Tennessee men’s basketball senior walk-ons Brad Woodson and Lucas Campbell spoke with the media in the postgame after Tennessee’s 71-54 win over Mississippi State on Senior Night in Knoxville.
Tennessee men’s basketball head coach Rick Barnes spoke with the media in the postgame after Tennessee’s 71-54 win over Mississippi State on Senior Night in Knoxville.
HOOVER, Ala. — Tennessee is officially off to its best start in program history at 13-0 after a midweek rout of Troy on a cold Tuesday night in the third annual Hoover Classic at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium.
The 21st-ranked Volunteers busted open a close game with seven combined runs in the sixth and seventh innings and went on to win the game 11-2, finishing with a season-high 13 hits.
Five Vols posted multi-hit games, led by a 4-for-5 performance from junior shortstop Ricky Martinez. Jay Charleston and Andre Lipcius had two RBI apiece while Luc Lipcius had another huge day at the plate with two hits, two runs and three RBI.
Freshman catcher Connor Pavolony had a career night as well, going 2-for-3 with three runs scored and an RBI double while junior leadoff man Justin Ammons extended his on-base streak to 13 games after getting two hits and scoring three runs.
Sean Hunley earned his third win in as many starts after giving up two runs on five hits in five innings. Four true freshmen – Camden Sewell, Chase Silseth, Tanner Kohlhepp and Elijah Pleasants – combined to throw four shutout innings out of the bullpen, allowing just one hit.
After a scoreless first inning, the Vols jumped on Trojans’ starter Sadler Goodwin for two runs on three hits in the top of the second.
Alerick Soularie led off the inning with a walk and scored from first on a double over the left fielder’s head by Pavolony one batter later. Martinez reached on a bunt single to put runners on the corners for Luc Lipcius, who delivered with an RBI single to put UT ahead 2-0.
The Trojans answered back immediately with two runs of their own in the bottom of the second. Austin Garofalo got Troy on the board with an RBI single before Manning Early drove in the tying run with a bases-loaded sacrifice fly two batters later.
Charleston reached on an error by the third baseman to lead off the fifth and made the Trojans pay for their mistake. The SEC leader in stolen bases promptly stole second and came around to score what turned out to be the game-winning run on an RBI groundout by Evan Russell later in the inning.
The Big Orange extended their lead with three runs in the top of the sixth, all with two outs. A bases-loaded walk by Charleston brought in the first run before a Texas leaguer by Andre Lipcius plated two more runs to put UT up 6-2.
Tennessee continued to pour it on in the seventh, putting up a four spot in the inning. Luc Lipcius just barely missed hitting his fourth home run of the season with a two-run triple off the top off the wall in right center. Jake Rucker brought home Lipcius with an RBI groundout and Charleston capped the scoring in the inning with an RBI double to left center to make it 10-2.
An RBI groundout by freshman Trey Lipscomb in the top of the ninth finished off the scoring on the night. It was the first-career RBI for Lipscomb.
NOTABLE
VOLS 6-7-8 HITTERS SHINE IN WIN: The bottom half of UT’s lineup was almost unstoppable on Tuesday night. The 6-7-8 hitters of Connor Pavolony, Ricky Martinez and Luc Lipcius combined to go 8-for-11 with three doubles, a triple, six runs and four RBI in the win. Pavolony set new career highs with two hits and three runs while Martinez also set a career best with four hits.
ANOTHER SCORELESS OUTING FOR BULLPEN: Tennessee’s bullpen has been lights out this season and Tuesday was no exception. Four true freshmen relievers combined to throw four shutout innings, allowing just one hit and two walks. The bullpen has allowed only one run and 10 hits while striking out 55 in 54.0 innings of work this season.
UP NEXT: The Vols are back home this weekend to host Fresno State for three games at Lindsey Nelson Stadium. First pitch for Game One is set for 6:30 p.m. on Friday night. All three games will be streamed live online via SEC Network+ and the WatchESPN app.
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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – No. 8 seed Tennessee (18-11, 7-9 SEC) will meet No. 9 seed LSU (16-12, 7-9 SEC) at noon on Thursday in the second round of the SEC Tournament.
Tip-off is slated for 12:02 p.m. ET at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, S.C., for a contest that is being televised by the SEC Network and carried by the Lady Vol Radio Network and SiriusXM Radio. The winner of Thursday’s game will advance to face No. 1 seed Mississippi State (27-2, 15-1 SEC) at noon on Friday.
The Lady Vols closed out the regular season on Sunday with a dominant 81-56 victory at Ole Miss, moving from 10th to 8th in the SEC standings. After a tough six-game losing skid in January, which included four SEC losses by a combined total of nine points, Tennessee has won six of its last 10 games.
After a surge that saw it win four of five games in early February, LSU enters tourney play having lost its last three contests. The Lady Tigers are coming off a 56-46 home setback vs. Auburn on Sunday in which they were held to single digits in the second and third quarters.
Tennessee and LSU are meeting for the 65th time, with the Big Orange leading the series, 49-15. This will mark the 14th meeting between UT and LSU in the SEC Tournament. The Lady Vols own a 9-4 record in tourney play vs. the Lady Tigers.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
UT-LSU SERIES NOTES
LADY VOL NOTES
TENNESSEE IN THE SEC TOURNAMENT
PREVIOUS VISITS TO GREENVILLE
LADY TIGER NOTES
LSU’S LAST GAME
THE LAST TIME WE MET
LAST UT-LSU GAME AT SEC TOURNEY
UT Athletics
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee head coach Holly Warlick and seniors Meme Jackson and Cheridene Green met with members of the media prior to practice on Tuesday in Pratt Pavilion. UT (18-11, 7-9 SEC) is preparing for the SEC Tournament in Greenville, S.C., where it will face ninth-seeded LSU (16-12, 7-9 SEC) in an No. 8 vs. No. 9 match-up at noon on Thursday.
Answering questions from the media, Warlick discussed UT’s performance at Ole Miss and the importance of performing well in the SEC Tournament.
The Tennessee-LSU game will be televised by the SEC Network.
On what’s at stake and the mood of the team:
“We’ve got to win a basketball game, and they’re intelligent kids, and they know we need to win. We needed to win at Ole Miss too, so they made it a priority. And I think they’re pretty focused and ready to get down there and ready to start playing.”
On getting into the NCAA Tournament:
“I’m just worried about LSU. I can’t control what the committee is going to decide or not decide. We’ve just got to play as hard as we can and beat LSU right now.”
On the case she’d make for being included in the NCAA Tournament:
“(I’d say) how hard we play, our schedule. We’ve got to earn it though. There’s not going to be any favors or anything, so we’ve got to play hard. And if our Ole Miss game is any indication and we come out and play like that against LSU, I think we have a legitimate case, but we’ve got to show that we deserve to be there.”
On what was said to the team between the Vanderbilt and Ole Miss games:
“We met, and the team met, which was really positive, and I just talked about a lot of their self-pride and what they stand for and getting back to playing together as a team. You can talk and you can motivate, and it’s not like we didn’t motivate throughout the whole year, but our kids decided it was important to them, and they played hard (at Ole Miss). When you play hard – I’ve said this the whole time – when you play hard and you play with a lot of passion and energy and selflessness, we’re pretty darn good basketball team.”
On how frustrating it is as a coach in the difference of play against Vanderbilt and Ole Miss:
“That’s funny you said that, because you’re extremely happy for them and then get mad at the same time. As a coach you’ve got to keep moving forward and keep building on what you saw. We’re going to build on that. I know it’s in them, and I know what they can do. They set a pretty high level of intensity and performance, and we need to have that exact same performance against LSU.”
On her message to the team before Ole Miss:
“My talk before (the game) didn’t have anything to do with X’s and O’s. They were prepared and ready, and I just wanted them to see the big picture.”
On the key to success in the win over LSU earlier this season:
“I thought, going back and looking at it, we played well together. Our defense was solid. We gave them probably too many offensive rebounds, which kept them in the game. But we got a great performance out of our inside game. We just played really well together, and when you do that with the talent we have… we just need to carry that over to our second game.”
On Mimi Collins’ development:
“I will tell you this, Mimi Collins has always been a pretty solid offensive player. The only thing I kept telling Mimi that was holding her back was her defense and her defensive presence, and she’s really worked at it. She’s playing with a lot of confidence, and I told her, ‘Your time is coming.” And I’m going to play people who perform and help this basketball team, and I gave Mimi that opportunity and she stepped up. And she stepped up before she was starting, and now she started against Ole Miss and did a great job, so as long she continues to step up and play hard like she has been, I’m going to play her. We need her.”
On Rennia Davis being named to the All-SEC Second Team:
“Rennia has been someone for us that we’ve had to go to. She’s had a lot of pressure on her. She has had an up and down season, but we’re really proud of her for handling a lot of the adversity, and then continuing to step up. She has worked at her craft; she’s in the gym all the time, and when you do that and put in the time like Rennia has done, great things are going to happen. This award is a reflection of her putting in the time, and I’m really proud of her.”
On sophomores stepping us as leaders:
“Well, number one: it’s hard for (Rennia) being a sophomore. Number two: that is not her personality. She she’s not a vocal leader, and it’s very hard for her. So, we’re asking her to do a lot of difficult things, but she’s gotten out of her comfort zone and tried to help this basketball team. It’s hard for all of them. Evina Westbrook, too, she’s a sophomore. It has been difficult. We’ve learned throughout the season what we need to do and what we don’t need to do, and it is a growing process. When you don’t have upperclassmen that have been here and have led, it’s extremely difficult.”
On Kasiyahna’s Kushkituah not playing at Ole Miss:
“She had a death in her family, and she was gone Saturday. (Her not playing) had nothing to do with Kasi and her performance. We’re just excited that everybody else stepped up and had a great game.”
On if she’s talked to the team about how important the game against LSU is:
Absolutely. They’re intelligent. Unlike me, they’re on social media 24-7, so they see what’s been said. They know what’s at stake, and it’d be really foolish for me to try to hide that. The Ole Miss game, we talked about that. That was a huge game for us. We had a lot at stake there. We talked a lot about it. Really every game that we’ve played since we’ve been in the SEC, they understand the importance. They’re intelligent young ladies, and they’ve got to take what they know is important and their skill level and their effort and put it to use.”
On difference between games against Vandy and Ole Miss:
“We were playing with a lot of energy and effort all over the floor. We were also playing together, and we had great ball movement.”
On NCAA Tournament chances:
“Our plan is to take it game by game. We aren’t looking too far ahead. We are looking at our next game, and our next game is LSU, so that is what we are focusing on.”
On advice to freshmen:
“Right now, in tournament play, everyone starts off 0-0, because it is a new record and new season. We just have to go out there with a mindset that it’s just one game at a time.”
On what was said after Vanderbilt:
“Holly talked to us about it, and that was not our identity or who were are. We had a team meeting as well, and we decided that is not how we wanted to end our season, so we had to get together, and I think we have gotten it together.”
On giving freshman advice:
“We just tell them to stay focused whether you are nervous or not. We told them to just play your game and be yourself. We told them not to think about the tournament or what people are saying, but just be true to yourself and have fun with it too.”
On previous win against LSU:
“I think our effort was there, and we played defense well. LSU is a great defensive team, and we matched that toward the end of the game. We need to make sure we give great effort and stay focused on the game plan.”
On the team meeting:
“We just needed reassurance on the team, and we asked everybody if their goals are all the same. We hold each other accountable to make sure we want what we want, and we have to show it in our actions too.”
On the difference between games against Vandy and Ole Miss:
“Our defense was the main difference. I think Meme had a great game, too, and that also brought everyone along. Our energy was there, too. We were talking to each other, we were holding each other accountable, and we were listening to what the coach was saying. We were together, and that is how it needs to be from here on out.”
UT Athletics
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The 2019 Southeastern Conference Women’s Basketball awards, as chosen by the league’s coaches, were announced on Tuesday, and Lady Vols Rennia Davis and Zaay Green were among the student-athletes recognized.
Davis, a sophomore guard/forward from Jacksonville, Fla., was named to the All-SEC Second Team, while Green, a guard from Duncanville, Texas, was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team. It was the first all-conference honor for Davis. Green, meanwhile, became the third member of UT’s current roster to earn rookie acclaim, following 2018 honorees Davis and Evina Westbrook.
Associated Press also released its 10-member All-SEC Team on Tuesday, and Davis garnered second-team accolades from the media as well.
Davis leads Tennessee in rebounding (7.9) and free throw percentage (.873), is second in scoring (14.5), third in steals (45) and three-pointers made (30) and fourth in field goal percentage (.453). The 6-foot-2 graduate of Ribault High School has scored in double figures in 23 of 28 games, tallying 15 or more points on 13 occasions and hitting 20 or more points five times. She leads the team in double-doubles with eight and has hit 23 of 27 free throws in the final four minutes of games.
Among all the sophomores who’ve ever played at Tennessee, Davis’ season scoring average currently ranks No. 7. She also currently owns the No. 9 single season free throw percentage. Davis currently is No. 1 in the SEC in free throw percentage and is No. 8 in rebounding, No. 9 in field goal percentage and No. 14 in scoring. She is a top-10 finalist for the Cheryl Miller Award, was the MVP and an all-tournament team member at the Junkanoo Jam and was named SEC Player of the Week on one occasion this season.
Green, a 6-0 guard out of storied Duncanville High School, has started 24 of 29 games, averaging 10.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.0 steals while playing 27.2 minutes per contest. She has scored in double figures 15 times, including four games of 15 or more points. She ranks second on the team in assists, third in rebounding and blocks, and fourth in scoring, steals and three-pointers.
Among SEC freshmen, Green ranks No. 2 in scoring and rebounding, No. 3 in assists and steals, and No. 6 in blocks. She was a two-time SEC Freshman of the Week pick this season.
Davis, Green and their teammates will travel to Greenville, S.C., on Wednesday, where they will meet up with LSU in the SEC Tournament Second Round at noon on Thursday in the Bon Secours Wellness Arena. The SEC Network will have the telecast, and the game also will be available via the Lady Vol Radio Network and the SEC Radio Network broadcasts on Sirius 138, XM 191 and Online 962.
UT Athletics
Justin Moore revealed he will release his upcoming fifth studio album, Late Night and Longnecks, on April 26. Justin co-wrote every track on the 10-song offering, which also features songwriters Casey Beathard, David Lee Murphy, Paul DiGiovanni, Rhett Akins, Jeremy Stover and more.
With backing from guitar virtuoso Brent Mason and pedal steel icon Paul Franklin, Late Night and Longnecks promises to be Justin’s most traditional-sounding album to date.
“I’ve never worked with those guys [Mason and Franklin] before, but they’ve played on some of my favorite albums of all time,” says Justin. “We thought it would be really cool to bring them in and record the whole thing at The Castle, this historic studio just south of Nashville where a lot of those legendary hit records were made.”
The album’s lead single, “The Ones That Didn’t Make It Back Home,” is currently No. 39 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart after 17 weeks.
Late Nights and Longnecks Track List & Songwriters
1. “Why We Drink” | Justin Moore, Casey Beathard, David Lee Murphy, Jeremy Stover
2. “That’s My Boy” | Justin Moore, Casey Beathard, Jeremy Stover
3. “The Ones That Didn’t Make It Back Home” | Justin Moore, Paul DiGiovanni, Chase McGill, Jeremy Stover
4. “Jesus And Jack Daniels” | Justin Moore, Paul DiGiovanni, Chase McGill, Jeremy Stover
5. “Airport Bar” | Justin Moore, Casey Beathard, Paul DiGiovanni, Jeremy Stover
6. “Small Town Street Cred” | Justin Moore, Paul DiGiovanni, Chase McGill, Jeremy Stover
7. “Never Gonna Drink Again” | Justin Moore, Rhett Akins, Paul DiGiovanni, Jeremy Stover
8. “On The Rocks” | Justin Moore, Paul DiGiovanni, Chase McGill, Jeremy Stover
9. “Someday I Gotta Quit” | Justin Moore, Casey Beathard, Paul DiGiovanni, Jeremy Stover
10. “Good Times Don’t” | Justin Moore, Paul DiGiovanni, Chase McGill, Jeremy Stover
photo by Jason Simanek
Kelsea Ballerini has another Top 20 hit on her hands with her current single, “Miss Me More,” which is No. 17 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart after 19 weeks.
“Miss Me More” was penned by Kelsea, David Hodges and Brett McLaughlin at a time when Kelsea says she was rediscovering herself after a bad breakup. The tune is featured on Kelsea’s 2017 sophomore album, Unapologetically.
As Kelsea told Kix Brooks of American Country Countdown, “Miss Me More” has an important message—specifically for women.
“It’s kind of my sass-bomb on the record, but really when you listen to it, it really is about fighting for yourself and knowing that you’re worth it and worth fighting for,” says Kelsea. “I just feel like in our world right now—specifically right now for females—it’s important to know that you’re always worth standing up for and fighting for, so I’m proud of it.”
Watch Kelsea come out swinging in the video for “Miss Me More.”
photo by Tammie Arroyo, AFF-USA.com
![Chris Janson’s New “Good Vibes” Video Is an Uplifting Family Affair [Watch]](https://cdn.socast.io/6616/sites/1446/2019/03/05094940/Chris-Janson-Ta.jpg#aqua_resizer_image_not_local)
Chris Janson released a family-friendly video—starring his wife and children—for his new single, “Good Vibes.”
The video for the uplifting tune, which was directed by Michael Monaco, also features non-actors—like police officers and a military member—sharing positive experiences with others.
Penned by Chris, Ashley Gorley and Zach Crowel, “Good Vibes” is the lead single from Chris’ upcoming third studio album, which is tentatively slated to drop in September.
“When we wake up in the morning, we have the choice to be in a good mood or a bad mood,” says Chris. “I believe we can change the world with a smile, a good attitude and a timeless message about being kind to everyone. That’s what ‘Good Vibes’ is all about!”
Watch Chris’ new video below.
photo by Tammie Arroyo, AFF-USA.com
Jordan Davis scored the second No. 1 single of his career as “Take It From Me” topped the Mediabase chart this week.
The tune follows Jordan’s debut single, “Singles You Up,” which reached No. 1 in April 2018.
“Take It From Me” has extra-special significance for Jordan—it’s a song he co-penned with his brother Jacob Davis and Jason Gantt.
“Jacob and I had a dream of having a No. 1 song together when we moved to Nashville and we both cannot thank everyone enough for their support of this tune,” says Jordan. “From country radio to the fans, thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
Jordan was recently nominated for ACM New Male Artist of the Year. The Louisiana native is currently on the road with Old Dominion as part of their Make It Sweet Tour.
photo by Jason Simanek
