KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee men’s basketball team returns home to Thompson-Boling Arena to take on the 15th-ranked Kentucky Wildcats on Saturday afternoon. Tipoff is slated for 1 p.m. ET on CBS.
Saturday’s game can be seen on CBS, online through CBS Sports Live and on any mobile device through the CBS Sports App. Fans can access CBS Sports Live here. Ian Eagle and Bill Raftery will have the call.
Fans can also listen live on their local Vol Network affiliate to hear Bob Kesling and Bert Bertlekamp describing the action.
Although Saturday’s game is sold out, fans can still purchase tickets through Vivid Seats. Access to the Vivid Seats website can be found here.
Last time out, the Vols rallied back from a 15-point deficit to knock off SEC foe Alabama, 69-68. The victory was the first time UT came back to win a game when trailing by at least 15 points, since March of 2017 when they took down Alabama.
Tennessee was led by 20-point scoring outputs from senior Jordan Bowden and Junior John Fulkerson. Bowden finished the night with 20 points (16 of which came in the second half), knocking down 10-of-11 attempts from the free throw line, while adding a career-high six steals. Fulkerson closed out the contest with a career-high 22 points, converting on 8-of-9 field goal attempts. His eight makes from the field also tied a career-high.
Junior Yves Pons was huge for the Vols on the glass, finishing with a career-high 14 rebounds, with eight being offensive rebounds.Pons also added 14 points and three blocks, increasing his blocks streak to 22 games. His best moment of the night came in the game’s waning moments with the Vols up two. Alabama guard Jaylen Forbes drove into the lane trying to tie the game, before Pons rejected his shot attempt to seal the UT victory.
Tennessee is currently riding a four-game home win streak against the Wildcats and a win would keep head coach Rick Barnes undefeated against Kentucky at home during his coaching tenure on Rocky Top.
A win would also even the series to 52-52 between the programs when the games are played in Knoxville.
Up next, Tennessee stays at home for a Tuesday night matchup with Arkansas. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. ET on SEC Network.
THE SERIES
• Tennessee trails the all-time series with Kentucky, 155-73, dating to 1910.
• The Wildcats have a 52-51 edge when the series is played in Knoxville.
• Tennessee has beaten Kentucky in Knoxville in each of the last four seasons and has never lost at home to the Wildcats under Rick Barnes.
• Overall, the Vols have won four of their last six games vs. Kentucky.
A WIN WOULD…
• Even the all-time series at 52-52 when it is contested in Knoxville.
• Give the Vols five consecutive home wins over Kentucky.
STORYLINES
• This week one year ago, Tennessee was ranked No. 1 in both major polls.
• An unranked Tennessee team has defeated a Kentucky team ranked in the AP top 15 16 times previously, most recently in 2017.
• Tennessee ranks fourth nationally in average home attendance, drawing 18,742 fans per game this season. Saturday’s game is a sellout.
• Junior forward John Fulkerson scored a career-high 22 points on 8-of-9 shooting during Tuesday’s win at Alabama. He is shooting a career-best .652 this season.
• Vols freshman Josiah-Jordan James has missed Tennessee’s last two games with a groin injury. He had started every game prior to last Saturday, and his current status is day-to-day.
• Tennessee logged neutral-site victories over Seton Hall teams coached by the legendary Bill Raftery in 1976 and 1978.
LAYUP LINES
• Tennessee leads the SEC in scoring defense (61.5 ppg, 20th nationally) and ranks third in field-goal percentage defense (.389, 27th nationally).
• Junior forward Yves Pons has blocked at least one shot in every game this season. He leads the SEC and ranks 20th nationally with 2.6 bpg. His 2.9 bpg during SEC play also leads the league.
• Freshmen Josiah-Jordan James (13-28) and Santiago Vescovi (19-50) combine to shoot .410 from 3-point range during SEC play.
• Tennessee has finished each of its last two home games with only four offensive rebounds. That ties for the fewest amount of offensive boards by the Vols during the Barnes era (four-plus seasons).
• For the first time in program history, Tennessee on Feb. 1 started a lineup that included four different nationalities (American, French, Serbian, Uruguayan).
ABOUT KENTUCKY
• Kentucky sits near the top of the SEC as we hit the midpoint of the league play. The Wildcats (17-5, 7-2 SEC) bounced back from a tough road loss at Auburn Saturday by knocking off Mississippi State, 80-72, on Tuesday night.
• Head man John Calipari, in his 11th year leading the Wildcats brought in another top recruiting class, headlined by guard Tyrese Maxey. Calipari was faced with replacing last year’s production from departed NBA Draft picks Tyler Herro and PJ Washington.
• The Wildcats have received solid production from junior center Nick Richards. Richards is currently UK’s leading scorer (14.6 ppg), rebounder (8.3 rpg) and shot-blocker (2.2 bpg). He has been especially big on the glass during league play, where he ranks third in the conference, pulling in 9.2 boards per game.
• Sophomore guard Ashton Hagans has also been big in leading the Wildcat offense. His 7.0 assists per game lead the SEC and rank eighth in the country. He’s also been big on the defensive end, recording a team-high 2.1 steals per game.
• Another scoring threat for the Wildcats has been sophomore Immanuel Quickley. He, like Richards is averaging 14.6 points per game this season. However he has upped that average to 17.4 ppg in league play, which ranks fifth in the SEC.
• Notable Kentucky alumni include Thomas Hunt Morgan. Morgan was a famous evolutionary biologist who won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1933 for his groundbreaking research that discovered the role of the chromosome in human heredity.
SERIES HISTORY & NOTES
• The Kentucky series is UT’s oldest and most-played among SEC opponents. The Vols and Wildcats first met on Feb. 5, 1910, and have clashed 228 times over the years.
• On 13 different occasions—first in 1950 and most recently in 2019 (twice)—Tennessee has defeated a Kentucky team ranked in the AP top five.
• No program in college basketball has logged more wins over Kentucky than Tennessee (73).
• Kentucky is one of only two SEC schools (along with Alabama) to lead its all-time series against the Volunteers.
• Four Tennessee All-Americans were Kentucky natives: Allan Houston, Chris Lofton, Danny Schultz and Paul “Lefty” Walther.
• Tennessee has 15 all-time wins over the Wildcats at Thompson-Boling Arena, including four straight.
LAST TIME VS. KENTUCKY
• Facing an eight-point deficit with three minutes left, No. 8 Tennessee rallied in the final moments to down No. 4 Kentucky, 82-78, in the semifinals of the SEC Tournament on March 16, 2019, at Bridgestone Arena.
• For the second straight year, the Vols advanced to the tournament championship game.
• UT struggled to get any offense going for the majority of the second half, missing 15 out of 20 shots during a 13-minute stretch. However, Tennessee rallied in the face of adversity.
• After UK’s Keldon Johnson drove to the basket and converted an “and-1” play, the Wildcats had all the momentum, and Big Blue Nation was roaring with 2:58 left to play. SEC Player of the Year Grant Williams responded 13 seconds later by drawing a foul and knocking down both free throws.
• Lamonté Turner stepped up with 30 seconds left and drained a 3-pointer to give the Vols an insurmountable lead.
• Jordan Bone iced the game in the final seconds, knocking down all four of his free throws to keep the Big Orange up by two possessions the remainder of the way.
• Tennessee’s All-SEC trio paved the way for the come-from-behind victory, standing as the top three scorers in the game. Admiral Schofield finished with a game-high 21 points, while Williams recorded 20 points, 17 of which came in the second half, seven rebounds and was 9-of-11 from the charity stripe. Bone added 18 points and five assists.
MEMORABLE VOL PERFORMANCES AGAINST KENTUCKY
• Kevin Punter Jr.’s 27 points were the most scored by a Vol against the Kentucky in 10 years as Tennessee defeated the Wildcats, 84-77, Feb. 2, 2016, in Knoxville. The senior point guard made three 3-pointers and was 11-of-12 at the free-throw line.
• Chris Lofton reeled off 31 points, Major Wingate scored 12 and longtime NBA point guard C.J. Watson added 10 as No. 11 Tennessee beat Kentucky 75-67 at Rupp Arena on Feb. 7, 2006.
• Beating the Wildcats was three times as nice during the 1978-79 season. UT notched program win No. 900 in Lexington on Jan. 20, 66-55, before topping UK 101-84 in Knoxville on Feb. 17. Then the Vols won the 1979 SEC Tournament with a 75-69 win over UK in Birmingham, Alabama, on March 3. Current Vol Network radio analyst Bert Bertelkamp was a junior on that Tennessee team.
• As Bernard King walked off the court at Memorial Gym after a deflating 88-82 loss on Jan. 13, 1975, a Kentucky fan flipped a lit cigarette into the Tennessee legend’s hair. Outraged, King vowed he would never lose to Kentucky again. He vigorously carried out that promise, finishing his career 5-1 against the Wildcats.
BARNES + CALIPARI = 1,400+ WINS
• Saturday’s game features the two winningest coaches (total career Division I wins) in the SEC.
• John Calipari is the league’s active leader in career wins, with 725. Rick Barnes is a close second with 705 victories to his credit.
• Among all active Division I head coaches, Calipari and Barnes rank sixth and seventh, respectively, in total head coaching wins.
• Barnes and Calipari became friends while working a Pitt basketball camp in the late 1970s. The star player at that camp? Current Arizona head coach Sean Miller.
CALIPARI AMONG TENNESSEE’S MOST-FACED ACTIVE COACHES
• On Saturday, John Calipari will coach his 28th career game against the Vols. Among active college coaches, he has the most career meetings against Tennessee.
VOLS HAVE NINE WINS AGAINST CALIPARI 2.0
• Since UK coach John Calipari returned to the college game in 2000-01, Tennessee has dealt him 11 losses. No team has more wins over Calipari-coached teams during that span.
BOWDEN A FINISHER
• In Tennessee’s last four games, senior guard Jordan Bowden has scored 89 percent of his points in the second half. He has averaged 16.0 points during that span, while his second-half scoring average stands at 14.3 points.
The Lady Vols will kickstart the season with a 10-day road trip, journeying west to Tempe, Ariz., for the first leg of the trip before continuing on to Mexico. Set to participate in the competitive Kajikawa Classic for the fourth time in program history on Feb. 8-10, No. 12/11 Tennessee will face three top-25 opponents in its opening weekend of play.
In its 2020 lid-lifter, UT is pitted against No. 14/15 Northwestern on Feb. 8 at 3:30 p.m. (ET), before finishing double-header Saturday against Kansas at 8:30 p.m. Both outings will be played at Tempe Sports Complex (TSC) on Field 1.
Tennessee will open against Western Michigan on Sunday morning at 11:30 a.m. again on TSC Field 1 before facing off against powerhouse No. 5/5 Arizona at 6:30 p.m. at Farrington Stadium. The Lady Vols-Wildcats matchup will be televised on the Pac-12 Networks.
UT concludes opening weekend with a Monday night game against host-team No. 22/22 Arizona State at 9 p.m., which will also be televised on the Pac-12 Networks.
Broadcast Info
Fans can listen to the action online at utsports.com by clicking the listen link on the schedule page or by downloading the Tennessee Gameday App, with Brian Rice calling all of the action.
Tennessee’s games against Arizona and Arizona State will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Networks. Check your local listings for channel information.
The Lady Vols matchups with Northwestern, Kansas and Western Michigan will be live streamed on FloSoftball.com and require a subscription.
Quick Hits
Lady Vols Key Returnees
UT looks to have a strong showing offensively returning nearly 70 percent of its runs and hits this season. The Lady Vols look for leadership on the infield from senior and Preseason All-SEC selection Chelsea Seggern, who will be moving to shortstop from the hot corner. Seggern finished 2019 with a .366 hitting clip and started 54 games for the Orange and White. She led the team with 16 doubles, accounted for 35 runs and is the team’s top RBI returner after recording 46 RBIs last season.
Tennessee also expects a jolt from the return of Ally Shipman who was sidelined after 22 games last season due to injury. Shipman, a sophomore, is the Lady Vols top catcher and showed much promise during her freshman campaign tabbing a .328 batting average, 21 hits, and 20 RBI in her limited time.
In the circle, sophomore and Preseason All-SEC honoree Ashley Rogers will look to have another impressive year. Rogers was a standout freshman and quickly became the team’s ace as she spun her way to 21 wins, third most in the SEC and 209 strikeouts, second in the SEC and 36th in the nation. The Athens, Tenn., native finished with a 1.94 ERA in 173.1 innings of work. She steps into a new role as the team’s veteran pitcher, despite only being in year two of her collegiate career after the departure of Matty Moss and Caylan Arnold.
Newcomers, New Energy
The Tennessee roster looks to be energized by a talented young freshman class. Comprised of eight newcomers: Anna Fox (Columbia, Tenn.), Kiki Milloy (Woodinville, Wash.), KK McCrary (Murfreesboro, Tenn.), Josie Willingham (Medon, Tenn.), Callie Turner (Land O’Lakes, Fla.), Amanda Curran (The Woodlands, Texas), Anna Hazlewood (Martin, Tenn.) and Madison Webber (Sevierville, Tenn.) – the first-year Lady Vols were ranked the No. 6 recruiting class by Softball America. The UT staff expects to start several of the freshmen out the gate and give significant playing time to the entire group.
The group is highlighted by the No. 5 recruit in the nation Milloy, daughter of former NFL player Lawyer Milloy. Kiki Milloy won a Washington state championship in 2017 and was also named as the Defensive Player of the Year in basketball in 2018 and proved to be equally versatile and athletic during the Lady Vols’ fall season. Milloy’s sister, Amirah, plays softball for the top-ranked Washington Huskies. Kiki Milloy could potentially lead off the offense for UT this season.
Hail Tennessee
Nearly half of the Lady Vols squad is made up of in-state talent. There are nine Tennessee natives on the 2020 roster, believed to be a record for the program. Seniors Treasuary Poindexter (Covington, Tenn.) and Cailin Hannon (Franklin, Tenn.) and sophomores Kaili Phillips (Ooltewah, Tenn.) and Ashley Rogers (Athens, Tenn.) are joined by freshmen Anna Fox (Columbia, Tenn.), KK McCrary (Murfreesboro, Tenn.), Josie Willingham (Medon, Tenn.), Anna Hazlewood (Martin, Tenn.) and Madison Webber (Sevierville, Tenn.).
25th Anniversary
On Feb. 23, 1996, Tennessee fielded its first softball team at the 10th Annual Louisiana Classics in Lafayette, La. A 1-0 loss to Baylor, a program that had been around since 1979, marked the beginning of what would become one of the Vols and Lady Vols premier athletic programs. The Lady Vols bounced back the following day to pick up the program’s first win, a 5-4 victory over the Bears and eventually took the series in a rubber match on Feb. 25, a 9-8, eight-inning victory. Fast forward to 2020 and 1,124 wins later, the Orange and White opens the programs 25th year in extant as the season commences on Feb. 8 in Tempe, Ariz., against Northwestern.
All-American Homecoming
In late January, Tennessee announced that it would host the U.S. Women’s National Team as part of Team USA’s “Stand Beside Her” Tour – a nationwide tour where the Red, White and Blue will face top Division I collegiate teams in preparation for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. On April 8, the Lady Vols face off against the WNT at Sherri Parker Lee and will welcome back Tennessee great Monica Abbott, a four-time All-American (2004-07), three-time SEC Pitcher of the Year (2004, 05, 07), USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Year trophy winner and NCAA/UT program record holder. Tickets for the event are currently sold out, but the game will be broadcast on ESPN2.
SCOUTING REPORT
No. 14/15 Northwestern
2019 record: 47-13, 21-2 (Big Ten)
Series record: 6-6
Last outing: A No. 11 UT won 6-1 in Cathedral City, Calif., on Feb. 24, 2018
Key player/stat: Sophomore pitcher Danielle Williams, who became the first player in Big Ten history to win NFCA National Freshman of the Year Award after leading the Big Ten with 31 wins and 13 shutouts to go along with a 1.55 ERA (51 ER/230.0 IP) and 317 strikeouts in 2019. Williams was recently named to the Collegiate Player of the Year Watchlist by USA Softball.
Kansas
2019 record: 15-36, 3-15 Big 12
Series record: 4-2
Last outing: UT run-ruled Kansas 9-0 in five innings in Knoxville on Feb. 22, 2019
Key player/stat: The Jayhawks return sophomore infielder Morgyn Wynne who led the team with a .298 batting average and eight home runs. KU also has a six-member pitching staff that includes three upperclassmen.
Western Michigan
2019 record: 18-28, 9-11 MAC
Series record: 2-0
Last outing: Exactly two years ago, in Tempe, Ariz., the Lady Vols downed the Broncos 6-2 on Feb. 9.
Key player/stat: Sydney Stefanick returns for her junior season after a campaign that earned her NFCA DI All-Region First Team and All-MAC First Team accolades. The pitcher led the Broncos with a 3.05 ERA and a 10-10 record with 97 strikeouts.The Broncos outhit opponents 353-325 in 2019 and limited batters to a .261 average, while totaling a team hitting average of .276.
No. 5/5 Arizona
2019 record: 48-14, 19-5 Pac-12
Series record: 5-14
Last outing: On May 22, 2016 the Wildcats downed the Lady Vols 4-3 in Knoxville
Key player/stat: Arizona boasts 14 returners of which three are All-Americans, making UA one of just three teams in the NCAA to have three-plus All-Americans returning: seniors Alyssa Palomino-Cardoza, shortstop Jessie Harper (the 2019 NCAA home run leader (29), and Reyna Carranco (2019 Pac-12 Batting Champion (.433 reg. season avg.).
No. 22/22 Arizona State
2019 record: 35-20, 13-11 Pac-12
Series record: 3-2
Last outing: On Feb. 8, 2018, the Lady Vols beat the Sun Devils 7-4 in Tempe.
Key player/stat: Picked to finish fourth in the Pac-12, ASU returns its offensive leader in senior Kindra Hackbarth who finished 2019 with a .412 hitting clip, 67 runs, 70 hits, 18 doubles and 17 homers. She added 57 RBI to the ledger and earned a .841 slugging percentage. Hackbarth also proved stealthy around the bags, swiping 15 bases on 16 attempts.
On Deck
The Lady Vols continue on to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico from Tempe for the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge Feb. 13-15. Tennessee will face the Mexican National Team to open the five-game outing, before rivaling Colorado State, Utah, No. 6/6 Texas and California Baptist. The games will be held at the Campo de Softball Nancy Almaraz. FloSoftball will live stream all of the action with a subscription fee.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Tennessee junior outfielder Alerick Soularie was named to the Preseason All-SEC first team as announced by the league office on Thursday.
This is the latest preseason accolade for the Houston native, who has already been named to Preseason All-America teams by D1Baseball, Baseball American and Perfect Game after a breakout sophomore season. Soularie led the Vols in batting average (.357), slugging percentage (.602), on-base percentage (.466) and runs scored (52) while ranking second on the team in hits (70), home runs (11), runs batted in (46) and total bases (118) in 2019.
Soularie earned numerous postseason honors in 2019, including first-team All-SEC recognition after finishing the year ranked in the top five in the conference in batting average, slugging percentage and on-base percentage. He was also named a third-team All-American by D1Basaeball.com and an All-America Honorable Mention by Perfect Game.
Vols Pick to Finish Fourth in Eastern Division
The league office also released the preseason coaches’ poll on Thursday.
Tennessee was picked fourth in the eastern division after finishing third in the eastern division standings last season.
Defending SEC and National Champion Vanderbilt was picked to win the division and the league with eight first-place votes, while Arkansas was chosen to win the western division and was one of six teams to receive at least one vote to win the conference.
The Country Music Association will visit the Pacific Rim in March with an international showcase featuring Abby Anderson, Niko Moon, Cassadee Pope and Mitchell Tenpenny.
The five-date tour, dubbed Introducing Nashville, will visit Australia, New Zealand and Japan.
As part of CMA’s mission to support the expansion of country music around the globe, Introducing Nashville will provide a platform to introduce exciting current artists to international audiences for the first time. Each tour stop will replicate a Nashville writer’s round, with artists appearing onstage together in an acoustic lineup to introduce their songs and talks about their careers and personal stories.
Since its launch in 2019, Introducing Nashville has featured a lineup that includes Danielle Bradbery, Brandy Clark, Devin Dawson, Travis Denning, Lindsay Ell, Walker Hayes, Lauren Jenkins, Logan Mize, Tenille Townes and Rachel Wammack.
March 23 | Brisbane, Australia | The Old Museum
March 24 | Melbourne, Australia | The Thornbury Theatre
March 25 | Sydney, Australia | The Factory Theatre
March 28 | Auckland, New Zealand | The Tuning Fork
March 30 | Tokyo, Japan | Blue Note Tokyo
Kane Brown will showcase his hoop skills at the 2020 NBA All-Star Celebrity Game on Feb. 14.
Kane will join a star-studded lineup from across music, film, TV and sports in the nationally televised game on ESPN. Additional participants include Common, Chance the Rapper, Alex Moffat, Jon Batiste, Taylor Bennett and more.
ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith and Michael Wilbon will serve as the celebrity coaches.
The game tips off at 7 p.m. ET on Feb. 14 on ESPN.
Team Michael Wilbon
Common
Bad Bunny
Hannibal Buress
Kane Brown
Jon Batiste
Alex Moffat
Jose Andres
Famous Los
Jidenna
Chelsea Gray
Quentin Richardson
Team Stephen A. Smith
Chance The Rapper
Quavo
Taylor Bennett
LaRoyce Hawkins
Anthony “Spice” Adams
Marc Lasry
Ronnie 2K
Katelyn Ohashi
Lil Rel Howery
A’ja Wilson
Darius Miles
Shania will serve as the creative director for the new shows, which feature her past catalog of music, videos, seven-piece band, eight male dancers and multiple wardrobe changes. Tickets go on sale on Feb. 14 at 10 a.m. PT, with pre-sale for Citi cardmembers beginning on Feb.11 at 10 a.m. PT. General tickets prices begin at $60 plus taxes and fees.
A limited number of tickets are available for Shania’s previously announced shows:
Kenny Chesney will return to country radio on Feb. 21 with the release of his new single, “Here and Now.”
The new tune, which was penned by Craig Wiseman, David Garcia and David Lee Murphy, follows Kenny’s recent Top 10 single, “Tip of My Tongue.”
“This song kind of blew my mind,” says Kenny. “The chorus is everything I feel about my time onstage with No Shoes Nation . . . the rush of it absolutely being the best place, best moment in the entire world. There’s no rush like it.
“But what really got me was the way the song puts everybody on notice. It says everything about how we all put off living our lives because there’s so much other stuff to do. Only thing is, that’s exactly how you miss everything that matters! It’s not the big stuff that gets you laughing or breaks the bad momentum, it’s what’s right here if you’ll bother to dial in and really feel it.”
“Here and Now” features live-in-the-moment lyrics: “Lotta people dreaming ’bout one day, someday / Waiting just around the bend / I used to be one / Wondering when they’d come, but now I’m living in . . .”
“Here and Now” is expected to be featured on Kenny’s upcoming album, which is slated to drop this spring.
Tennessee head coach Jeremy Pruitt held his National Signing Day press conference to review UT’s 2020 Class. Watch that in full below. Video is courtesy of VFL Films and UT Athletics.
Vols HC Jeremy Pruitt / Credit: VFL Films & UT Athletics
What constitutes a strong work ethic? It can be a challenge to measure, but the effort a student-athlete gives toward achieving goals by showing initiative through hustle and intensity in their respective sport certainly assists in calculating work ethic.
For sophomore wing Rae Burrell, her work ethic on the basketball court is defined in her ability to create defensive stops and initiate transition opportunities for the Lady Vols.
The Las Vegas, Nevada, native has formed beneficial habits that have led to her breakout second season under first-year head coach Kellie Harper.
Burrell has given Lady Vol Nation a glimpse into her spirited work ethic during the 2019-20 campaign. That energy, she said, was sparked by her parents, both of whom attended the University of Nevada. Her mother was a ferocious rebounder on the basketball court, averaging double-digit boards for a complete season, while her dad was a track and field All-American for the Wolf Pack.
Acknowledging her parents for their influence on her playing career, Burrell shows appreciation for her upbringing, crediting her father for instilling in her, from a young age, a mentality of ceaseless hard work.
“They definitely gave me my athletic ability, Burrell said of parents John and Ann Burrell. They’ve always taught me to go 100 percent with everything. My dad used to train me when I was younger,” Burrell recalled. “In elementary school, I literally would get up before school to go work out and then go to school after that.
“I’ve always been taught to give it your all and go hard every time.”
The Vegas native’s attraction to the prestigious Lady Vols program steered her cross-country travel to Knoxville.
“I just wanted to be part of the legacy, and then just the environment here is unmatched anywhere else,” Burrell said. “The fans and the program itself, everything that goes into it is for the student-athletes. I appreciate that, so I wanted to be a part of that.”
Specifically, Burrell admires Tennessee’s 2020 SEC Women’s Legend Candace Parker and desires to carry on the Lady Vol tradition.
As a freshman on Rocky Top last season, Burrell recorded 3.6 points and 2.8 rebounds per game, connecting on .317 of her shots from the field in just under 13 minutes of action per game. She certainly made the most of her time on the court, logging 88 rebounds and 13 assists, along with 10 blocks, seven steals and 44 made field goals last year.
One of the more efficient games of her freshman campaign came in her second career outing, as she posted a 10-point, eight-rebound effort in just 17 minutes against UNC Asheville.
As this season got underway, Burrell immediately showed signs of a player ready to make a vast leap from year one to year two.
The surging sophomore believes her dedication to the gym this offseason allowed her to make great strides during her second season.
“I was training a lot with my trainer back in Vegas. Then, just getting in the gym and getting up extra shots – more than before… I feel like I worked hard in the offseason.”
That work paid off, as Burrell has burst onto the scene this year.
Along with increasing her field goal percentage from last season by 11.4 percent, from .317 to .431, Burrell has improved her 3-point accuracy by 9.8 percent, from .219 to 317. She has made strides in terms of crashing the glass this season, collecting more rebounds through the season’s first 15 games (91), than in her entire freshman season (88).
All of the improvements seen from year one to year two have been with an increase of less than eight minutes per game. Coach Harper has been by Burrell’s side for the journey.
Burrell scored in double figures five times as a freshman and has already exceeded that total with nine such performances this year – four of which have come away from Thompson-Boling Arena.
In terms of what the biggest factor has been in her improvement this season, Burrell stated that it’s due, at least in part to the fact that Harper “really believes in me and really encourages me to play hard and do better, to get better for the team.”
Balance is a word that Coach Harper would use to describe the growth of Burrell’s game. “We have talked a lot about how she can continue to improve,” she said. “Rae has been working on finding a balance with being aggressive yet making good decisions with the ball.”
The Lady Vols have reaped the benefits of that aggressiveness this season, especially on the defensive end of the floor.
Burrell has garnered 18 steals this season, which is 11 more than all of last year. The sophomore has also accumulated 32 more rebounds than last year’s 88, with seven regular season match-ups still remaining.
Burrell has dished out 34 assists this season. She needed just six games this season to exceed her assist total from her freshman campaign. Burrell spoke on the importance of balance and sharing the ball, emphasizing, “We just try to get everybody involved and move the ball around. I feel like we do better as a team when the points are distributed.”
The Lady Vols have proven this to be accurate, with a 6-0 record when four players score in double figures.
Burrell has nearly tripled her scoring average from last year, which is good for third-highest on the team.
As the first player off the bench, Rae values her role as the sixth woman for the Lady Vols. She sees herself as a ‘do-it-all’ type of player and understands that her multifaceted skill set is invaluable for the success of the team.
The value of the first player off the bench cannot be overstated. Whether it be three-time NBA Sixth Man of the Year Lou Williams, or the WNBA’s latest winner of the Sixth Woman of the Year award, Dearica Hamby of Burrell’s hometown Las Vegas Aces. The spark provided by the sixth player is crucial toward a team’s momentum and overall success.
Burrell has solidified herself as a candidate for the SEC’s Sixth Woman of the Year award. If she brings home the accolade, it would be the first time a Lady Vol has won it since 2017.
In the Lady Vols’ 41-point handling of Arkansas-Pine Bluff in late November, Burrell’s defensive instincts were brought to light, as she recorded a career-high five steals. That effort marks the most steals by a Lady Vol in a game since Meme Jackson’s six on November 18, 2018.
Burrell describes herself as an “athletic, energetic and gritty” player who also focuses on bringing a selfless attitude to the court.
“My motivation is to do what I can for the team, think about the team and us as a whole, winning,” Burrell said.
This season, Burrell has shot at least 50 percent from the field in nine games, connecting on a combined 64 percent of her shot attempts in those contests. Her scoring has naturally followed suit. After scoring a season-high 14 points as a freshman last season, she has surpassed that point total on five occasions this year.
Burrell’s uptick in minutes has led to her setting single-game career highs in points (21), made field goals (10), rebounds (12), assists (four), blocks (three) and steals (five) this season.
Coach Harper views Burrell as player who thrives when pushing the tempo and playing with her naturally high motor.
“Rae plays hard and brings great energy to the court,” Harper detailed. “She is aggressive, plays downhill and attacks the boards on the offensive end. Her size and athleticism, combined with that high energy, gives us a terrific defensive threat…Rae’s role is crucial for our team. We need a spark off the bench. She helps our tempo by running the floor and being aggressive.”
Her best performance of the year came on the Lady Vols’ two-game December West Coast trip, when Burrell registered a near double-double with 21 points and 9 rebounds on 10-of-13 field goal shooting in a win against Portland State. The ten made field goals serve as her career high. It also marked the best shooting performance in 37 games in which a Lady Vol has attempted 10+ field goals.
The first double-double of Burrell’s young career occurred in a 10-point, 11-rebound showing that came with three assists against Stetson early this season.
In SEC action, Burrell compiled an impressive stat line of 16 points, six boards, three blocks and two steals in a hard-fought road match-up at Kentucky.
The “bundle of energy,” as Coach Harper calls Burrell, gives relentless energy to the Lady Vols, whether it be cleaning up a possession with a key rebound or attacking the basket on the offensive end.
Burrell, who Coach Harper considers to be exceptionally coachable, praised Harper’s approach to coaching.
“My favorite thing about Coach (Harper) is that she really cares about us and really believes in us. You can really feel that when she’s talking or coaching. It just makes you want to play hard for her,” Burrell said.
The defensive energy that Burrell brings has helped the Lady Vols in holding opponents to just 56.5 points per game. Coach Harper believes in Burrell’s potential, emphasizing throughout the season the importance of having a reliable sixth woman off the bench to provide energy to the rest of the team. She has reiterated her excitement in being able to continue assisting Burrell in becoming an even better player.
Burrell’s work ethic is contagious amongst her teammates and it starts with a simple, yet powerful principle taught to her at an early age: “Give it your all and go hard every time.”
