Rick Barnes‘ Tennessee Volunteers are off to their first 8-0 start in 24 years, going back to the 2000-01 campaign, which they started 9-0. UT’s 96-70 home victory over Syracuse in the SEC/ACC Challenge Tuesday night was yet another illustration of its thriving team culture, led by Barnes, in his 10th season at the helm on Rocky Top.
As of Thursday, Tennessee is ranked third in the national polls, with a chance to rise in the Monday releases. It also ranks first in the NCAA NET rankings and second in the KenPom ratings, respectively. In addition, the Volunteers are graded second nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency (89.1) by KenPom, behind only Duke (87.4), and ninth in adjusted offensive efficiency, making them one of two squads to be rated inside the top 10 on both ends of the court.
Tennessee and Kansas are the only two teams to earn an AP top-five ranking in each of the last four seasons (2021-25). Only two others, Arizona and Purdue, entered 2024-25 with a three-year streak.
Overall, the Volunteers are in the AP top 15 for the 38th time in the last 41 releases, dating to Nov. 28, 2022. Tennessee now has 60 AP top-10 rankings in Barnes’ 10-year tenure, including 28 in the top five, the latter mark 11 more than the program’s full total before his 2015 arrival in Knoxville.
Despite losing four starters from its SEC championship-winning team a season ago, including a trio of fifth-year stars, Tennessee’s staff reloaded the roster with not only players that matched UT’s desired skillset, but those who fit seamlessly into its culture like perfect puzzle pieces.
That culture is attractive and has proven itself season after season, game after game, moment after moment. From defensive relentlessness and offensive discipline to the program’s “It’s Not About Me” mindset, an atmosphere of accountability has been forged.
“There are a lot of guys that can’t handle success,” Barnes said Tuesday. “We talk about getting better every day and the process. We believe in it. It’s human nature, but you can’t let down. I don’t think there are very many players that can afford to let down if they really want to be good. Part of the process is learning how to make yourself work even when you have success. I asked them recently if they knew anything about a proud peacock and what a proud peacock becomes. We know that it becomes a feather duster. So, I said, ‘If what you did today is big to you, that means you haven’t done anything to get better.”
Through eight games this year, the Volunteers have led for 303:50 and trailed for just 6:03 of a possible 320 minutes. Each of its eight victories thus far are by 15-plus points, with seven by at least 22 and three by at least 35. Tennessee has held a lead of 26-plus points in each of its eight contests this season and still has not faced a deficit larger than three.
Tennessee’s second regular season contest of the season, a wire-to-wire 77-55 triumph at Louisville on Nov. 14, served as the program’s third win by 20-plus in a non-conference true road game over the past 49 seasons, joining a 68-45 decision at Iowa State on Jan. 27, 2018, and a 76-50 victory at Pittsburgh on Dec. 4, 1999. The Volunteers held the Cardinals to a 16-of-60 (26.7 percent) ledger from the field, the eighth-lowest mark by a UT foe in Barnes’ tenure, including 10-of-39 (25.6 percent) from deep.
In its victory over Montana on Nov. 13, Tennessee shot 60.8 percent (31-of-51) from the floor, 42.9 percent (9-of-21) beyond the arc and 84.0 percent (21-of- 25) at the line. It marked first time the Volunteers had a 60/40/80 shooting line with five-plus makes in each area over the last 20 seasons (2005-25).
On Nov. 17 against Austin Peay, Tennessee opened the game 18-of-21 from the field and would eventually tie its second-highest point total under Barnes in the 103-68 triumph. Senior guard Zakai Zeigler became the second Vol in the last 20 seasons (2005-25) to notch 19 points, eight rebounds, three rebounds, one steal and one block, alongside Trae Golden (11/11/11). Zeigler also became the fifth Vol to eclipse 500 career assists in the win.
As the Volunteers cliched their Baha Mar Championship victory with a 77-62 win over No. 13/14 Baylor, fifth-year guard Chaz Lanier shot 7-of-8 from deep in the first half alone, good for the fifth-most ever by a UT player in a game.
Then, in its 43-point win over UT Martin the day prior to Thanksgiving, Tennessee held the Skyhawks to just 35 points, setting a record for the fewest scored by a Tennessee opponent in the shot-clock era (since 1985-86). It was the lowest total by a UT foe since Dec. 15, 1973, when Temple scored just six points against the Volunteers.
Lanier has scored 18-plus points in six of his first eight games as a Vol, including 25-plus on three occasions, with each of those efforts coming in the past four contests. The North Florida transfer has led UT in scoring six times already this year and has made at least four 3-point attempts in five games thus far.
Zeigler, who entered the top 10 on Tennessee’s all-time 3-point makes leaderboard in Tuesday’s 96-70 victory over Syracuse, with 184 for his career, has logged a season-high 19 points on two occasions this year. Dishing out nearly eight assists per game, Zeigler has posted eight-plus five times this season, including tallying nine assists in three games thus far. In addition, the reigning SEC Defensive Player of the Year boasts six multi-steal performances through eight contests.
Having established itself as a force on both ends of the court through eight games, Tennessee looks to continue its red-hot start as it faces the Hurricanes of Miami in the Jimmy V Classic, set for Dec. 10 at Madison Square Garden in New York. Tipoff is slated for 6:30 p.m. ET, live on ESPN.
Tennessee’s statistical dominance stems from its internal standards, an unrelenting desire to improve upon each performance and the brotherhood inside the locker room.
The culture is here to stay. The grit will always remain. Excellence is the only option and Tennessee’s foundational principles will continue to be the pillars that raise the program to new heights.
