Jimmy’s blog: Bone brilliant as Vols win 4th in a row at home over Kentucky

Jimmy’s blog: Bone brilliant as Vols win 4th in a row at home over Kentucky

Posted on March 2, 2019

By Jimmy Hyams

Kentucky is the blue blood.

Tennessee is the new blood.

For the fourth year in a row, Tennessee defeated Kentucky 71-52 in a dominating performance at sold out Thompson-Boling Arena. It’s the first time UT has won four in a row in Knoxville over the Wildcats (24-5, 13-3 SEC) since taking seven in a row from 1979-85.

The seventh-ranked Vols (26-3, 14-2 SEC) are back in position to win consecutive SEC regular-season titles for the first time ever.

They are likely to move ahead of fourth-ranked Kentucky in the polls and in the all-important Joe Lunardi brackets.

And they are back in the conversation for being a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.

Tennessee has also had back-to-back 25 win seasons for the first time ever and has won 25 in a row at home.

Tennessee whipped Kentucky as bad as the Cats routed the Vols in Rupp Arena Feb. 16 thanks mainly to a suffocating defense. Kentucky, which shot 54% in Rupp, hit only 31.8% — and just 5 of 19 on 3s. Conversely, UT shot 43.5% — 50% in the second half – and canned 8 of 22 on 3s. UT also outscored UK 28-10 in the point and stayed within three in rebounds compared to the 39-26 disadvantage in Rupp.

It wasn’t hard to figure out the 36 point scoring differential in the two games.

“They were the aggressor today and we weren’t,’’ Kentucky coach John Calipari said, “We were the aggressor and they weren’t at our place.’’

Tennessee coach Rick Barnes agreed. He also applauded his team’s defense, physicality and the play of point guard Jordan Bone.

In a game with plenty of NBA prospects, Bone was the best player on the court. He scored a career-high 27 points on 5-of-5 shooting from beyond the arc and 11 of 15 overall. He also had three rebounds, three assists and no turnovers.

And each time Kentucky made a mini-run, Bone hit a clutch shot, whether a 3-pointer or a driving layup.

“He really was (brilliant),’’ Barnes said of Bone.

Bone is playing about 10 more minutes per game this year and Barnes felt the extra minutes Bone accrued in December when teammate Lamonte Turner was out with a shoulder injury has proven beneficial.

Asked if this was his best game in a UT uniform, Bone said, “I don’t know, you tell me.’’

Bone did say it might have been his best offensive outing but he felt he played better defense a few days ago against Ole Miss.

Bone bemoaned the fact that Kentucky was the more physical team in the first matchup and wanted it more than the Vols.

“You don’t ever want to say that after a game,’’ Bone said.

Bone and his teammates don’t have to.

There was one other difference in the two contests between the SEC’s top two ranked teams: Kentucky didn’t have senior transfer Reid Travis, out with an injury. UK missed his toughness and consistency, Calipari said.

“We would have had to play one of our best games in 10 years to win without Reid Travis,’’ Calipari said. “Even if we’d played well, they’d have beaten us the way they played. They fought and battled.’’

Calipari added: “We had some guys intimidated by the situation and they couldn’t make shots. … We played like freshmen. We played like a deer in headlights.’’

Bone wasn’t UT’s only star. Grant Williams, who might have cemented SEC Player of Year honors for the second year in a row, had 24 points and seven rebounds and outplayed UK’s PJ Washington, who was held to 13 points and three rebounds.

Good thing Bone and Williams combined for 51 points because UT didn’t get much out of Admiral Schofield (7 points on 3 of 13 shooting), Lamonte Turner (4 points on 2 of 10 shooting) and Kyle Alexander (0 points, six rebounds and five fouls).

Turner and Schofield were 0 of 10 from 3-point range.

But that didn’t matter, not when the SEC’s best point guard and the reigning SEC player of the year were carrying the Vols.

PARTING SHOT: Calipari, whose team was a No. 1 seed entering the UT game, according to Lunardi, was asked if the loss to Tennessee would hurt Kentucky’s chances of being a No. 1 seed.

“No, because other teams lose and they move up in the polls,’’ Calipari said.

PARTING SHOT 2: Kentucky had what appears to be the smallest following ever at Thompson-Boling Arena, which is more than 30 years old.

It looked like fewer than 100 from the Big Blue Nation were in the stands.

Observers said UT had almost 500 fans in Rupp Arena two weeks ago.

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Hoops Preview: #7 Tennessee vs. #4 Kentucky

Hoops Preview: #7 Tennessee vs. #4 Kentucky

Posted on March 2, 2019
Credit: UT Athletics

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — With major SEC Title implications on the line, seventh-ranked Tennessee is set for another top-10 clash Saturday, hosting No. 4 Kentucky in a sold-out Thompson-Boling Arena.

The game will tip at 2 p.m. ET and will be televised on CBS. Fans can listen live on their local Vol Network affiliate to hear Bob Kesling and Bert Bertelkamp describing the action.

With a chance to repeat as SEC Champions, the Vols (25-3, 13-2 SEC) are currently in a 3-way tie for first place in the league with the Wildcats and LSU. UT clinched a top-4 seed and a double-bye for the conference tournament with a win on Wednesday at Ole Miss. National Player of the Year candidate Grant Williamsknocked down a shot with three seconds left to take the lead over the Rebels, while Admiral Schofield sealed the victory by drawing a charge on the other end of the floor as Ole Miss tried to answer.

Kentucky (24-4, 13-2 SEC) has been on fire recently, winning 14 of its last 15 game. Sophomore forward P.J. Washington (15.0 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 1.1 bpg) has inserted himself into the National Player of the Year conversation with his impressive play lately, while a trio of freshmen guards in Keldon Johnson, Ashton Hagans and Tyler Herro have been a major presence on both ends of the floor for the Wildcats.

THE SERIES
• Tennessee trails the all-time series with Kentucky, 155-71, dating to 1910.
• The Wildcats have a 52-50 edge when the series is played in Knoxville.
• Tennessee has beaten Kentucky in Knoxville in each of the last three seasons and has never lost at home to the Wildcats under Rick Barnes.

A WIN WOULD…
• Preserve Tennessee’s perfect home record this season.
• Give the Vols four consecutive home wins over Kentucky.
• Make the Vols 2-2 this season against top-five opponents.
• Stretch the Vols’ home win streak to 25 games, dating to last season.
• Make Tennessee 10-0 in regular-season SEC rematch games dating to the start of last season.

STORYLINES
• Tennessee is in a three-way tie for first place in the SEC standings with Kentucky and LSU.
• Two of Tennessee’s three losses this season have come in overtime, and all three were away from home against top-15 opponents and Q1 teams.
• For the second year in a row, the Vols are assured of finishing the season with single-digit losses.
• Saturday’s game is Tennessee’s sixth home sellout of the season. That is a single-season record at Thompson-Boling Arena.
• Tennessee’s average home attendance of 18,771 ranks fourth nationally.
• Three Vols rank among the SEC’s top 10 in field-goal percentage. Grant Williams ranks second (.568), Admiral Schofield ranks fifth (.483) and Jordan Bone ranks seventh (.470). Tennessee’s current starting five has combined to shoot .511 this season.

ABOUT KENTUCKY
• John Calipari’s squad has been playing the best basketball of any team in the country as of late, winning 14 of its last 15 games. In non-conference play, UK logged ranked wins over North Carolina, Louisville and Kansas. Kentucky dropped its first matchup of the SEC slate but responded by winning its next nine.
• Sophomore forward P.J. Washington (15.0 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 1.1 bpg) has inserted himself into the National Player of the Year conversation with his impressive play lately. As the team’s leading scorer and rebounder, Washington has scored at least 20 points in seven of the last 10 games and has recorded three of his seven double-doubles during that stretch.
• Forward Keldon Johnson (13.6 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 1.6 apg) gave the Vols fits in the first matchup with 19 points. He is one of several talented freshmen on the team. The backcourt duo of Ashton Hagans (7.6 ppg, 4.4 apg, 2.2 rpg, 1.9 spg) and Tyler Herro (14.2 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 2.3 apg, 1.0 spg) leads Kentucky in assists and steals per game and has been crucial in the maturation of the team.
• In a freshman class that featured multiple guards, UK needed some depth in the frontcourt and landed graduate transfer forward and All-Pac 12 performer Reid Travis (11.3 ppg, 6.9 rpg, .516 FG%) from Stanford. Travis also brings much-needed experience to the Wildcats, who also returned several pieces from last season’s SEC Tournament Championship squad.
• Kentucky plays a similar style to Tennessee. UT ranks first in the SEC in field-goal percentage and field-goal percentage defense, while UK ranks second (.480 FG%, .402 FG% defense). In scoring defense, the Wildcats are second in the conference, holding opponents to an average of 64.9 points per game.

LAST MEETING VS. KENTUCKY
•  After the best run in program history, Tennessee’s 19-game win streak came to an end on Feb. 16, 2019, with an 86-69 loss against No. 5 Kentucky in Rupp Arena.
•  The Wildcats opened the second half with a 14-0 run and never looked back, handing the Vols their first loss in conference play.
•  Jordan Bone was the leading scorer for UT, finishing with 19 points and six assists. Admiral Schofield added 17 points and six rebounds. Grant Williams was Tennessee’s other double-digit scorer with 16 points, eight rebounds, two assists and two steals.
•  Kentucky was on fire in the first 3:24 of the second half, building a 20-point lead. Tennessee used a 13-0 run to cut the deficit to 11 points, but the swing in momentum was too much for UT to overcome.
•  Kentucky sophomore PJ Washington led all scorers with 23 points on 9-of-12 shooting, while freshman Keldon Johnson added 19 points for the Wildcats.
•  Tennessee struggled out of the gate, shooting 3-of-10 from the floor compared to Kentucky’s 7-of-12. Overall for the period, the Wildcats outshot the Vols 59 percent to 47 percent. Despite the slow start, UT was able to keep the game within striking distance with several timely shots.
•  Kentucky found plenty of success on the glass in the opening half, out-rebounding the Big Orange, 17-11. Washington was a force in the paint for UK, posting 13 points of 6-of-7 shooting to go along with three boards and two blocks. Johnson also had 13 points in the half behind a trio of 3-pointers.
•  Williams hit a pair of clutch threes earlier in the half to counter the Wildcats’ momentum. He, along with Bone and Schofield, led the Vols in scoring with eight points each, as Kentucky hit seven of its final eight shots to take a 37-31 lead into halftime.

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 = 1,300+ 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 702. Rick Barnes is a close second with 686 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.

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 226 times over the years.
• On 11 different occasions—first in 1950 and most recently in 2017—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 (71).
• 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 14 all-time wins over the Wildcats at Thompson-Boling Arena, including three straight.

CALIPARI AMONG TENNESSEE’S
MOST-FACED ACTIVE COACHES
• On Saturday, John Calipari will coach his 26th career game against the Vols. Among active college coaches, that will tie for the most career meetings against Tennessee.

COACH     MEETINGS          UT’s RECORD vs.
Tubby Smith      26                        7-19
John Calipari   25                        9-16
Frank Martin      13                        9-4
Mark Gottfried   13                        4-9

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 nine losses. No team has more wins over Calipari-coached teams during that span.

TEAM                 WINS
TENNESSEE        9
Florida                   8
Louisville               7
Cincinnati              5
Kansas, Ole Miss, Southern Miss 4

TENNESSEE’S WINS TOTAL AMONG PROGRAM’S BEST
• Tennessee has recorded 25 wins for the fifth time in program history. This is the first time the Vols have done so in back-to-back seasons.

RECORD             SEASON              SEASON RESULT
31-5                     2007-08             NCAA Sweet Sixteen
28-9                     2009-10                NCAA Elite Eight
26-9                     2017-18             NCAA Second Round
26-7                     999-2000           NCAA Sweet Sixteen
25-3                     2018-19                         TBD

SECOND TIME’S A CHARM
• Over the last two seasons, Rick Barnes and his staff have guided the Volunteers to a 9-0 record in regular-season rematch games (SEC Tournament games not included).
• Tennessee was 5-0 when facing SEC foes for a second time last season, and the Vols are 4-0 so far this year (wins over Missouri, Florida, South Carolina and Vanderbilt).

GRANT’S ‘AND-1’s’ ARE AUTOMATIC
• National Player of the Year candidate Grant Williams has dozens of noteworthy statistics and accomplishments this season, but here is one the most impressive…
• Williams has successfully converted on 29 of 30 “and-1” attempts (.967). If he’s fouled on a made basket, the resulting free throw has been almost automatic.

 

UT Athletics

Rick Barnes Media Availability (3/1/19)

Rick Barnes Media Availability (3/1/19)

Posted on March 2, 2019
Credit: UT Athletics

On the team’s physicality: 
“I think we are physical. We have a game plan, and we have to execute it on both ends. We know that it is going to be a hard-fought game, and rebounding is going to be a part of it. We have to do a better job of not fouling. They do a great job of getting to the free-throw line. I expect both teams to play hard, and I think we are both physical teams.”

On who was more physical in Lexington: 
“I think they were more physical. There is no doubt about that. Our guys know that, and we just have to play harder than we have played. I think everyone knows that.”

On how tough the back half of their schedule was: 
“You expect that this time of year. You look at your league play, and there are no easy games. I do not care if a team has not won a league game; teams keep getting better. Especially when you are in a league where there are terrific coaches and players that work hard. You truly expect down the stretch that you are going to be in some close games. The fact of the matter is, those games we won by good margins at the beginning of the year, we were not expecting that. Some of that had to do with us having an experienced team coming back. Right now, I think our guys know that every game we are going to be in are going to be like the other night.”

On the team’s defensive play lately: 
“We have gotten better, and the other night, I thought we did a pretty good job defensively. We really were able to keep ourselves in good rebounding position. There were some games where we got too spread out to do that.”

On previewing Kentucky:
“They have some depth, and when they lose a player, someone steps up. We saw that first hand at LSU. That is what you expect regardless of who you play. They would not be where they are if they were a one-man team. I think P.J. Washington brings the physicality they want, and that is probably why they recruited him.”

On the keys to the Vols’ offense: 
“As long as you take good shots and give yourself a good chance of rebounding the ball. We guarded Ole Miss really well the other night, and they made some shots from way out there. You have to just pat them on the butt and say, ‘great shot.’ Shooting is a big part of this, but you want to make sure you get high-percentage shots.”

On closing out the end of the regular season: 
“It has been a long year in a lot of ways with the notoriety that these guys have brought to the program. You want them to enjoy it, and they came back the next day and got back to work. You have to enjoy it; that is what you do it for. They have handled it pretty well to end the season, but they still know that we have work to do.”

On home-court advantage: 
“It does not mean anything if you do not come out and do your job. When we go on the road, we think that we can win in any building. I think that they have respect for their opponents and know they are coming in thinking the same thing. We just have to play good, solid basketball.”

On Jordan Bone: 
“I would like to see him get it back. He tested positive for the flu a few days before the LSU game. I just want to see him finish it strong so he can look back on it and be proud about it. He should, because he has had a lot to do with this.”

On Lamonte Turner’s play recently: 
“Every shot he took came within the offense. When you go back and look at the shots he took, our guys had good board coverage if it was missed. It made Breein Tyree have to defend. Lamonte did a good job of staying within himself.”

 

UT Athletics

Hoops Preview: Lady Vols vs. Ole Miss

Hoops Preview: Lady Vols vs. Ole Miss

Posted on March 2, 2019
Credit: UT Athletics

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee (17-11, 6-9 SEC) travels to Oxford, Miss., this weekend to close out the regular season vs. Ole Miss (9-20, 1-13 SEC) on Sunday afternoon. Tip-off is slated for 2:02 p.m. CT (3:02 ET) at The Pavilion at Ole Miss in a contest that is being streamed on SECN+.

After winning five of six, UT has hit a bump in the road and has dropped three straight, including back-to-back home games vs. #13/13 South Carolina and Vanderbilt. The Commodores spoiled the Lady Vols’ Senior Night on Thursday, overcoming a 10-point deficit to get their first-ever win in Knoxville, 76-69.

Tennessee currently sits in 10th in the SEC standings at 6-9 and could move to eighth with a win on Sunday and losses by No. 8 LSU (7-8) and No. 9 Arkansas (6-9). UT defeated LSU during the regular season but lost to Arkansas.

Ole Miss, meanwhile, sits in 12th place in the league at 3-14. The Rebels enter with a losing streak of their own, having dropped four straight and nine of their last 10. On Thursday night, Ole Miss was in Tuscaloosa and nearly got the win over Alabama before falling, 46-43.

LVFL Ariel Massengale is in her second season as a graduate manager at Ole Miss. Massengale played in 122 games at Tennessee from 2011-15, averaging 9.5 points and 4.3 assists per contest as a point guard.

BROADCAST INFORMATION

  • Seth Austin (play-by-play) and Lindsay Roy (analyst) will have the call for the SECN+ broadcast.
  • Mickey Dearstone is behind the microphone for IMG College/Lady Vol Network radio/online broadcasts for the 20th season. A link to the live audio stream can be found on each game’s Hoops Central page or the Lady Vol schedule on UTSports.com.
  • Air time for games on the Lady Vol Radio Network generally occurs 30 minutes prior to tip-off.

TENNESSEE NOTES

  • RE IS GOLDEN AT THE LINE: Rennia Davis is having one of the finest seasons at the free throw line of any Lady Vol in history. She currently is fifth with a percentage of .887 and has missed only one free throw in 30 attempts since Jan. 10. Davis is shooting .925 in conference games.
  • CONSISTENT POINT-PRODUCER: Davis also is a consistent scorer, hitting double figures a team-high 22 times, including the past nine games.
  • LONDON RISING: Cheridene Green has doubled her scoring and rebounding averages in all games from 4.1 and 3.7 last year to 9.1 ppg. and 7.6 rpg. this season. She’s been even better in SEC games, producing 10.1 ppg. and 8.9 rpg.
  • EVINA’S ROAD SHOW: Evina Westbrook is averaging 15.1 ppg. and 5.2 apg. while shooting .415 FG/.384 3FG/.715 FT in 27 games, but she’s made it a habit of performing better on the road. In eight away games, she is averaging 19.3 ppg. and 5.3 apg. while hitting at rates of .464/.448/.735.
  • STRONG ON THE BOARDS: UT has won the rebounding battle in 23 of 28 games, including 13 of 15 SEC contests (MSU, VU).
  • SO MUCH BETTER AT THE LINE: UT has improved its free throw shooting so much this year, hitting at a .675 rate in the non-conference schedule and warming up to a .722 percentage in league play.
  • YOUNGSTERS HAVE THE BALL: All three of Tennessee’s youthful primary ball handlers have recorded more assists than turnovers this season. The players and their numbers: sophomore Evina Westbrook (138/86), freshman Zaay Green (65/50) and freshman Jazmine Massengill(41/27).
  • WHAT IT TAKES TO WIN: Tennessee is allowing only 61.8 ppg. in its six SEC wins this season and surrendering 77.7 ppg. in its league losses. UT also is standing at +14.5 in rebounding and shooting .784 at the free throw line in conference victories while possessing a +4.4 board edge and a .673 free throw rate in SEC losses.

LAST TIME OUT FOR THE LADY VOLS

  • Redshirt senior Cheridene Green posted a career-high 20 points, but it wasn’t enough to overcome a Vanderbilt team that shot 53.8 percent from the floor, handing Tennessee a 76-69 loss at home on Thursday night.
  • Green’s previous best scoring performance also came against Vanderbilt, on Jan. 17, 2018, when she tallied 17 points.
  • In addition to Green, sophomore Rennia Davis and freshman Mimi Collins were also in double figures for Tennessee (17-11, 6-9 SEC) with 14 each. Collins’ total was a career high, while Davis posted her 21st double-figure scoring effort of the season.
  • Vanderbilt (7-21, 2-13 SEC) was led by Mariella Fasoula, who finished the night with 19 points and a game-high nine rebounds. She was joined in double digits by Chelsie Hall with 14 and Cierra Walker with 16.

UT-UM SERIES NOTES

  • UT enters the 54th meeting in the series with a 45-8 edge, including a 21-2 record in games played in Knoxville, a 19-4 mark in Oxford and a 5-2 slate at neutral sites.
  • Tennessee had claimed 28 games in a row in the series (since last losing on Feb. 4, 1996, as #20/25 Ole Miss upended #3/3 UT, 78-72, in Oxford) before letting a 13-point second-half lead slip away en route to a 67-62 Rebels’ victory at The Pavilion at Ole Miss in UT’s last visit on Jan. 12, 2017.
  • The Lady Vols have won 18 straight over the Rebels in Knoxville, with the last Ole Miss victory (69-65) coming on Jan. 31, 1987, in Stokely Athletics Center.
  • This game marks only the second time in series history that both teams entered unranked.
  • Tennessee has been unable to reach 70 points in six of its last seven trips to Oxford, but its defense in those games helped the Lady Vols go 6-1 during that span.
  • Sophomore Rennia Davis has had the most success vs. Ole Miss among current players, tallying 18 points and eight rebounds last season.

OLE MISS NOTES

  • The Rebels are currently sitting at 9-20, 3-12 SEC and are coming off a tough 46-43 loss at Alabama.
  • Ole Miss has taken on six ranked opponents so far this season, including UConn in the Paradise Jam at the U.S. Virgin Islands (L, 50-90).
  • Redshirt senior Crystal Allen leads Ole Miss with 17.9 ppg. and averages 3.1 rebounds a game. She currently ranks third in scoring in the SEC.
  • Head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin is in her first year at the helm and previously coached at Jacksonville University.
  • Coached by Matt Insell, Ole Miss finished 12-19, 1-15 SEC and advanced to the second round in the conference tournament as the No. 14 seed with a 48-43 win over Florida. Only twice since the conference expanded to 14 teams has the No. 14 seed advanced in the SEC Women’s Basketball Tournament. Both times it was Ole Miss.
  • The Rebels were knocked out of the SEC tournament with a 59-50 loss to Missouri in the second round.
  • Junior Madinah Muhammad led the team during the season by averaging 16.8 ppg. She transferred to North Carolina following her three seasons at Ole Miss.

UM’S LAST GAME

  •  Alabama handed Ole Miss its 12th SEC loss this season by a tight score of 46-43. The Rebels weren’t able to convert on a game-tying three-pointer in the final seconds of regulation.
  • Despite a rough day shooting, the Rebels led throughout the first half, entering halftime with a 22-16 lead after forcing nine Crimson Tide turnovers.
  • Redshirt senior Crystal Allen led the Rebels with a game-high 20 points, marking the fifth-straight game she has led the team.

THE LAST TIME WE MET

  • The 10th-ranked Lady Vols had a 75-66 victory over Ole Miss in Knoxville with Rennia Davis tying her then career-high of 18 points on Jan. 25, 2018.
  • Senior Jaime Nared recorded her eighth double-double of the season against the Rebels with 15 points and 10 boards.
  • UT held the Rebels to just 37 percent shooting and finished the game with a 20-4 edge in fast-break points.
  •  UM’s Madinah Muhammad dropped 22 points and six three-pointers in the contest.

LAST TIME IN OXFORD

  • Despite overcoming a 12-point deficit in the first half and leading by as many as 13, Tennessee couldn’t close it out in a 67-62 loss to the Rebels at The Pavilion at Ole Miss.
  • Redshirt junior Diamond DeShields recorded her third double-double of the season with 13 points and 12 rebounds, which tied a career high.
  • Junior Jaime Nared posted a dominant performance, scoring a then career-high 23 points to go along with seven rebounds.

SEC TOURNAMENT IS NEXT

  • The 2019 SEC Women’s Basketball Tournament gets under way on Wednesday morning in Greenville, S.C., at Bon Secours Wellness Arena and runs through Sunday.
  • Seeds 11-14 begin play at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, while the No. 5-10 seeds play their first games on Thursday.
  • The top four seeds don’t see action until Friday.
  • UT currently is the No. 10 seed and would play on Thursday if things stand. There is, however, room for UT to climb as high as No. 8 or drop as low as No. 11 pending the results of Sunday’s games.
  • This marks the third time Greenville has hosted the event. It was there in 2005 and 2017 as well.

UT Athletics

Barnes Announces Wade Houston Captain’s Award

Barnes Announces Wade Houston Captain’s Award

Posted on March 2, 2019
Credit: UT Athletics

Out of respect for former Tennessee basketball coach Wade Houston, current Vols head coach Rick Barnes has announced the creation of the Wade Houston Captain’s Award.

Conceptualized by Barnes—along with input he sought from Allan Houston, Wade’s son—the award will be presented annually following the completion of Tennessee’s basketball season to the team member who best exemplified leadership, a team-first approach and exemplary work ethic.

“Wade Houston was a trailblazer and should be celebrated,” Barnes said. “His tenure as the head coach here at Tennessee paved the way for much deserved opportunities for minorities in our sport, particularly in the Southeastern Conference. He did it the right way, stood for all the right things and is an important figure in UT’s basketball and overall athletic history.”

Each year’s award winner will be commemorated on a plaque that will be prominently displayed in the new Larry Pratt Basketball Locker Room Complex at Thompson-Boling Arena.

The Southeastern Conference’s first-ever African-American men’s basketball head coach—hired nearly 30 years ago on April 3, 1989—Wade Houston led the Volunteers for five seasons from 1989-94. His teams advanced to a pair of postseason tournament appearances and also made a memorable run to the championship game of the 1991 SEC Tournament.

Allan Houston completed his legendary four-year collegiate career under his father’s tutelage and remains Tennessee’s all-time leading scorer with 2,801 career points. The All-American is one of four Vols ever to have their jersey retired.

Wade Houston grew up in Alcoa, Tennessee, just 14 miles south of the University of Tennessee campus, and owns a trucking and logistics company headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky.

In conjunction with the inaugural Wade Houston Captain’s Award, the university has announced an endowed scholarship that will be awarded annually to an Alcoa High School student planning to major in Tennessee’s nationally ranked Supply Chain Management program.

Wade and Allan Houston have been wholeheartedly committed to fatherhood initiatives, mentoring, and youth and family development through the Allan Houston Legacy Foundation. Allan recently completed a book benefitting the foundation, sharing his story about his relationship with his father (www.fisll.com).

Wade and Allan Houston will be present for Tennessee’s sold-out  home game against Kentucky on March 2 (2 p.m. ET, CBS), and the pair will be recognized on the court during a timeout.

UT Athletics
Jimmy’s blog: Vols can’t get out muscled by Kentucky again

Jimmy’s blog: Vols can’t get out muscled by Kentucky again

Posted on March 1, 2019

 

By Jimmy Hyams

Tennessee assistant Michael Schwartz wasn’t pleased with the way the Vols lost 86-69 at Rupp Arena more than two weeks ago.

Kentucky had its way on the boards, outrebounding the Vols 39-26 – the largest negative disparity for UT this season.

“They mopped the floor with us,’’ Schwartz said recently. “ They banged us around. They made Admiral (Schofield) run and they made Grant (Williams) run. They were the more physical team, the more aggressive team.’’

That can’t happen Saturday if the Vols want to keep alive their streak of beating Kentucky three in a row at Thompson-Boling Arena – the longest UT streak over the Big Blue since reeling off seven straight from 1979-85.

Kentucky not only had its way on the boards against Tennessee in the first battle, but UT’s top three shooters – Schofield, Lamonte Turner and Jordan Bowden – were a combined 1-for-17 from 3-point range.

For Tennessee to beat the 4th-ranked Wildcats, UT not only has to hold its own on the boards, but shoot about 40% from 3-point range. That will help open up the middle against one of the SEC’s premier defenses.

Schwartz said the message in the first UT-UK game was for the Vols to rebound and be physical.

“We didn’t do that,’’ Schwartz said.

The rebound differential was astounding.

“We got outrebounded by 13 and that is a modest number,’’ Schwartz said. “Because if you were just really thinking about what the game looked like, you would have thought we got out rebounded by 25. That is how we felt sitting over there, and they just really took it to us.’’

UT shot 41% against Kentucky – not good enough to beat a team of that caliber.

Besides rebounding, another key for Tennessee will be assist to turnover ratio. At one point, UT led the nation in assists at 20 per game, but that number slipped to 11.2 over a 3-game stretch.

Sponsored by Big Kahuna Wings: The wings that changed it all

Lindsay Ell Gives Post-Surgery Update: “Everything Went Good”

Lindsay Ell Gives Post-Surgery Update: “Everything Went Good”

Posted on March 1, 2019

After undergoing surgery to remove pre-cancerous cells on Feb. 28, Lindsay Ell gave her fans a post-surgery update on March 1.

“Thanks for all the well wishes yesterday…everything went good,” said Lindsay via Twitter. “Grateful for the doctors & nurses for getting me in before my month trip around the world….I leave tonight, and am a surgery thumbs up.”

Lindsay is scheduled to perform in Germany on March 2, with additional European dates through March 6. She heads to Australia on March 14 for eight shows through March 26, before making a stop in New Zealand on March 26 and Japan on March 30.

photo by Arroyo/O\’Connor, AFF-USA.com

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