Tennessee safety Nigel Warrior spoke to reporters in a group session on Monday to discuss bowl practices and the season. Watch that interview below.
Tennessee offensive lineman Wanya Morris spoke to reporters in a group session on Monday to discuss bowl practices and the season. Watch that interview below.
The Tennessee Volunteers were back out on the practice field on Monday ahead of the January 2, 2020 TaxSlayer Gator Bowl in Jacksonville vs. Indiana. Here’s some video from Practice 4 in Knoxville.
![Play It Forward: Jon Pardi Says Check Out Larry Fleet’s “Workin’ Hard” [Listen]](https://cdn.socast.io/6616/sites/602/2019/12/17110722/Jon-Pardi-TA.jpg#aqua_resizer_image_not_local)
NCD is closing out the year with our “Play It Forward” segment, which beckons our featured artists to recommend a singer or song that mainstream country fans may not be familiar with.
Today’s recommendation comes from Jon Pardi:
“There’s a guy named Larry Fleet who just put out a cool little eight-song album [Workin’ Hard],” says Jon. “He’s got a couple of songs on there that are really awesome. The whole album is great. Check him out.”
Listen to Larry Fleet’s “Workin’ Hard” below.
photo by Tammie Arroyo, AFF-USA.com
Thomas Rhett scored his 14th No. 1 hit this week as “Remember You Young” ascended to the top spot on both the Billboard Country Airplay chart and Mediabase chart.
Penned by TR, Jesse Frasure and Ashley Gorley, “Remember You Young” is featured on TR’s fourth studio album, Center Point Road, and follows the release of the album’s lead single, “Look What God Gave Her,” which topped the charts in June.
“Wow . . . I truly can’t think of a better way to end this crazy year,” Thomas Rhett said. “Thank you so much to the fans for embracing such a special song to me that has easily been an all-time favorite I’ve ever gotten a chance to write. It’s all about looking back on all the people in your life that you love and always seeing them in their youth or in their prime, and its been really cool to see people relate to that sentiment.”
The 16-song album takes its name from the street in his Tennessee hometown that shaped much of his life experiences. TR co-penned every track on the album, which also features a who’s who of top songwriters, including Shane McAnally, Karen Fairchild, Rhett Akins, Josh Osborne and more. In addition, the album features a number of collaborations with other artists, including Kelsea Ballerini (“Center Point Road”), Little Big Town (“Don’t Threaten Me With a Good Time”) and Jon Pardi (“Beer Can’t Fix”).
photo by Tammie Arroyo, AFF-USA.com
Kenny Chesney has added 18 amphitheater shows to his Chillaxification Tour, which is also slated to visit 22 stadiums in 2020.
Newly announced amphitheater shows will take place in Lake Tahoe, Boise, Phoenix, Syracuse and more. Michael Franti & Spearhead will serve as support.
“As crazy and awesome as the stadium shows are—and there’s nothing like them—there is a vibe to the amphitheater shows that only happens in those places,” Kenny says. “You look out at the lawn, you see everybody coming together, singing the songs—and it’s this community that feels so close.”
Tickets for select cities go on sale on Jan. 24.
Chillaxification Tour – Amphitheater Shows
Chillaxification Tour – Stadium Shows
photo by AFF-USA.com
CINCINNATI, OH. – The 21st-ranked Tennessee men’s basketball team will travel north for its first true road contest of 2019-20 when it takes on Cincinnati inside Fifth Third Arena on Wednesday night. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2.
Wednesday’s game is available on ESPN2, online on WatchESPN at espn.com/watch and on any mobile device through the ESPN App. Kevin Brown and Bryce Drew will have the call.
Fans can also listen in on their local Vol Network affiliate to hear Bob Kesling and Bert Bertlekamp describing the action.
Last time out the Vols dropped their first home contest since January of 2018, falling to Memphis, 51-47 on Saturday afternoon. Despite the loss, freshman Josiah-Jordan James poured in a career-high 14 points, knocking down three of his six attempts from 3-point range. Junior John Fulkerson was also all over the stat sheet, tallying nine points, seven rebounds, three assists, a season-high three blocks and two steals.
This will be the seventh meeting between the Vols and the Bearcats on the collegiate hardwood, with Cincinnati owning a 5-1 series advantage. The programs have not met since Jan. 4, 1993, when Cincinnati took down the Vols 79-58.
A win would be the 700th career head coaching victory for Rick Barnes and prevent UT’s first two-game losing skid since Dec. 30, 2017 and Jan. 2, 2018 when the Orange & White dropped back-to-back games against Arkansas and Auburn.
Up next, Tennessee will return home on Saturday, Dec. 21, when it takes on Jacksonville State. Tipoff is slated for 1 p.m. ET on SEC Network+.
THE SERIES
• Tennessee trails its all-time series with Cincinnati, 1-5, dating to 1952.
• The teams met in consecutive seasons in the early 1990s, with the Bearcats sweeping both games. The Vols’ lone win in the series came at home on Dec. 10, 1956.
• The Vols are 44-40 all-time against current members of the American Athletic Conference.
• Rick Barnes is 0-1 against the Bearcats, as his Texas squad fell to Cincy in the 2012 NCAA Tournament.
A WIN WOULD…
• Be Rick Barnes‘ 700th career head coaching victory.
• Give Tennessee a 55-16 record as a ranked team (AP rankings) during the Barnes era.
• Prevent UT’s first two-game losing skid since Dec. 30, 2017, and Jan. 2, 2018 (Arkansas and Auburn).
STORYLINES
• Fifth Third Arena underwent an $87 million facelift prior to last season. From Knoxville, Cincinnati is a four-hour drive north, as 256 miles of Interstate 75 separate the two programs.
• The Bearcats are set to visit Thompson-Boling Arena on Dec. 12 next season.
• In its history, Cincinnati has made six Final Four appearances and won consecutive national championships in 1961 and 1962.
• After a recent nine-day break between games, Tennessee now finds itself playing three games in eight days leading into the holidays.
• This is the second of back-to-back games against AAC opponents for the Vols. Tennessee hosted Memphis last Saturday.
• This is also Tennessee’s first true road game this season. The Vols were 7-3 in true road games last year.
LAYUP LINES
• Tennessee is ranked No. 21 in both the AP and the coaches poll this week.
• Tennessee leads the SEC and ranks fifth nationally in scoring defense, allowing only 55.3 ppg.
• Per KenPom.com, the Vols are ranked 12th nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency.
• True freshman Josiah-Jordan James has scored in double figures in each of UT’s last two games and shares the team lead with 12.0 ppg during that span.
• James leads the Vols and ranks 11th in the SEC with 6.6 rebounds per game. He is the top-rebounding freshman in the league.
• Lamonté Turner leads the SEC and ranks seventh in the country with 7.1 assists per game.
• John Fulkerson is shooting a team-best .650 from the field (39 of 60) while averaging a career-best 11.1 points per game.
ABOUT CINCINNATI
• Cincinnati is under the leadership of new head coach John Brannen. Brannen was hired following the departure of former head coach Mick Cronin. Brannen spent the last three years at Northern Kentucky, guiding the Norse to two of the last three Horizon League Tournament championships.
• Cincinnati is coming off of back-to-back American Athletic Conference championships and is in the midst of a streak of nine consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances.
• The Bearcats have had an up-and-down start to the year. They currently sit at 6-4 coming off of back-to-back losses to crosstown rival Xavier and at home Saturday to Colgate.
• Heading into this season, junior Keith Williams was expected to make strides coming off a 2018-19 campaign that saw him average 9.9 ppg, 3.2 rpg and 1.1 apg. Thus far he has not disappointed in terms of scoring. Through 10 games, he is the Bearcats’ leading scorer, averaging 13.2 ppg, while also chipping in on the defensive end, averaging 1.4 blocks and 1.3 steals per game.
• Cincinnati has seen a consistent starting five for all but two games thus far, with statistical leaders all coming from their five of Chris Vogt, Keith Williams, Jarron Cumberland, Tre Scott and Chris McNeal.
• Notable UC alumni include George Rieveschl who invented the first antihistamine known as Benadryl.
• Astronaut Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, taught aerospace engineering at Cincinnati from 1971-80.
LAST TIME VS. CINCINNATI
• Cincinnati’s suffocating defense and Curtis Bostic’s 20 points led the Bearcats to an impressive 79-58 win over visiting Tennessee on Jan. 4, 1993.
• Bostic shot 9 of 11 from the field and led a UC foursome in double figures. Nick Van Exel was a perfect 7-for-7 at the free-throw line and finished with 19 points, nine assists four rebounds and three steals.
• Corey Allen led the Vols with 17 points and six rebounds. Allan Houston was the only other Vol in double figures with 16. The Bearcats limited UT to a season-low 21 field goals.
• Houston’s 16 points moved him past Ole Miss great John Stroud (2,328) as the No. 2 scorer in SEC history with 2,342 points.
• The loss snapped a three-game win streak for Tennessee.
BRANNEN COACHED AT BAMA
• First-year Cincinnati head coach John Brannen was an assistant coach on Anthony Grant’s staff at Alabama for six seasons from 2009-15—serving the final two years as associate head coach.
• During Brannen’s tenure with the Crimson Tide, they were 3-5 against the Vols.
A NEAR MISS AS A PLAYER
• Morehead State visited Thompson-Boling Arena and suffered a 70-52 loss on Dec. 7, 1994.
• John Brannen played at Morehead State the previous two seasons, but he transferred to Marshall following the 1993-94 campaign and just missed out on a chance to play at Tennessee.
• Brannen went on to become a Rhodes Scholar as a senior at Marshall and received his Business Management degree in 1997.
BARNES CLOSING IN ON 700TH CAREER COACHING WIN
• Rick Barnes is one win shy of logging his 700th career victory as a college head coach.
• With 699 Division I wins to his credit, he ranks seventh among active head coaches. He would become the 22nd head coach ever to log 700 Division I wins.
• He is five victories away from recording his 100th win at Tennessee.
ROAD WARRIORS
• Dating to the start of the 2017-18 season, Tennessee is 15-7 in true road games.
• That includes victories at Kentucky, Iowa State, Georgia Tech, Wake Forest, Memphis and Florida.
TENACIOUS D
• Even when the Vols have struggled to produce offense, their smothering defense has kept them afloat.
• Tennessee has yet to allow an opponent to score 70 points this season, and the Vols rank among the top 10 nationally in both scoring defense (fifth, 55.3 ppg) and field-goal percentage defense (ninth, .362).
• The Vols also rank 17th nationally—and second in the SEC—with 5.9 blocks per game.
• Statistical guru Ken Pomeroy of KenPom.com has Tennessee rated 12th nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency.
UT Athletics
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — No. 23/24 Tennessee (8-1) will face its toughest test of the season on Wednesday, as the Lady Vols go into Maples Pavilion in search of a victory over No. 1/1 Stanford (9-0). Tip-off is scheduled for 7:06 p.m. PT (10:06 p.m. ET).
This will mark the 37th time these programs have met on the hardwood, with UT owning a 25-11 record in the series.
The contest at Stanford marks only the third road game of the season and the first since Nov. 11 for Tennessee. The Big Orange opened 2019-20 with a win at East Tennessee State on Nov. 5 and then beat the Fighting Irish in Notre Dame on Nov. 11.
Tennessee closed out a six-game home stand last Wednesday night with a 79-41 victory over Colorado State at Thompson-Boling Arena. That triumph was a bounce-back win after the Lady Vols suffered their first setback of the season on Dec. 8, falling to Texas, 66-60.
Stanford is coming off a 71-52 home win vs. Ohio State on Sunday evening. The Cardinal has victories over (then) No. 18 Syracuse (77-59) and No. 10 Mississippi State (67-62) to its credit. Both of those wins came at the Greater Victoria Invitational in Victoria, Canada.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
WEST COAST SWING INTO WINTER BREAK
HARPER VS. STANFORD
RECAPPING OUR LAST GAME
NOTES FROM THE LAST GAME
TENNESSEE TOPICS
LADY VOLS TRENDING
BROADCAST INFORMATION
WEST COAST SWING INTO WINTER BREAK
HARPER VS. STANFORD
RECAPPING OUR LAST GAME
NOTES FROM THE LAST GAME
TENNESSEE TOPICS
LADY VOLS TRENDING
TENNESSEE-STANFORD SERIES NOTES
LAST TIME WE MET
LAST TIME WE PLAYED AT STANFORD
RECAPPING THE CARDINAL’S LAST GAME
LAST TIME WE MET
LAST TIME WE PLAYED AT STANFORD
RECAPPING THE CARDINAL’S LAST GAME
UT Athletics
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee Head Women’s Basketball Coach Kellie Harper met with the media on Monday morning before her No. 23/24 Lady Vols departed for a two-game West Coast swing.
Tennessee (8-1) will meet No. 1/1 Stanford (9-0) at 7 p.m. PT (10 p.m. ET) on Wednesday and then will play at Portland State (6-3) on Saturday at 2 p.m. PT (5 p.m. ET). The Stanford game will be televised by Pac-12 Bay Area, and the PSU contest will be carried by Pluto TV Ch. 532 (Online/Free).
The Lady Vols are coming off a six-game home stand that saw them go 5-1, suffering their only loss of the season to Texas, 66-60, on Dec. 8. UT bounced back in strong fashion against Colorado State last Wednesday, defeating the Rams, 79-41, at Thompson-Boling Arena.
Stanford remained unbeaten on Sunday, taking care of Ohio State at home, 71-52. The Cardinal also have impressive wins over No. 15/14 Mississippi State (67-62) and Syracuse (77-59) in their last three-game swing.
UT has played one other ranked foe this season, defeating (then) No. 15/14 Notre Dame on the road, 74-63.
On what makes Stanford as good as they are right now:
“Stanford is extremely efficient. Offensively, they can pass, dribble and shoot. They do a great job with their spacing in their offense. It suits them well. They have always been really good in transition. You have to get them in a half-court set, and then you have to try and guard them in a half-court set.”
On how much Stanford will test the team in rebounding:
“I think any time you are playing an elite level team like Stanford, your rebounding is tested. One of the things I expect Stanford to do a great job of is boxing out. I think they are really disciplined, and they will do what they need to do to keep us off the boards, and that is a big part of what we do. Obviously, for us, at some points you have to get around some box outs.”
On what she wants to accomplish on this road trip around the holidays:
“One of the big things for us in addition to playing well is going out and handling this road trip and being very mature about it. (Trying to) not go into Christmas break prior to going on Christmas break. That is always a big deal for coaches. It is always something that I talk about openly with our teams. I want to make sure we are showing some maturity there and understanding how we are going to be out there a long time and we have to be locked in.”
On if she thinks the team is ready to face the No. 1 team in the country:
“I am excited about the opportunity. That is the way I look at it as an opportunity to go out and play a great team. We will see where we are at and also give us an opportunity to compete. I think it is coming at a good time for us, and hopefully our players will be ready. I think the scouting report has been a little bit different for them with how good Stanford is. I think it is fun. This is why they came to Tennessee. They want to play elite level competition like this.”
On if she is happy with the shot volume that Rennia Davis is taking:
“We keep an eye on Rennia’s shot attempts throughout the game. We want to make sure if they are low early on that we go to her and get her some shots early. We kind of let it play out and keep an eye on it. Part of that is that we have to make sure we are looking for her and giving her opportunities. She has done a really good job at being aggressive this week in practice looking for her shot. It has looked really good, and I am proud of her. I think she wants to be that for us, we just have to continue to find ways to make sure to not only help her get the ball, but help her teammates know we need to find her.”
On if she thinks teams will start basing their defenses on stopping Rennia Davis:
“I think right now we are still going to see defensive schemes that are probably tailored to not guarding some of our players instead of specifically keying in on one. I think that is what we are seeing, and I think that is what we will continue to see for a bit. Our post players have been pretty productive, so I think people are looking there as well to take some opportunities away from us there. I don’t think yet that people will be just keying in on her, but I think they are more so not keying in on some of her teammates.”
On if she was happy with how Jazmine Massengill played in their last game:
“I thought the last game Jazmine played terrific. I thought early on she was a little anxious that they weren’t guarding her. By the end of the game, she was doing exactly what she wanted to do, not what they wanted to do. I thought that was great maturity. I thought she grew throughout the game. I thought she had great confidence that game and she played terrific.”
On what she has liked from Tamari Key so far in her freshman season:
“Tamari is very skilled. Obviously, you look at her and you see the height, and when she puts her arms out, you see the length. But she is very skilled; she understands what she needs to do. I think she has grown up a lot and really quickly as a freshman. The sky is the limit for her as this young lady is going to be terrific. I think one of the things I have enjoy seeing, especially after that Texas game, she was competitive. She had a fire in her that we have not always seen. I know that is in there, and that is exciting.”
On how her team is prepared for the post players on Stanford’s team that can shoot from beyond the arc:
“We have definitely talked about needing to get out behind the three-point line. Although we have not played bigs that can shoot, we have played five guards. I feel like, other than Texas, we have only played guards. I am hoping that our post players have had enough experience of stepping out to guard because of some of these other teams. Obviously, it is a different caliber player that is stepping out behind the three-point line now, but they should be comfortable in stepping out. It is just if they are stepping out with the urgency they need to step out when you are guarding Stanford. That is something we have been practicing.”
On if Colorado State prepared them after all the three-point shooting in the game:
“I hope that it helped us understand that you can’t always go to the paint. Post players just like going to the paint, and I think that is where they are comfortable defending and comfortable living, but when you are playing teams like Colorado State or Stanford, you may not be able to be that comfortable in the paint. Hopefully we have seen enough that it won’t be a shock to our system to be able to do that.”
On if she has used her experience against Stanford last year to help prepare for this season:
“Actually, I pulled up my old scouting report from Stanford last year at Missouri State. It is not the same team, and I am not coaching the same team, but it gives me an idea of some teaching points and maybe some wrinkles that we used that were positive for us.”
On if she is going to start reeling Jordan Horston in or let her play some things out when it comes to turnovers:
“Both. I think right now Jordan is going to come out and probably make some turnovers because she is going to make some plays. She is a playmaker. That may come with a few more turnovers than an average person, but we have got to start limiting those. We have talked about that a lot after games. We have talked about it in practice, trying to make sure in practice that she is also limiting those. And talking about why. Why do we turn the ball over there? Okay, so let’s correct it. So it is not just about yelling about a turnover, it is teaching.”
On how this new staff has been working together:
“It has been good. It has been challenging because there are so many people. I think that is one of my biggest challenges, just making sure we are well-oiled machine in the office. I don’t know if we are well-oiled, but we are oiled and moving. I think once we get a year through, once we get one complete cycle, we will be really efficient. I have a great staff right now. It is an unbelievable staff that is really talented. I am really excited about what we are able to.”
UT Athletics
Blake Shelton stopped by The Ellen Show on Dec. 13 to perform his current single, “Hell Right.”
The new tune was penned by David Garcia, Brett Tyler and Michael Hardy, who is one of the co-writers behinds Blake’s most recent No. 1 hit, “God’s Country.”
“The first time I ever heard ‘Hell Right,’ [producer] Scott Hendricks sent it over to me—and we had pretty much decided that we were finished recording for a while, and I wasn’t even thinking about it,” says Blake. “But he said that Hardy had written a song and he wanted me to hear it, so with the success of ‘God’s Country’ and just knowing how talented that guy is, I thought, ‘Man, I better at least listen to it even though I don’t see myself going in and recording.’ About three-quarters of the way through the song, I decided, ‘Oh, my god, I’m not done recording. I’ve gotta go cut this song. It’s just so much fun and just so infectious. It seems like something that would be great to have out this summer, like, let’s do this thing, let’s get it out now.’ It’s one of the reasons that I’ve been so excited about not releasing an album because it’s awesome to be able to react to great songs and just get em out there to the fans.”
Watch Blake’s performance of “Hell Right” on Ellen below.
photo by Curtis Hilbun, AFF-USA.com
