Chris Young will team with Gavin DeGraw for a new episode of CMT Crossroads.
The episode will be taped at The Factory in Franklin, Tenn., on Nov. 26. The taping of the show is open to the public on a first-come, first-served basis—and you must register to attend. Doors open at 7 p.m. and close at 8 p.m. for the concert that’s slated to end at 9:30 p.m.
The cross-genre stars are expected to collaborate on each other’s hits, share stories and more. While Chris, 34, has scored 10 No. 1 hits on the country charts since dropping his self-titled debut album in 2006, Gavin, 42, has found success on the pop charts with hits like “I Don’t Want to Be,” “Not Over You” and more.
Scotty McCreery’s tour dates in 2019 may be winding down, but the North Carolina native still has plenty of work to do before closing out the year.
Scotty has four dates—Nov. 21, 22 and 23 and Dec. 14—remaining as part of Old Dominion’s Make It Sweet Tour, and then it’s back into the studio to record new music for his upcoming album.
Scotty had to wait almost five years between releasing his 2013 sophomore album, See You Tonight, and his 2018 No.1 album, Season’s Change, which spawned two No. 1 hits, “Five More Minutes” and “This Is It.”
“We’re headed back into the studio in mid-December,” says Scotty to Nash Country Daily. “We’ve got a lot of songs we’ve been writing and a lot of songs we’ve been sitting on that we’re excited about. So we’re going to get them in the can. The last record [Season’s Change], I had to wait five years between records. We’re not doing that again. We want to be ready to go.”
Brantley Gilbert is following up his recent No. 1 single, “What Happen in a Small Town,” with the release of “Fire’t Up.”
The new tune, which Brantley co-penned with Brandon Day and Justin Weaver,” is featured on Brantley’s 2019 No. 1 album, Fire & Brimstone. “Fire’t Up” will impact country radio on Dec. 2.
If you didn’t make it to Nashville in September for AmericanaFest, you can still catch some of the action thanks to Austin City Limits on PBS.
Austin City Limits will air highlights of the 18th annual Americana Honors & Awards on PBS on Nov. 23 (check local listings) with performances by Brandi Carlile; Elvis Costello and Jim Lauderdale; Rodney Crowell and Joe Henry; Mark Erelli with Shawn Colvin, Lori McKenna, J.S. Ondara and Josh Ritter; Rhiannon Giddens; I’m With Her; The Milk Carton Kids; Mumford & Sons; Our Native Daughters; Bonnie Raitt & John Prine; The War and Treaty; and Yola.
2019 AmericanaFest took over Nashville during the week of Sept. 10–15, with the Honors & Awards ceremony on Sept. 11 at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium serving as the week’s centerpiece. More than 320 acts performed at 55 different venues during the six-day festival.
TORONTO, Ontario – A balanced effort on both sides of the floor, along with double-digit scoring outputs from four different players, pushed Tennessee to a 75-62 victory over 20th-ranked Washington on Saturday in the James Naismith Classic at Scotiabank Arena.
The Vols improved to 3-0 for the third consecutive season, while Washington fell to 2-1.
UT was led by senior Jordan Bowden, who poured in a game-high-tying 18 points, with 15 coming in the game’s first half. His point total leaves him just five shy of becoming the 51st member of Tennessee’s 1,000-Point Club.
Junior John Fulkerson was a force in the paint, scoring 14 points and grabbing six rebounds. Fulkerson was also integral in putting Washington forward Isaiah Stewart into foul trouble early in the first half.
Fellow Vols junior Yves Pons put together another solid performance, tallying 15 points to reach that total for the third consecutive game.
Freshman Josiah-Jordan James had a perfect shooting night, making all four of his shots from the field. His performance was good enough for season-highs in both points (9) and assists (5).
An 11-2 scoring run early in the first half, gave UT a 16-7 lead, and it maintained its lead for the duration of the game.
The Vols were lights-out from the field in the first half, shooting 55 percent overall and 62.5 percent from behind the 3-point arc, knocking down five of their eight attempts from long range.
In the second half, the Orange & White fended off shooting struggles, holding the Huskies to a 37-percent shooting mark in the half, never allowing the lead to slip to fewer than seven points.
Tennessee closed the contest netting its final 12 points from the free-throw line, with senior Lamonte Turner going 9-for-10 from the line down the stretch. Turner finished the night with 16 points, a game-high eight assists and a season-high seven rebounds. He was named the game’s MVP.
Evergreen State Success: For the second straight season, Tennessee has logged an impressive, neutral-site victory over a team from the state of Washington. Last season, the Volunteers defeated top-ranked Gonzaga, 76-73, at the Jerry Colangelo Classic in Phoenix, Arizona. Just like Saturday’s triumph over Washington, that Gonzaga game was sponsored by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and took place in an NBA arena.
How Mr. Naismith Drew It Up: The Vols assisted on all 15 of their made field goals in the first half.
Up Next: Tennessee returns home to Thompson-Boling Arena on Wednesday, Nov. 20, for a 7 p.m. ET tip against Alabama State. The contest will be broadcast on SEC Network+.
TORONTO, Ontario – Tennessee basketball returns to action on Saturday afternoon at the James Naismith Classic, when it takes on Washington inside Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena. Tipoff is set for 5 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
Saturday’s game will be available to the U.S. audience through a paid subscription with ESPN+. Information about a subscription to the online service can be found here. Doug Sherman (play-by-play) and Sean Farnham (color) will have the call.
Fans can also listen live on their local Vol Network affiliate to listen to Bob Kesling and Bert Bertlekamp describing the action.
Tennessee picked up its second win of 2019-20 on Tuesday night, using a 14-4 run early in the second half to propel themselves to an 82-63 victory over Murray State. The Vols were led by senior Jordan Bowden who poured in a career-high 26 points, with 19 coming in the second half. Bowden also nailed a career-high six 3-pointers. Junior Yves Pons, also impressed for the second consecutive game, tallying a career-high 19 points. Despite a difficult shooting night, senior guard Lamonte Turner dished off a career-high 14 assists.
This will be the Vols and Huskies first meeting in the history of the two programs. Tennessee will be looking for its first victory north of the border, as this will be the first appearance for any Tennessee team sport in Canada. Rick Barnes will also be looking for his first victory over the University of Washington, in his first ever matchup against the Huskies.
The game is part of a six-team, three-game slate, with Buffalo and Harvard tipping off at 2:30 p.m. ET and Rutgers and St. Bonaventure taking place at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Up next, Tennessee will return home on Wednesday, Nov. 20, when it takes on Alabama State, for the first of two consecutive home contests in Thompson-Boling Arena. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. ET on SEC Network +.
THE SERIES
• Tennessee and Washington have never previously met on the collegiate hardwood.
• Washington is the only current Pac-12 member that Rick Barnes has never faced as a head coach.
• The Volunteers own an 18-11 record against current members of the Pac-12, while Barnes’ record against the conference is 30-22.
• Both universities share a unique gridiron connection, as each school has a riverfront football stadium. Fans of both teams routinely boat to and from home games at Neyland Stadium and Husky Stadium.
A WIN WOULD…
• Leave Rick Barnes‘ five wins away from recording his 700th career head coaching victory.
• Give Barnes at least one career victory over every current member of the Pac-12 Conference.
STORYLINES
• While he was the head coach at Providence, Rick Barnes coached a Big East all-star team that toured Australia in the early 90s. One of the players on that squad was a shooting guard from Syracuse named Mike Hopkins.
• Hopkins was present at the Naismith Awards Brunch in Minneapolis on April 7 when Barnes received the 2019 Werner Ladder Naismith Men’s Coach of the Year Award. Washington’s Matisse Thybulle received the 2019 Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Award at that same brunch.
• The Vols and Huskies also crossed paths during last season’s NCAA Tournament, as both teams competed in Columbus, Ohio, during the first and second rounds. Tennessee advanced to the Sweet Sixteen, while UW fell to North Carolina in the second round.
• Tennessee has had three all-time basketball lettermen from Canada—all from Ontario: Bobby Croft (Hamilton, 1967-70), Ray Kasongo (Toronto, 2015-16), Kyle Alexander (Milton, 2015-19).
• Alexander completed his eligibility last season and spent NBA training camp with the Miami Heat. He is now playing for the Heat’s G League affiliate team, the Sioux Falls Skyforce. Alexander is averaging 9.0 points, 13.0 rebounds and 7.5 blocks through the season’s first two games.
• Rick Barnes has coached several players from Canada, including NBA champions Cory Joseph (Pickering) and Tristan Thompson (Brampton).
• Yves Pons is shooting .778 from the field and has seven blocked shots in UT’s first two games.
ABOUT WASHINGTON
•Washington, like Tennessee is coming off two wins to open its 2019-20 campaign. The Huskies took down 16th-ranked Baylor, 67-64, in their season-opener, before taking down Mount St. Mary’s, 56-46, in their home lidlifter this past Tuesday.
•The Huskies look to move forward after losing four starters from last season while returning only three players who averaged more than 10 minutes per game in 2018-19.
•UW will be without 2019 NBA Draft pick Matisse Thybulle. Last season, the Washington senior was awarded the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Award and was placed on the All-Pac-12 first team. He led all Division I players in steals, with 126. Thybulle passed Hall of Famer Gary Payton as the Pac-12’s career steals leader, with 331 takeaways. Thybulle was drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers, with the 22nd overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft.
•6-6 sophomore Jamal Bey is expected to make a big jump and has the potential to replicate the lost length of Thybulle on both sides of the ball.
• Huskies guard Quade Green is a transfer from Kentucky. He averaged 13.0 points and 2.0 assists in three games against Tennessee in 2017-18.
•Entering this new season, the Huskies are relying on freshmen Isaiah Stewart and Jaden McDaniels for immediate production. Both rank first or second in multiple statistical categories for Washington through two games.
• After a seven-year hiatus from the NCAA Tournament, the Huskies returned to the March Madness field in 2019, advancing to the Round of 32 as a nine seed, where they fell to North Carolina.
• Washington accounts for the 16th-most all-time wins among Division I college basketball programs, with 1,794 victories.
TENNESSEE PROGRAM READY TO MAKE ITS CANADIAN DEBUT
• Tennessee makes its Canadian debut (in any team sport) Saturday, as the Volunteers are set to face Washington as part of the James Naismith Classic in Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena.
• The inaugural tripleheader event also features games between Buffalo-Harvard (2:30 p.m. ET) and Rutgers-St. Bonaventure (7:30 p.m. ET).
• Last year, in their second season under the direction of head coach Mike Hopkins, the Huskies won the 2019 Pac-12 regular-season championship and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Washington finished with a 27-9 (15-3 Pac-12) record. Hopkins has led UW to back-to-back 20-win seasons and has claimed consecutive Pac-12 Coach of the Year honors.
• Tennessee has never faced Washington on the hardwood and is 18-11 all-time against current members of the Pac-12.
• Vols head coach Rick Barnes owns a 30-22 career record against current members of the Pac-12. Washington is the only Pac-12 school he has never faced.
SATURDAY’S SHOWDOWN OF INTEREST IN 76ER’s LOCKER ROOM
• Saturday’s Tennessee-Washington showdown has bragging-rights implications in the Philadelphia 76ers locker room. The Sixers’ roster features two former Vols in starters Tobias Harris and Josh Richardson, as well as rookie wing and Washington alum Matisse Thybulle.
MESSAGE RECEIVED
• Vols head coach Rick Barnes openly voiced disappointment in senior guards Jordan Bowden and Lamonté Turner after the pair combined to commit nine turnovers in UT’s season-opener vs. UNC Asheville.
• The message must have gotten through, because the duo accounted for 15 assists and no turnovers in UT’s next game, against Murray State. Turner was responsible for 14 of those assists—the most by a Vol since January of 1994. Bowden, meanwhile, exploded for 26 points in the win over the Racers.
HISTORIC NIGHT FOR TURNER
• Lamonté Turner’s 14-assist performance in the Nov. 12 win over Murray State made him one of only seven Vols to ever dish out 14 or more in a single game.
• It was the most assists by a Vol since LaMarcus Golden had 14 at South Carolina on Jan. 19, 1994.
FRONTCOURT EFFICIENCY
• Through Tennessee’s first two games, forwards John Fulkerson, Yves Pons and Olivier Nkamhoua have combined to shoot 28-of-40 (.700) from the field.
• Against Murray State Nov. 12, Fulkerson had 2.25 points per shot, which is a pretty elite number. On the season, he is averaging 1.9 points per shot, while Pons has been nearly as efficient (1.89 pps).
VOLS ADJUSTING TO NEW, DEEPER 3-POINT LINE
• Per legislation passed in June of 2019, the NCAA this season extended the 3-point line from 20 feet 9 inches to match the international distance of 22 feet 13/4 inches.
• During Rick Barnes‘ previous four seasons at Tennessee, with the shorter distance in play, the Vols shot .351 (975 of 2,778) from beyond the arc.
• This season, with the line extended, Tennessee is shooting .462 (18 of 39) from 3-point range.
VOLS SIGN TALENTED TRIO
• November 13 was an historic day for the Tennessee basketball program, as the Volunteers received signed National Letters of Intent from three elite prospects who comprise one of the most outstanding recruiting classes in program history.
• Five-star prospects Keon Johnson and Jaden Springer and four-star prospect Corey Walker Jr. give Tennessee a signing class that is ranked as high as No. 4 nationally by 247Sports, Rivals and ESPN. All three of those services also list Tennessee’s three signees among the top 40 prospects in the Class of 2020.
• All three signees are expected to enroll in the summer of 2020 and will be freshmen next season.
• All three also were named to the Atlanta Tipoff Club’s watch list for the 2020 Jersey Mike’s Naismith High School Trophy for Boys Player of the Year Award.
• Including current freshman Josiah-Jordan James, Tennessee has now signed four national top 50 recruits during the Barnes era.
Co-hosts Carrie Underwood, Reba McEntire and Dolly Parton kicked off the CMA Awards on Nov. 13 with a rendition of “Those Memories of You,” a Top 5 tune made popular by Dolly, Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris on their 1987 album, Trio.
Jennifer Nettles and Little Big Town’s Karen Fairchild and Kimberly Schlapman joined the ceremony to sing “You’re Looking at Country,” a Top 5 hit Loretta Lynn penned and recorded in 1971.
The Highwomen—Maren Morris, Amanda Shires, Brandi Carlile and Natalie Hemby—performed “You’re Good Girl’s Gonna Go Bad,” a song Tammy Wynette took to No. 3 in 1967.
Tanya Tucker entered the stage to sing her 1972 Top 10 hit, “Delta Dawn,” followed by Gretchen Wilson, who performed her 2004 No. 1 hit, “Redneck Woman.” Crystal Gayle slowed it down with a rendition of her 1977 No. 1 hit, “Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue,” before Terri Clark treated fans to her 1993 Top 5 hit, “Better Things to Do.”
Sara Evans joined the mix to sing her 2000 No. 1 hit, “Born to Fly,” before Martina McBride closed the performance with her anthemic 1994 single, “Independence Day.”
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The Lady Vols moved their record to 4-0 on Thursday night, defeating Tennessee State, 73-43, in front of a crowd of 7,213 at Thompson-Boling Arena.
The win marked the third-straight year that UT has started out 4-0, and the Lady Vols improved to 6-0 all-time against the Lady Tigers (1-1).
Eight players for the Big Orange scored during the first of six consecutive home games, with three of them scoring in double digits. Sophomore Rae Burrell came off the bench to lead the way with a career-high-tying 14, while junior Rennia Davis and junior Kasiyahna Kushkituah added 12 and 11, respectively.
Davis, the current SEC Player of the Week, led UT in rebounding for the second time this season, grabbing 10. Her double-double was her third of the season and 21st of her career.
Tennessee State was led by Taylor Roberts with 12 points, followed by Deaja Richardson who logged 11.
Tennessee continued its dominance on the glass by out-rebounding Tennessee State, 60-38. The Lady Vols have now grabbed more rebounds than their opponents in all four contests so far this season. The Big Orange had 31 points from bench players and tallied 44 vs. TSU in the paint.
Sophomore Jazmine Massengill got UT on the scoreboard first, followed by a layup from freshman Tamari Key and a three-pointer from redshirt senior Lou Brown to quickly give Tennessee an early 7-2 lead with just over two minutes gone in the first quarter.
Tennessee led 14-10 at the end of the period, with nine players seeing action in the first 10 minutes. Kushkituah led Tennessee with four points and added three rebounds, while Davis paced the team in rebounds with four.
Freshman Jordan Horston scored the opening bucket in the second quarter, giving UT a 16-10 lead. The next five points were scored by Davis, who started a scoring streak for the Lady Vols. Burrell had back-to-back buckets, and Horston nailed a three-pointer and followed it with a fast break lay-in, extending UT’s lead to nine with 2:57 remaining in the second frame. Davis scored four more points for the Lady Vols, and Kushkituah finished the first half with a lay-up, giving Tennessee a 35-22 lead at the end of the opening 20 minutes.
Horston and Davis both led the team with nine points apiece in the first half. Davis also topped the team in rebounds with six, while Horston collected a team-high two steals.
The Lady Vols also held TSU to a 21.6 shooting percentage in the first half, only allowing eight field goals. Offensively, UT shot at a 40.6 clip in the opening half and out-rebounded the Tigers, 33-16. UT used the opportunity to score nine points off second chances and 22 in the paint.
Brown opened up the second half with a corner three-pointer less than a minute into the quarter, beginning a run of six different UT players scoring in the period. Freshman Emily Saunders led the Lady Vols in scoring in the third stanza with back-to-back buckets less than two minutes in the frame.
After two made free throws by Massengill with 59 seconds left in the third quarter, UT had its then-largest lead of the game with a 25-point advantage at 51-26. Burrell also contributed by keeping busy on the boards, grabbing a team high of five rebounds in the period.
Tennessee went on a 10-0 run to open the fourth quarter, and five different Lady Vols contributed to a 13-6 scoring burst. The spurt gave UT its largest lead of the game at 64-33 after a three-pointer from Burrell with just under five minutes remaining in the game. Saunders also reached a career high of six points, scoring a layup with 2:37 left in the game.
The Big Orange had its best shooting percentage during the final frame, hitting 50 percent. Burrell was the lone player that shot from beyond the arc in the final 10 minutes and went 2-for-3. Massengill closed out the game with a jumper in the paint to account for the final score.
Up Next: The Lady Vols remain at home, hosting Stetson on Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the annual Hoops For Hunger game. Fans donating two or more non-perishable food items to benefit the Second Harvest Food Bank will receive a complimentary ticket. The contest will be streamed online via SECN+ and broadcast on the Lady Vol Network. Tickets are available at AllVols.com.
Owning The Glass: UT out-rebounded Tennessee State, 60-38. Through four games, Tennessee has beaten every opponent on the boards, averaging 54.3 rebounds per game while holding opponents to 36.0. The school record rebound average for a season is 46.9 in 1992-93.
Rennia Climbing The Record Book: Junior Rennia Davis recorded her 21st career double-double, moving her into a tie with Bridgette Gordon and Cierra Burdick at 14th all-time in Lady Vol career double-doubles.
Run Tracker: Tennessee put up a 10-0 run during the fourth quarter against Tenn. State, notching its fourth 10+ run of the season.
Balanced Attack: Of the 10 Lady Vols active against Tennessee State, eight contributed at least six points while three players ended the day in double figures.
Vocal powerhouses Pink and Chris Stapleton teamed up to perform “Love Me Anyway” at the CMA Awards on Nov. 13.
Pink co-penned the tune with Allen Shamblin and Tom Douglas, the songwriting tandem behind Miranda Lambert’s “The House That Built Me.” The heavy-hearted piano ballad features Chris’ harmony vocals. The song is featured on Pink’s recent album, Hurts 2B Human.
This isn’t Pink’s first foray working with a country artist—she collaborated with Kenny Chesney in 2016 for the duet, “Setting the World on Fire,” which hit the top of Billboard’s Country Airplay chart later that year.
Watch Pink and Chris’ performance at the CMA Awards.
All three of Tennessee’s recent basketball signees made the 50-player watch list for the 2020 Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy for Boys High School Player of the Year Award, the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced Thursday.
UT signees Keon Johnson, Jaden Springer and Corey Walker Jr. each rank among the national top-40 prospects in the Class of 2020, and each are candidates for the Naismith High School Trophy, which will be awarded in March.
“These players are the future of basketball,” Atlanta Tipoff Club Executive Director Eric Oberman said of the 50 players on the watch list. “Each of these young men are full of talent and potential, and we will start to see that raw talent be refined into amazing skill as the season continues, with select players rising to the top of the list for the Jersey Mike’s Naismith High School Trophy.”
Johnson, Springer and Walker Jr. give Tennessee a signing class that is rated No. 4 in the country by ESPN, Rivals and 247Sports.
Johnson is a native of Shelbyville, Tennessee, who attends The Webb School in Bell Buckle, Tennessee. Springer is from Charlotte, North Carolina, and attends IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. And Walker Jr. is a native of Hastings, Florida, who currently attends Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham, Virginia.
All three standouts are expected to enroll in the summer of 2020 and will be freshmen for the Vols next season.
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