists on 36 made baskets, graduate transfer Tyreke Key posted a game-high 26 points, while four other Vols scored in double figures.
Monday’s matchup marks the 28th all-time meeting between the Vols and Golden Eagles and third straight season that the programs have faced off. Tennessee holds a 26-1 record in the series against Tennessee Tech.
Up next, the Vols head to the mid-state to take on Colorado inside Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena for the final meeting of a three-game series on Sunday. Set to tip-off at 2 p.m. ET, the game will be broadcasted on ESPN and can be streamed online and on any mobile device through WatchESPN.
TICKETS AND PARKING
Tickets and parking passes to all Tennessee Athletics events, including men’s basketball, are now digital and can be accessed through a mobile device to improve security and reduce the risk of ticket fraud as well as make the process more convenient for fans.
Fans will gain admission into Thompson-Boling Arena via a unique QR code which will be scanned directly from a mobile device. For quick and easy entry into Tennessee Athletics venues, fans are encouraged to download the Tennessee Athletics app from the App Store (iPhone) and Google Play (Android).
Your mobile device is the ticket on gameday. All valid digital tickets will display a moving barcode or a hold near reader (tap-and-go) icon. PLEASE NOTE: SCREENSHOTS OF TICKETS WILL NOT SCAN AT THE GATE AND WILL NOT ALLOW ENTRY!
Printed PDF tickets will no longer be issued or accepted for entry at any Tennessee Athletics venue.
The only authorized sources for tickets to Tennessee Athletics events are the Tennessee Athletics Ticket Office, AllVols.com, the venue box office where the athletic event is taking place and Ticketmaster.
A complete step-by-step guide on how to best access and use your digital tickets and parking passes, including diagrams and FAQ is available here.
TENNESSEE ATHLETICS APP
Fans are encouraged to download the Tennessee Athletics app, which now houses the Coca-Cola GBO Zone. Search “Tennessee Athletics” in the Apple or Google Play Store or use this link to download: utsports.com/app.
THE SERIES
• Tennessee’s leads its all-time series with Tennessee Tech 26-1, dating to 1939. The Vols have won 10 straight in the series since Tech’s lone victory in 1996.
• These programs have met four times during the Barnes era, with the Vols outscoring the Golden Eagles 88.3 ppg to 59.8 ppg (+28.5 ppg).
• The Volunteers are 41-2 all-time against current members of the Ohio Valley Conference, while Rick Barnes is 8-0 vs. OVC opposition.
• In last season’s meeting, the Vols shot 17-of-28 (.607) in the second half, including 4-of-8 (.500) from 3-point range to propel themselves to an 80-69 victory.
• Vols guard Tyreke Key and Tech freshman Grant Strong are both graduates of Clay County High School in Celina, Tennessee.
• Both natives of Durham, North Carolina, Jonas Aidoo (UT) and Jayvis Harvey (TTU) played against each other in high school.
LAST SEASON
• Tennessee made a fourth straight NCAA Tournament appearance last season and entered The Big Dance on the heels of winning the SEC Tournament in Tampa.
• For the second time under head coach Rick Barnes, Tennessee was unbeaten at home last season.
• The Vols finished last season with the third-best defensive efficiency in the country after finishing fifth nationally in 2020-21.
• Santiago Vescovi was a first-team All-SEC selection last season while becoming only the second Vol ever to make 100 3-pointers in a single season.
• After leading the Vols in scoring (13.9 ppg) last year and winning SEC Tournament MVP honors, true freshman point guard Kennedy Chandler was selected 38th overall in the 2022 NBA Draft and landed with his hometown team, the Memphis Grizzlies.
STORYLINES
• Tennessee tested itself prior to tipping off the regular season with a pair of exhibition matchups against perennial powerhouses Michigan State and Gonzaga.
• The Volunteers used a dominant second half to down No. 2 Gonzaga on Oct. 28 in Frisco, Texas, 99-80. See Page 3 for more.
• Vols senior Josiah-Jordan James is likely to be available for Monday’s opener. He was inactive for both exhibitions while working his way back to full speed following an off-season knee procedure.
• After six years on Rick Barnes‘ staff—the last three as associate head coach—Mike Schwartz in March accepted the head coaching job at East Carolina. Justin Gainey has since been elevated to UT’s associate head coach, and analyst Gregg Polinsky was bumped to a full-time assistant coach role.
ABOUT TENNESSEE TECH
• Tennessee Tech is coming off an 11-21 (7-10 OVC) season in which it finished fifth in the OVC. TTU clinched its first postseason berth since 2017-18 and went on to claim a victory in the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament.
• The Golden Eagles return just five players from last season’s team and welcome in 11 newcomers—two freshmen and nine transfers.
• TTU’s lone action this season came in a 80-69 exhibition win over Cumberland last Thursday.
• Tennessee Tech’s top incoming transfer is guard Ty Perry, who started 28 games last season at Lafayette and averaged 11.9 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game.
• Two of Tennessee Tech’s four full-time coaches played basketball in the SEC—head coach John Pelphrey at Kentucky (1988-92) and assistant coach Andrew Steele (2008-13) at Alabama. The Golden Eagles’ other two assistant coaches, Alex Fain and Blake Gray, served as student managers at Alabama before moving into full-time roles on the Crimson Tide’s staff.
• Pelphrey also boasts a wealth of coaching experience in the SEC, having served as the head coach at Arkansas (2007-11), as well as an assistant coach at both Florida (1996-2002 & 2011-15) and Alabama (2016-19).
• The 2022-23 season is set to feature a new look for the Ohio Valley Conference, as Austin Peay, Belmont and Murray State depart the league and Lindenwood, Little Rock and Southern Indiana join the OVC ranks.
• Tennessee Tech was originally founded as a private institution in 1909 as the “University of Dixie,” before becoming public as the Tennessee Polytechnic Institute in 1915.
VOLS OVERWHELM #2 ZAGS
• In a neutral-site charity exhibition on Oct. 28, Tennessee overwhelmed preseason No. 2 Gonzaga, 99-80, in Frisco, Texas. And that was without preseason All-SEC wing Josiah-Jordan James, who did not dress.
• Playing in a game setting, in front of fans, for the first time in nearly 20 months, grad transfer Tyreke Key led the way with a game-high 26 points on 8-for-12 shooting, including 4-for-7 from 3-point range.
• Senior big man Uroš Plavšić shot a perfect 6-for-6 with 13 points and finished with a game-high plus/minus of +22. Meanwhile Gonzaga All-American Drew Timme logged a -21.
• After heading into halftime trailing by four points (54-50), Tennessee outscored Gonzaga by 23 points in the second half—holding the Bulldogs to 16 points in the game’s final 13 minutes after they scored 64 points in the opening 27 minutes.
• Tennessee led by as many as 21 points late in the game and out-rebounded the Zags 40-35.
• The Vols shot 57 percent on the night, including 46 percent from 3-point range, and had 28 assists on 36 made field goals.
UROŠ SHINES IN EXHIBITIONS
• 7-1 senior Uroš Plavšić shot 11-for-12 (.917) in Tennessee’s preseason exhibitions vs. Michigan State and Gonzaga.
• In 41:43 of combined action against the Spartans and Bulldogs, Plavšić totaled eight assists with only one turnover.
• The Vols’ starting five man, Plavšić appears to have grown very comfortable with his role and looks to understand exactly what is expected of him on both ends of the court.
VOLUNTEERS RIDING 17-GAME HOME WIN STREAK
• For the fourth time since the venue opened prior to the 1987-88 season, Tennessee posted an undefeated record at Thompson-Boling Arena last season, going 16-0.
• The Vols also won their final home game of the 2020-21 campaign, meaning that Tennessee enters this season riding an active 17-game home win streak (tied for seventh-longest active streak in the country).
• Last season’s perfect record at home included five wins over top-15 teams, including three top-10 opponents—No. 14 Arkansas, No. 13 LSU, No. 6 Arizona, No. 4 Kentucky and No. 3 Auburn. Tennessee was one of only five major-conference programs to post a perfect record at home last season, joining Arizona, Auburn, Kentucky and Texas Tech.
• For each of the last three full-capacity seasons, Tennessee has finished in the top five nationally in average home attendance. The Vols drew an average of 18,202 fans to 16 games at Thompson-Boling Arena last season—fifth-most in the country.
• The Vols have ranked among the top 20 in average home attendance for 17 consecutive years (no attendance rankings were compiled in 2020-21), including 10 seasons ranked in the top five nationally.
• The Vols’ 2022-23 home slate features five games against 2022 NCAA Tournament teams (Kentucky, Texas, Auburn, Alabama and Arkansas).
MEDIA PICKS VOL THIRD IN SEC
• A preseason poll of SEC and national media projected Tennessee to finish third in the SEC race this season, behind Kentucky and Arkansas.
• The Vols went 14-4 in SEC play last season to finish second in the league standings before proceeding to earn the SEC’s automatic NCAA Tournament bid by winning the SEC Tournament in Tampa.
VOLS WELCOME FOUR SCHOLARSHIP FRESHMEN
• Four scholarship freshmen make up Tennessee’s 2022 recruiting class, highlighted by five-star forward and McDonald’s All-American Julian Phillips.
• Guards B.J. Edwards and D.J. Jefferson and forward Tobe Awaka round out the class. While Edwards signed with the Vols in November 2021, Jefferson and Phillips didn’t sign until May, while Awaka officially joined the team in July.
• Phillips, a consensus top-20 prospect in the nation from Blythewood, South Carolina, is the seventh five-star prospect to sign with the Vols during the Rick Barnes era. Phillips graduated from Link Academy in Branson, Missouri—who he helped lead to the championship game at the GEICO National Championships and a No. 3 final ranking in the USA Today Super 25.
• Edwards, a graduate of Knoxville Catholic High School, led the Fighting Irish to three state tournament appearances and the 2020 Division II-AA state championship.
• Named 2021 TSSAA Division II-AA Mr. Basketball, Edwards scored 2,240 total points in four seasons as a starter at Catholic—averaging 19.3 points, 7.1 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 2.5 steals per game while shooting 52 percent from the field.
• Jefferson hails from Richardson, Texas, but graduated from Minnesota Preparatory Academy in St. Paul, Minnesota. Jefferson averaged 16.1 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 3.0 steals per game as a senior and initially signed with Tulsa in November of 2021 but was released and reopened his recruitment following a coaching change following the 2021-22 season.
• He then saw his recruiting stock skyrocket after a standout showing at the Iverson Classic in Memphis in April of 2022.
• Named the 2022 New York Gatorade Player of the Year, Awaka graduated from Cardinal Hayes High School in the Bronx. As a senior in 2021-22, he averaged 19.2 points and 13.9 rebounds per game.
• Awaka also played AAU ball with the New York Lightning program in the EYBL—the same AAU program that current Vol Zakai Zeigler competed for.
-UT Athletics
