An NCAA Committee recently recommended expanding the men’s basketball tournament field from 68 teams to 90.
Many members of the media and coaches have criticized the suggestion, saying 68 is plenty and that 90 would further dilute the importance of the regular season.
But Tennessee athletics director Danny White sees merit to expansion.
“I’ll harken back to my days as an athletic director at Mid-American Conference (Buffalo),’’ White said in an interview recently on SportsTalk, WNML radio. “There are so many conferences like that one that are one-bid leagues.
“You have these Universities, the best thing they can be a part of is the NCAA Tournament experience and potential run in the NCAA Tournament and the value that has for their alumni. In a one-bid league, for a lot of those schools, it might happen once every 10 to 20 years.
“So probably out of the interest of the whole country and everyone that participates in Division I, I see it as a healthy thing.’’
At Tennessee, White said, the parameters are different from a mid-major.
“Hopefully, we’re competing for high seeds and competing for SEC and national championships,’’ White said. “So it’s not as important to us selfishly. But I do think It’s a positive conversation to be having for all of college basketball.’’
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Senior Jordan Horston poured in a game-high 27 points, but it wasn’t enough to overcome a sharp-shooting No. 5/4 UConn squad that hit 57 percent from behind the arc Thursday night in defeating Tennessee, 84-67, in front of a crowd of 13,804 at Thompson-Boling Arena.
Horston added seven rebounds to go with her season-high-tying 27 points to lead the Lady Vols (16-7, 8-0 SEC). Senior Rickea Jackson finished with 13 on the night, while sophomore Jillian Hollingshead managed 11 points and a team-high nine rebounds.
UConn (19-2, 11-0 Big East) was led by Lou Lopez Senechal and Aaliyah Edwards, who turned in 26 and 25, respectively. Nika Muhl dished out double-digit assists, logging 14 in the game.
Connecticut opened the contest with a Muhl 3-pointer, but Tennessee countered on the other end when Karoline Striplin found Jackson breaking behind the defense for a wide-open layup. Consecutive buckets by Edwards sparked a 10-3 UConn run that had the Huskies on top 13-5 by the 6:15 mark. Striplin ended the skid with a long-range jumper 20 seconds later, but Connecticut established an 11-point lead with just under four minutes left in the first. Hollingshead drained her third bucket in a row to cut it down to nine, but seven straight points by UConn opened it up to 29-13 with 2:03 on the clock. The Huskies maintained a 16-point lead through the buzzer, leading 33-17 at the end of one.
Neither team scored for nearly two-minutes at the start of the second until Jordan Walker got the steal and turned it into a layup on the other end. Horston followed it up with another steal on the next possession, finding Jackson for the layup to cut the deficit to 12. By the 3:40 mark the Lady Vols had whittled UConn’s lead down to single digits, pulling within nine at 40-31 off a trey by Horston. That three set off an 8-0 run by Tennessee to close out the half, setting the halftime score at 40-36.
Horston got her own rebound to score the first points of the second half, but three straight points from the free-throw line had the Huskies on top by five just over a minute into the third. Jackson responded by driving into the lane for a short-range jumper, but seven quick points put the Huskies up 50-41 with 6:30 left in the third. Nine seconds later, Puckett nailed a three to narrow the deficit to six, but back-to-back buckets by Lopez Senechal had UConn back on top by 11 at the 4:40 mark. Connecticut went on to lead by as many as 15 before six straight Lady Vol points by Horston cut it back to 11. A pair of free throws by Edwards before the horn sent the game into the final stanza with UT trailing 68-55.
Just 10 seconds into the fourth, Horston got a steal and a score, and the contest became a back-and-forth affair until five straight points by Dorka Juhasz and Lopez Senechal put the Huskies up by 14. Back-to-back baskets by Horston and Jackson pulled UT within 12 with five minutes left in the game, but that’s as close as Tennessee would get, as UConn closed out the contest with a 7-2 run to win 84-67.
UP NEXT: The Lady Vols will face another ranked opponent on Monday, traveling to Baton Rouge for a 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT matchup against No. 4/3 LSU that will be broadcast on ESPN2.
BIG GAME JORDY: Jordan Horston tied her season high of 27 points against UConn to lead Tennessee in scoring. Horston has now led UT in scoring in all four contests against ranked opponents in which she’s been active, and she is averaging a double-double against teams in the Top 25 with 23.0 ppg. and 10.3 rpg.
BIG-GAME CROWD: The 13,804 on hand for the game ranked as Tennessee’s largest women’s home crowd since Feb. 14, 2015, vs Kentucky, when the Lady Vols had 16,013 for a 72-58 win over Kentucky.
TAKING CHARGE: Jordan Walker took two charges and Jordan Horston drew another to bring Tennessee’s season total to 26. Walker leads the team with 13 drawn charges, which is only eight shy of the 21 the Lady Vols recorded a year ago.
Tennessee sophomore guard Zakai Zeigler has been named to the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Watch List, the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced Thursday.
Midway through his second season as a Vol, Zeigler has posted elite defensive numbers in addition to his impressive offensive numbers.
Through 20 games this season, Zeigler has recorded a team-high 46 steals and is averaging 2.4 steals per game in SEC play—a mark that ranks third in the conference.
In total this season, Zeigler has eight games with three or more steals, including five with four or more takeaways. He ranks 22nd among all Division I players in steal percentage—recording a steal in 4.8 percent of possessions in which he is on the court.
As a team, Tennessee leads the nation in scoring defense (53.7 ppg) and opponent field goal percentage (.339) while ranking eighth in the nation in steals per game (9.7 spg). Zeigler is one of three Vols with 30 or more steals this season.
The Tennessee Department of Education announcing additional registered teacher occupation programs are now available for aspiring educators through Tennessee’s Grow Your Own initiative – https://www.tn.gov/education/grow-your-own.html —immediately expanding opportunity to train future teachers and strengthening the teacher pipeline in Tennessee.
To further strengthen the state’s educator pipeline, two additional educator preparation providers (EPPs) – the University of Memphis and Arete Memphis Public Montessori – have been approved to offer teacher apprenticeships, bringing additional educator talent to the state to increase high-quality academic opportunities for Tennessee students. Read more on the state’s newly approved models in an overview (https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/education/grow-your-own/TDOE_GYO_Models_Overview.pdf), with additional Grow Your Own resources recently added to the state’s page: https://www.tn.gov/education/grow-your-own.html
“Educators statewide work hard to advance students’ academic outcomes and ensure future readiness, inspiring their growth and achievement every day,” said Commissioner Schwinn. “Continuing to add Teacher Apprenticeship models across the state helps us continue to strengthen and sustain the state’s educator pipeline through expansions of these trusted programs for educators.”
University of Memphis now offers a bachelor’s teacher apprenticeship pathway
Arete Memphis Public Montessori now offers a licensure-only pathway
“The GYO Program will positively impact the apprentices who participate as well as our district partners,” said Dr. Nichelle Robinson, Director of Teacher Education and Clinical Practice, University of Memphis. “Each cohort of apprentices will build bonds with each other and our UofM College of Education faculty as they receive the supports needed to become teachers who will positively impact student learning. We will see the teacher pipeline grow over time as apprentices return to their community as highly effective classroom teachers familiar with their districts and the students those districts serve.”
“At-risk students in Tennessee need access to more quality teachers to help them flourish,” said Bob Nardo, Executive Director, Arete Memphis Montessori Residency. “The GYO Apprenticeship makes high quality, on the job teacher formation more affordable and accessible for promising candidates from underrepresented backgrounds. GYO will be instrumental as we double the diversity and triple the number of educators prepared to provide a rich and rigorous public Montessori education.”
Tennessee was the first state to be approved by the U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL) to have Teacher Apprenticeship programs between school districts and EPPs, and Tennessee’s Teacher Apprenticeship models aligns leading practices in teacher preparation and development with the rigors of the nationally registered apprenticeship process. As a part of the department’s Best for All strategic plan, the Grow Your Own initiative aims to set a new path for the educator profession and for Tennessee to be the top state in which to become and remain a teacher and leader.
“To identify talented teachers, school districts must be innovative in their approach to recruiting and hiring,” said Dr. Jon Rysewyk, Director of Schools, Knox County Schools. “The Grow Your Own program has been instrumental in helping educational assistants and other professionals from Knox County take the next step toward full certification, and it has been a game-changer for Knox County Schools as we seek to provide great educators in every school.”
“Our district is grateful for the opportunity to have the Grow Your Own Teacher Apprenticeship program,” said Michael Davis, Director of Schools, Hardin County Schools. “This program expands opportunities for our students and encourages them to pursue an impactful career in teaching, where they will strengthen the success of our community in the future. Hardin County is very grateful for this new teacher apprenticeship program and excited for our future teachers!”
“The Grow Your Own Teacher Apprentice Program has allowed us to fill teaching positions with people we who already know our students, have relationships established with our stakeholders and understand our culture and expectations,” said Timothy Watkins, Director of Schools, Obion County Schools.
“The Grow Your Own program in Hamilton County Schools has become a valuable resource for our district. Not only do we have existing employees joining the program, but we are also seeing applicants come to the district as classified employees for the opportunity that the program provides them,” said Dr. Justin Robertson, Director of Schools, Hamilton County Schools. “It has been pivotal in helping us fill high-needs positions, like those in special education and math. With the success we have had to this point, we only expect our program to grow and become a bigger part of our staffing efforts in the years ahead.”
Through a strong partnership with the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development (TDLWD), the department is excited to celebrate the Grow Your Own initiative with a special event at the end of February, to ensure commitment that year after year, the state will continue to invest in high-quality, no-cost opportunities for Tennesseans to earn a degree and teacher’s license for free, while getting paid to do so.
In addition, to continuing to strengthen and sustain the educator profession, the department has strategically focused efforts on launching the Tennessee Teacher Retention Listening Tour, to hear directly from educators about their lived experiences in the classroom and is offering an opportunity to Tennessee teachers to contribute their input related to best practices or approaches to boost teacher retention across the state.
Photo courtesy of the Blount County Sheriff’s Office
Charges announced for the suspect in a Blount County bank robbery.
CBBC Bank on Topside Road was robbed Tuesday afternoon, Richard Hines, Jr., was arrested by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation for the incident. He is facing charges of bank robbery and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.
The bank is about 7 miles from the Walmart in Alcoa where a false call about a robbery occurred around the same time as the bank robbery. Officials have not said if the two incidents are related.
Anyone with information related to either the Walmart false call or the Bank robbery is asked to call the Alcoa Police Department at (865) 981-4111.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Stifling defense and balanced scoring by No. 4 Tennessee led to a fourth consecutive home victory over Georgia, as the Vols cruised to a decisive 70-41 win at Thompson-Boling Arena Wednesday night.
The Volunteers’ defensive effort Wednesday was bolstered by Santiago Vescovi’s career-high-tying five steals, as Tennessee held Georgia to just to 29.1 percent (16-for-55) shooting from the field. Offensively, Zakai Zeigler led the way with 11 points and seven assists, while Tobe Awaka was the second Vol in double figures with a career-high 10 points on 3-for-3 shooting. Overall, nine different Vols scored five or more points.
Tennessee (17-3, 7-1 SEC), which owns the best adjusted defensive efficiency in the country per KenPom, held an opponent to under 50 points for the 10th time this season, forcing Georgia (13-7, 3-4 SEC) to miss 20 of its 27 field goal attempts in the second half.
Offensively, the Vols doubled the Bulldogs in paint points, 36-18. Freshman Julian Phillips logged a career-high six assists Wednesday night, besting his previous best of four, which came in Tennessee’s win over McNeese State earlier this season. Vescovi was responsible for a team-best plus/minus rating of +29 in UT’s 29-point triumph.
Tennessee ramped up its defensive intensity as the game progressed, with Georgia scoring 17 points in the first 9:10 of play and only 13 points in next 22:55. Tennessee tallied 25 points off Georgia’s 20 total turnovers Wednesday.
Georgia led 6-4 at the game’s first media timeout and never led again. A pair of Zeigler 3-point makes within a minute of game time sparked a 9-0 Tennessee run. A consistent offensive surge saw the Vols build their first double-digit advantage, using a 16-4 run to take a 33-18 lead with under four minutes remaining in the opening half.
Tennessee took a 35-22 into halftime, led by Zeigler’s eight points and a team shooting mark of 43.3 percent from the field. Vescovi’s four first-half steals led the way for the Vols defensively in the opening 20 minutes.
After Tennessee led by 13 at halftime and steadily extended the lead up to 19 in the opening minutes of the second half, the Vols forced Georgia into a scoring drought of over five minutes in which it committed six turnovers, allowing Tennessee to rattle off a 12-0 run and take a commanding 27-point lead at 57-30 with 8:40 to go.
With 7:55 to go, a Georgia 3-pointer from Terry Roberts ended a streak of nine consecutive missed field goals for the Bulldogs. Roberts, who entered Wednesday averaging 15.9 points per game, was held to 5-for-15 shooting from the field and just 1-for-5 from beyond the arc on the night.
UP NEXT: Tennessee takes a brief break from conference play to welcome Texas to town for the SEC/Big 12 Challenge on Saturday. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. ET on ESPN. ESPN College GameDay will also be live from Knoxville on Saturday, broadcasting from Thompson-Boling Arena starting at 11 a.m. ET.
WINNING BIG: Through just 20 games, Tennessee has now recorded 11 wins by 20 or more points—tied for the most in a single season in program history.
CONSISTENTLY LOCKDOWN D: Tennessee has now held its opponent to 50 or fewer points 10 times this season—a mark that leads the nation.
ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER “KILL SHOT”: With a 10-0 run stretching from the 14:31 mark to the 8:40 mark of the second half, Tennessee recorded its 21st “kill shot” of the season.
Tennessee’s 21 “kill shots” this season are tied for the third-most in the nation. Kill shots are defined as a run of 10 or more consecutive points by one team. The Vols have surrendered just three kill shots all season.
HE’LL TAKE THAT: Santiago Vescovi, who entered Wednesday’s game ranked 26th in the nation with a 2.2 steals per game average, recorded a career-high-tying five steals during the win.
Vescovi, who had four steals in the first half alone, is one of three Vols to have recorded four or more steals in a game this season (Jahmai Mashack, Zakai Zeigler).
The University of Tennessee, Knoxville Chancellor Donde Plowman announced today that she has extended Danny White’s contract as vice chancellor and director of athletics in recognition of the extraordinary transformation White is leading in Tennessee’s Athletics department.
White has agreed to a contract extension starting at $2.2 million annually, with a six-year rolling term.
“Danny White’s strong and innovative leadership of our athletics department has created a championship culture and excellence across all sports in record time,” said Chancellor Donde Plowman. “He’s built the best team of athletics administrators in the country, a team committed to our student-athletes’ well-being and to winning with integrity. He has set audacious goals for Athletics and is exceeding every milestone. I appreciate his leadership, his vision and his commitment to making the University of Tennessee the very best.”
Through White’s first two years on Rocky Top, Tennessee has captured six SEC team championships, and the most recently completed academic year (2021-22) stood as one of Tennessee Athletics’ most comprehensively successful years in decades.
The Vols and Lady Vols enjoyed an historic year competitively, capturing SEC titles in women’s soccer, women’s swimming & diving, men’s basketball, and baseball—both regular-season and tournament. Tennessee won the USA TODAY Network SEC All-Sports Trophy for the first time ever, topping the men’s standings and finishing second in the women’s standings. That dominance helped springboard Tennessee to its best finish in the LEARFIELD Directors’ Cup (13th) in 15 years.
Tennessee football (CFP), baseball (five polls) and men’s tennis (ITA) each rose to No. 1 in the national rankings during 2022 as well. Men’s basketball earned a No. 5 ranking in the final AP poll of the 2021-22 campaign. And Football landed at No. 6 in the final AP poll—its best finish in 21 years.
“I am so fortunate to be in the right place, at the right time,” White said. “We have exceptional leadership—starting with Chancellor Donde Plowman—and incredible support from President Randy Boyd and Board of Trustees Chair John Compton. We have the best roster of coaches in college athletics, talented student-athletes and a dynamic administrative team to support the enterprise.
“Most importantly, the passion of Vol Nation gives us a unique opportunity to build the very best athletic department in America. We’re just getting started on Rocky Top. I can’t wait to see what’s next!”
Excitement surrounding the Tennessee football program under head coach Josh Heupel—hired by White in 2021—also reaped tangible benefits during the last offseason, as Vol Nation purchased a single-year record 17,297 new football season tickets prior to the team’s 11-2 2022 campaign. And more than 7,500 new season tickets have been sold for 2023 since September.
Academic performance also hit a high-water mark for Tennessee student-athletes in 2022. The Vols and Lady Vols posted an all-time record high cumulative GPA of 3.27 in the 2022 Spring semester. They then surpassed that mark with a record-setting 3.32 GPA in the 2022 Fall semester.
Notably, four sport programs—each of which also enjoyed significant competitive success in 2022—recorded their highest-ever semester GPA in the fall. Those sports were baseball, men’s basketball, football and men’s track & field (finished third at the NCAA Indoor Championships).
The Tennessee Fund in 2021-22 reported a record year across multiple fundraising metrics. For the fiscal year that ended on June 30 (FY22), the Tennessee Fund team set records for fundraising total ($80,759,936), cash receipts ($68,568,453) and total donors (18,859).
Since White launched the My All Campaign in the summer of 2021, the Tennessee Fund has engaged with close to 13,000 “new” donors—individuals who had never previously given to Tennessee Athletics.
Multiple innovative initiatives spearheaded by White—such as moving the department’s outbound ticket sales operation in-house, increasing sponsorship revenue nearly 10 percent and introducing a pair of new and popular premium-seating offerings at Neyland Stadium, to name only a few—led to Tennessee Athletics posting its highest-ever single-year operating revenue of $154.5 million in FY22—with significant growth again forecasted for FY23.
Immediate success is nothing new for the 2019 NACDA Under Armour Athletics Director of the Year. White achieved rapid results during previous AD tenures at both Buffalo and UCF, where he spearheaded increases in both winning percentages, academic success and revenue. White is widely respected by his peers as an innovator and for his ability to generate new revenue. He also has proven himself a great identifier of talent who attracts and retains successful, high-achieving coaches.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee (16-6, 8-0 SEC), which is receiving votes in both major polls this week, steps outside conference play to meet old rival #5/4 UConn (18-2, 11-0 BIG EAST) on Thursday at 8:03 p.m. ET inside Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville.
UT and UConn will meet for the 26th time in a series that dates back to 1995, with the Huskies holding a 16-9 advantage and winning the past three meetings between the programs since the series resumed in 2020 after a 13-year hiatus.
Kellie Harper‘s squad enters on a nine-game winning streak and has been victorious in 14 of its past 16 contests, with its only two losses coming vs. (then) No. 9/9 Virginia Tech (59-56) on Dec. 4 and at No. 2/2 Stanford on Dec. 18 (77-70). A UT win vs. UConn would make for the longest winning streak by the Lady Vols since a 15-game string from Nov. 12, 2017, to Jan. 11, 2018. It also would be the longest win spree of the Kellie Harper era, supplanting a pair of nine-game runs a year ago.
Through eight games in league play, UT remains tied atop the SEC standings along with No. 1/1 South Carolina and No. 4/3 LSU at 8-0. It is the Lady Vols’ best conference start since they went 13-0 in 2014-15 en route to a 15-1 league record and regular-season title.
With Jordan Horston out sick on Sunday in Columbia, Tennessee managed to remain perfect in SEC play by getting a layup from Jordan Walker, a three-pointer from Sara Puckett and a turn-around jumper “and-1” from Rickea Jackson over the final minute to secure a 68-65 victory. Jackson’s bucket and free throw came with a second remaining.
Despite a season plagued with injuries, UConn rolls in to Rocky Top on an 11-game winning streak, with its only losses on the year coming at home to #7/7 Notre Dame (74-60) on Dec. 4 and at #20/21 Maryland (85-78) on Dec. 11. The Huskies had no trouble at home with DePaul on Monday night, crushing the Blue Demons, 94-51, with four players scoring in double figures.
The only common foe on the teams’ schedules is South Carolina, which UConn hosts on Feb. 5 and Tennessee welcomes to T-BA on Feb. 23.
We Back Pat Week
The 12th annual “We Back Pat” Week, a week-long initiative focused on bringing awareness and recognition to the Pat Summitt Foundation, a fund of East Tennessee Foundation, and its fight against Alzheimer’s disease is set for Jan. 19-26.
SEC member institutions will support The Pat Summitt Foundation during their home basketball games. During the women’s games slated for the week, various efforts will be made to increase awareness of The Pat Summitt Foundation.
The Lady Vols wore their “We Back Pat” edition uniforms for the Florida game at home (UT’s “We Back Pat” Game) and the Missouri contest on the road. They’ll wear their traditional home whites vs. UConn but will be donning their “We Back Pat” shooting shirts.
Broadcast Information
Thursday night’s game will be televised on ESPN, with Ryan Ruocco (PxP), Rebecca Lobo (Analyst) and Holly Rowe (Reporter) on the call.
All of the games included in the ESPN package (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU) will be available through WatchESPN, accessible online at WatchESPN.com, on smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app, and streamed on televisions through Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Xbox 360 or Xbox One to fans who receive their video subscription from an affiliated provider.
The contest also can be heard on Lady Vol Network stations and by audio stream, with Brian Rice on the call and Andy Brock serving as studio host.
A link to the live audio stream can be found on the Hoops Central page or the schedule on UTSports.com.
For a list of Lady Vol Network affiliates, please click on the Fans tab at the top of UTSports.com, select Vol Network and then click on the Vol Network Affiliates tab.
Air time for games on the Lady Vol Radio Network generally occurs 30 minutes prior to tip-off.
The Lady Vol Network broadcast also can be heard frequently on satellite radio via SiriusXM and the SXM App. but will not be available this game.
Lady Vols’ Third Gameday Appearance
ESPN’s College GameDay Covered by State Farm® is in Knoxville for the first of three women’s college basketball shows this season. The one-hour program will air at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN, preceding the storied rivalry of No. 5 UConn and Tennessee that tips at 8 ET.
Elle Duncan will host the show from inside Thompson-Boling Arena, alongside commentators Andraya Carter, Rebecca Lobo, Carolyn Peck and Holly Rowe. Lobo and Rowe will join play-by-play voice Ryan Ruocco on the call for the game. Carter played for the Lady Vols from 2012-16, Lobo starred at UConn from 1991-95 and Peck was an assistant coach under Summitt from 1993-95.
This will mark the third consecutive time Tennessee has been involved in the four occasions where ESPN’s College GameDay has been on site for a women’s basketball game and the second time the show has visited The Summitt for a Lady Vol contest. Both of those occurrences are the most of any school.
On Feb. 20, 2022, College GameDay visited Columbia, S.C., as South Carolina hosted the Big Orange. The previous visit to a campus for women’s hoops came on Jan. 15, 2011, when Rocky Top was the site for GameDay as Tennessee hosted Vanderbilt on a day in which the Vols and Lady Vols played at noon and 8 p.m., respectively. It marked the first men’s and women’s doubleheader show for the network. The year before, ESPN was on hand for the Notre Dame at UConn game in Storrs, Conn., for the inaugural women’s GameDay on Jan. 16, 2010.
Vols To Host Gameday On Saturday
ESPN announced that College GameDay Covered by State Farm® will originate live from Thompson-Boling Arena Saturday in advance of Tennessee’s sold-out SEC/Big 12 Challenge men’s hoops clash with Texas.
Tennessee is the only school to have hosted ESPN College GameDay for football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball.
It also is the only one to host in all three sports during the same school year.
Unranked Lady Vols vs. Ranked Teams
Tennessee is 15-16 all-time as an unranked team playing against a ranked squad, dating back to 1976-77 when polls began, including 7-7 vs. top-10 teams and 2-5 vs. top-five squads through the Dec. 18 contest at No. 2/2 Stanford (L, 77-70).
UT’s highest ranked win as an unranked team came on Feb. 26, 2017, as a Big Orange squad receiving votes took down No. 3/2 Mississippi St. in Starkville, 82-64.
Jaime Nared (30), Diamond DeShields (20) and Jordan Reynolds (17) combined for 67 points to send a sellout crowd of 10,500 at Humphrey Coliseum home unhappy on Senior Day and prevent the Bulldogs from earning a share of their first SEC women’s hoops title.
Kellie Harper is 3-4 as head coach of Tennessee playing while unranked and facing a ranked squad, including 0-2 vs. top-five teams. Her teams fell to No. 1/1 Notre Dame (1/24/19) and No. 2/2 Stanford
She went 1-2 in 2019-20 and 2-0 in 2020-21, with No. 13/13 Arkansas (1/7/21, 88-73, Knoxville) the highest ranked outfit her Lady Vols have beaten while outside the poll. She is 0-2 in that role in 2022-23.
Harper History vs. UConn
Kellie Harper is 0-3 vs. UConn as a head coach, but she was 4-1 vs. the Huskies in games played as a Lady Vol.
Those scores as a player were 53-59 in Knoxville on Jan. 6, 1996; 88-83 in Charlotte (OT/NCAA FF Semis) on March 29, 1996; 91-81 in Iowa City on March 24, 1997 (MW Reg. Final); 84-69 in Knoxville on Jan. 3, 1998; and 92-81 in Storrs on Jan. 10, 1999.
The Lady Vol point guard did not play in a Jan. 5, 1997, loss at UConn due to a torn ACL suffered in a pick-up game on Oct. 6. Amazingly, though, she rehabbed and returned to action on Jan. 12 vs. Kentucky and played the rest of the season, including a second meeting vs. the Huskies.
Harper (then Jolly) had 19 points and three assists vs. UConn in that contest, which was a victory in the 1997 Midwest Regional Final in Iowa City that sent her team to the Final Four and ultimately an NCAA championship in Cincinnati.
Looking Back At The Missouri Game
Tennessee used an 8-0 run over the last minute to erase a five-point deficit and seize a 68-65 win over Missouri on Sunday afternoon at Mizzou Arena, keeping its conference record perfect at 8-0 and winning its ninth-straight game.
The 8-0 record in league play is UT’s best start to the SEC schedule since the Lady Vols opened at 13-0 in 2014-15 en route to a 15-1 league record and regular-season title.
Sophomore Sara Puckett was 7-of-9 on the day in Mizzou Arena and went a perfect 3-for-3 from behind the arc, hitting a game-tying trey with 39.1 seconds on the clock to finish with a season-high 17 points for Tennessee (16-6, 8-0 SEC). Senior Rickea Jackson was also in double figures with 15 on the day, pushing her team ahead with 1.1 seconds left by scoring inside, drawing a foul and sinking the free throw for the final margin.
Missouri (14-6, 3-4 SEC) was led by Hayley Frank, who posted a game-high 26 points and Jayla Kelly who finished with 14.
1K For Franklin
With 2:17 left in the game against Missouri, Jasmine Franklin pulled down an offensive rebound to bring her career total to 1,000.
She closed out the day with four rebounds, moving her total to 1,001.
Cleaning Up The Paint
After being out-rebounded on the offensive glass 8-2 by Mizzou and giving up 10 second-chance points in the first half, the Lady Vols flipped the script, winning the offensive rebounding battle 8-2 in the second half without giving up a single second-chance point.
A Look At The Huskies
UConn has four active players averaging double figures in points, including forward Aaliyah Edwards (17.2), wing Lou Lopez Sénéchal (16.9), forward Dorka Juhász (14.8) and guard Aubrey Griffin (13.6).
Leading scorer Azzi Fudd (17.9) is out with an injury.
Juhász (10.5) and Edwards (9.4) are dominant on the glass for the Huskies.
Sénéchal has hit 51 threes, shooting 49 percent.
UConn ranks No. 1 nationally in FG pct. (52.3) and asst. per game (21.1), No. 4 in reb. margin (13.6) and scoring margin (23.2), No. 6 in 3FG pct. (39.8) and No. 10 in FG pct. defense (34.5).
UConn’s Last Game
Aaliyah Edwards, a 6-3 junior, had 23 points and 10 rebounds, leading No. 5 UConn to its 11th straight win, a 94-51 home rout over DePaul on Monday night.
Lou Lopez Sénéchal scored 20 points and Dorka Juhász had 19 for the Huskies (18-2, 11-0 Big East), who remained undefeated in conference play. Aubrey Griffin registered her fourth double-double of the season, scoring 18 points and grabbing 11 rebounds.
The Huskies outscored DePaul 58-18 in the paint and outrebounded the Blue Demons 59-32.
Tennessee/UConn Notes
UT is 7-11 vs. the Huskies during the regular-season and 2-5 during the postseason.
The Lady Vols are 4-6 on the road, 3-5 at home and 2-5 at neutral sites vs. the Huskies.
The Lady Vols are 2-5 in games played in Hartford and 2-1 on campus in Storrs.
The late Pat Summitt won eight NCAA titles while at Tennessee, and UConn’s Geno Auriemma has claimed 11, making them the most successful coaches in NCAA Division I women’s basketball.
Tennessee won NCAA titles in 1987, 1989, 1991, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2007 and 2008.
UConn won NCAA crowns in 1995, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016.
Last Meeting Between UT, UConn
Jordan Horston scored a game-high 26 points, but No. 7/7 Tennessee came up short vs. No. 10/9 UConn, 75-56, in the XL Center on Feb. 6, 2022.
UConn (15-4, 9-0 Big East) was led by Azzi Fudd with 25 points, while Aaliyah Edwards had 14.
Last Time In Knoxville
The No. 25/RV Lady Vols took a four-point lead into the final quarter but couldn’t hold on, falling 67-61 to No. 3/5 UConn in Thompson-Boling Arena on Jan. 21, 2021, in front of a restricted-capacity crowd of 3,553 due to the COVID pandemic.
UT (9-3, 3-1 SEC) was led by junior Rae Burrell with 18 points, while Christyn Williams paced UConn (9-0, 7-0 BIG EAST) with 20.
Upcoming Games
Tennessee will play its second straight top-five opponent and face its ninth currently-ranked foe when it travels to Baton Rouge to take on #4/3 LSU on Monday, Jan. 30, at 6 p.m. CT (7 ET) on ESPN2.
UT is back home on Feb. 2 vs. Ole Miss at 6:30 p.m. ET.
The North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame has announced that Tennessee basketball coach Rick Barnes has been selected as a member of its 2023 induction class. Barnes is a native of Hickory, North Carolina, and graduated from Lenoir-Rhyne University in his hometown.
Joining Barnes in the Class of 2023 are Jason Brown, Jeff Davis, Donald Evans, Tom Fazio, Ellen Griffin, Tom Higgins, Clarkston Hines, Bob “Stonewall” Jackson, Trudi Lacey, Ronald Rogers, John Sadri, Jerry Stackhouse, Curtis Strange and Rosie Thompson. Their planned induction brings the Hall’s total number of inductees to 400.
“Candy and I have always taken great pride in being born and raised in Hickory, North Carolina,” Barnes said. “And having grown up in it, we’re very aware of the state’s incredible sports tradition and history. The North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame is a ‘Who’s Who’ of legendary figures—many of whom I’ve looked up to.
“To be selected as a coach, much of the credit needs to go to having outstanding staff members at my side throughout my career and wonderful players along the way.”
Barnes will be enshrined during the 59th annual Induction Celebration on Friday, April 21, at the Raleigh Convention Center, starting at 7 p.m. ET. A news conference will be held earlier that day at 2 p.m. ET at the convention center.
“This year’s class joining the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame once again reflects the great variety and rich sports heritage that the hall highlights for our state,” Dr. Jerry McGee, president of the hall’s Board of Directors, said. “This group and their collective accomplishments in specific areas, from great athletes to highly successful coaches to special contributors, create another exciting chapter for the hall. We are extremely excited about honoring these outstanding individuals in our induction celebration.”
Barnes has established himself as one of the nation’s most consistently successful college basketball coaches. Prior to taking the reins at Tennessee in 2015, Barnes served head-coaching stints at George Mason, Providence, Clemson and Texas.
His 770 career Division I victories rank sixth among all active coaches and 16th all-time. Barnes has led three different programs to the Sweet Sixteen and two programs—Texas and Tennessee—to a No. 1 national ranking.
Barnes was named the Naismith National Coach of the Year in 2019 after leading Tennessee to a school-record-tying 31 victories and four weeks atop the national polls.
He and his wife, Candy (also a Hickory native), have made significant philanthropic contributions in their hometown over the years, including longstanding support of the YMCA of Catawba Valley, Young Life Hickory, East Hickory Church, Hickory High School and Lenoir-Rhyne University.
