KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – After guiding Tennessee football to a remarkable turnaround that featured seven victories and multiple school records, head coach Josh Heupel has been tabbed as the co-winner of the Football Writers Association of America’s Steve Spurrier First-Year Coach Award, the FWAA and Chris Doering Mortgage announced on Monday night.
Presented annually to the best coach in his first year at a school, Heupel shares the accolade with fellow SEC East coach Shane Beamer of South Carolina. Heupel becomes the first two-time recipient of the award. He claimed it in 2018 at UCF after leading the Knights to 12 wins, a Fiesta Bowl berth and a No. 11 final ranking in his first season.
It is the 20th consecutive season that the First-Year Coach Award has been presented, although the first time with a namesake for the award, Spurrier. Former University of Florida player and SEC Network analyst Doering of Chris Doering Mortgage sponsors the award.
Vols HC Josh Heupel / Credit: UT Athletics
“Well there are two coaches this year because they are both very deserving,” Spurrier said. “Preseason, their teams were picked next to Vandy at the bottom of the league, 12 and 13, but instead of gloom and doom they took their players and improved every game and both finished 7-6.”
Coming off a 3-7 record a year ago, Tennessee was picked to finish fifth in the SEC East standings in Heupel’s debut season. However, the Volunteers won three of their final four regular season games, secured third place in the SEC East with a 4-4 mark and posted seven victories to secure a bowl berth while playing one of college football’s toughest schedules. UT was one of only four squads to face both College Football Playoff title game participants.
The 27th head coach in Tennessee history, Heupel is one of only five Vol head coaches in the last 80 years to win seven or more games in his first season. UT shattered eight single-season team records under his watch, including points (511), total offensive yards (6,174), touchdowns (67), point after touchdowns made (67), total first downs (316), rushing first downs (164), fewest interceptions thrown (3) and passing efficiency (167.10).
For the fourth consecutive year, a Heupel-coached team finished in the top 10 nationally in both scoring offense and total offense. The Vols put up 39.3 points per game (seventh in FBS) and 474.9 yards per game (ninth in FBS). That was a drastic increase in his first season, up from 108th and 102nd nationally, respectively, a year ago. Defensively, Tennessee racked up 102 tackles for loss, good for second in the SEC and seventh in the FBS.
A national champion quarterback in 2000, Heupel has maximized development at the most important position on the field his entire career. He coached multiple Heisman Trophy winners at Oklahoma and quickly developed Vol graduate transfer Hendon Hooker into one of the nation’s most complete signal callers.
In his first season, Hooker broke single-season school records for completion percentage (68.0) and passing efficiency (181.41). He led the SEC and ranked third nationally in passing efficiency en route to being a semifinalist for the Davey O’Brien Award.
Heupel and Hooker return in 2022 for the Vols, who open the season on Sept. 3 against Ball State in Neyland Stadium. Existing season ticket holders can renew their tickets for the 2022 campaign now by visiting AllVols.com. Fans wishing to purchase new season tickets can do so as well at AllVols.com or by contacting the ticket office at (865) 946-7000.
All-Time FWAA Steve Spurrier First Year Coach Award Winners 2002 – Tyrone Willingham, Notre Dame 2003 – Steve Kragthorpe, Tulsa 2004 – Mike Price, UTEP 2005 – Steve Spurrier, South Carolina 2006 – Chris Petersen, Boise State 2007 – Jeff Jagodzinski, Boston College 2008 – Paul Johnson, Georgia Tech 2009 – Chip Kelly, Oregon 2010 – Jimbo Fisher, Florida State 2011 – Dana Holgorsen, West Virginia 2012 – Urban Meyer, Ohio State 2013 – Gus Malzahn, Auburn 2014 – Bryan Harsin, Boise State 2015 – Tom Herman, Houston 2016 – Justin Fuente, Virginia Tech; Clay Helton, USC 2017 – Lincoln Riley, Oklahoma 2018 – Josh Heupel, UCF 2019 – Ryan Day, Ohio State 2020 – Karl Dorrell, Colorado 2021 – Josh Heupel, Tennessee; Shane Beamer, South Carolina
The 24th-ranked Tennessee men’s basketball team hits the road for a second consecutive game, traveling to the state’s capitol to take on Vanderbilt Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET.
Fans can catch Tuesday’s game on SEC Network and online or on any mobile device through WatchESPN. WatchESPN can be accessed through the ESPN App, or online at espn.com/watch. Tom Hart (play-by-play), Dane Bradshaw (analysis) and Alyssa Lang (reporter) will have the call.
Fans can also listen live on their local Vol Network affiliate to hear Bob Kesling and Bert Bertelkamp calling the action. The broadcast is also available on channel 138 on Sirius, channel 190 on SiriusXM and channel 961 on the SiriusXM app.
Vols C Uros Plavsic / Credit: UT Athletics
Tennessee (11-5, 2-3 SEC) fell on the road to No. 18 Kentucky on Saturday, 107-79. Despite defensive deficiencies, Tennessee shot 53 percent from the floor. Junior Santiago Vescovi led the Vols with 20 points on 7-for-10 shooting, while Kennedy Chandler had 17. Josiah-Jordan James and Brandon Huntley-Hatfield also scored in double figures with 11 points apiece.
Tuesday marks Tennessee’s 14th meeting with Vanderbilt during the Rick Barnes era. The Vols have posted a 10-3 record against the Commodores since Barnes arrived in Knoxville, including win each of the last eight meetings. No player on Tennessee’s current roster has ever lost a game at Vanderbilt’s Memorial Gymnasium.
After capping its current two-game stretch of road games, Tennessee returns to Thompson-Boling Arena on Saturday for a rematch with No. 13 LSU. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. ET on ESPN.
THE SERIES • Tennessee leads its all-time series with Vanderbilt, 126-75, dating to 1922. • Tennessee has won 10 of the last 11 meetings in this series, including each of the last eight and five straight at Memorial Gym. • No active Vol has ever lost a game at Vanderbilt’s Memorial Gymnasium. • Just 181 miles separate UT’s Thompson-Boling Arena and Vanderbilt’s Memorial Gymnasium. • During the Barnes era, Tennessee has held Vanderbilt to an average of 67.8 points per game (881 points in 13 games). • In Rick Barnes‘ first season as the head coach at Clemson (1994-95), his Tigers faced North Carolina—led by first-team All-American Jerry Stackhouse—three times. Stackhouse and the Tar Heels won all three meetings on their way to the Final Four. • Three of the last five times the Vols traveled to Nashville, they returned home without playing.
LAYUP LINES – TEAM • Since the start of the 2018-19 season, Tennessee has won more games against SEC opponents in Nashville than Vanderbilt. The Vols have recorded six wins over SEC teams in the state’s capitol (three at Vandy, three in the SEC Tournament) during that span, while Vanderbilt has won five (four home, one in the SEC Tournament). • According to KenPom, the Vols rank fifth in the nation in adjusted defensive efficiency, allowing only 89.1 points per 100 possessions. • The Vols are forcing an average of 18.6 turnovers per game during SEC play. The next-closest SEC team (LSU) forces 16.8 per game. • The Vols rank among the Division I top 15 in steals per game (10.3, 8th), turnover margin (+5.5, 9th) and assists per game (17.4, 14th). • Four of the five teams that have beaten UT this season are ranked in this week’s AP Top 25. • Tennessee is shooting just .568 (46-81) from the free-throw line over its last four games.
LAYUP LINES – PLAYERS • Santiago Vescovi has increased his team-leading 14.0 ppg scoring average to 15.6 ppg in SEC play. • Vescovi’s 3.2 3-point makes per game during SEC play ranks second in the league. • Josiah-Jordan James is 5-for-10 from 3-point range over UT’s last two games while averaging 11.0 points and 8.0 rebounds. • Kennedy Chandler’s 2.27 steals per game rank second among Division I true freshmen. And his 4.9 assists per game rank third among true freshmen nationally. • Chandler’s 3.0 steals per game during SEC play is tied for the league lead. • The SEC record for career games played is 152, held by Kentucky’s Darius Miller (2008-12). John Fulkerson is closing in, having now appeared in a Tennessee-record 146 career games. • Fulkerson also is just eight points shy of 1,000 for his career. • True freshman forward Brandon Huntley-Hatfield gave the Vols 11 points in just 10:12 off the bench Saturday at Kentucky.
ABOUT VANDERBILT • Vanderbilt (10-6, 2-2 SEC) enters Tuesday’s game coming off of its second conference win. The Commodores won at Georgia on Saturday, 73-66. • The Commodores won just three SEC games during the entire 2020-21 season and have already won two of their first four conference games this season. • Vanderbilt has posted two Quadrant 3 losses this season (Temple, South Carolina), but also has two Quadrant 1 wins (vs. BYU, at Arkansas). • Five of Vanderbilt’s six losses this season have come at Memorial Gymnasium. • Preseason SEC Player of the Year Scotty Pippen Jr. leads all SEC players with 18.8 points per game this season. Pippen is averaging 21.0 ppg in Vanderbilt’s four conference games. Pippen Jr. has seven games of 20 or more points this season, including two games of 30 or more points. • Pippen Jr. has also been very effective at getting to the free throw line this season. He ranks 10th in Division I and leads the SEC with 105 free throw attempts. He also leads all SEC players with 76 made free throws. • Vanderbilt ranks 26th in Division I and fourth in the SEC in turnovers forced with 16.4 forced per game. The Commodores have forced 15 or more turnovers in 10 games this season.
LAST MEETING WITH VANDERBILT • 20-point scoring outputs from Victor Bailey Jr. and Jaden Springer, along with a double-double from senior Yves Pons, pushed the No. 25 Tennessee basketball team past Vanderbilt, 70-58, on Feb. 24, 2021, inside Memorial Gym. • The win was Tennessee’s eighth consecutive victory over Vanderbilt and UT’s fifth straight in the Commodores’ home gym. • The Vols were led by Bailey Jr., who poured in 21 points on 7-of-14 shooting and 5-of-8 from 3-point range. He added three rebounds and three assists. • Springer scored 20 points of his own, marking his fifth 20-point performance of the season. He finished the night 5-of-8 from the field and was a stellar 10-of-10 from the free-throw line. Springer also had three steals, a pair of assists and a block. • Pons scored an even 10 points and grabbed 10 huge rebounds for his third career double-double. • The opening half was defined by runs, as each team had a spurt during which it outscored the opponent by at least 10 points. • Down 20-17 with less than seven minutes to play in the half, the Vols used an explosive 15-2 run to take a 32-22 lead into halftime. • Out of the break, UT extended its run to 22-5 through the first four minutes of the second half, increasing its lead to 39-25 at the under-16 break. • The Vols held an advantage as large as 15 points in the second half, but Vanderbilt refused to go away, trimming Tennessee’s lead to as few as four points down the stretch. • However, clutch free-throws and multiple key stops cemented the night’s final score line.
MEMORABLE VOL PERFORMANCES AGAINST VANDERBILT • Grant Williams (now with the Boston Celtics) erupted for a record-setting performance as the No. 1-ranked Volunteers held off Vanderbilt, 88-83, in overtime in Nashville on Jan. 23, 2019. Williams finished with a career-high 43 points and also tallied eight rebounds, four blocks, two assists and a steal. The junior forward was 10-of-15 from the field and a program-record 23-of-23 from the free-throw line. • Josh Richardson (now with the Boston Celtics) helped the Vols rally from two separate double-digit deficits in the second half by scoring 15 of his game-high 22 points in the final stanza to lift Tennessee to a 67-61 comeback win over Vanderbilt in the 2015 SEC Tournament in Nashville on March 12, 2015. In what was the second-to-last game of his career, Richardson also led all players with three steals and was a perfect 6-for-6 from the foul line. • Dyron Nix (17 points, 18 rebounds) and Doug Roth (10 points, 10 rebounds) recorded double-doubles and Tennessee beat Vanderbilt 79-69 in overtime in Stokely Athletics Center Feb. 4, 1987, in Knoxville. • Dick Johnston made six free throws in double overtime to lift UT to a 77-72 win over the Dores in Nashville on Feb. 2, 1970. Jimmy England led the charge with 27 points, and Bobby Croft had an 18-16 double-double. • Tennessee All-Century Team member Paul “Lefty” Walther (1948-49) never lost to Vanderbilt during his career as a Vol. The Covington, Kentucky, native helped lead Tennessee to a 4-0 record over the Dores, beating Vandy by an average of 9.8 points.
VOLS SUCCESSFUL ON THE IN-STATE CIRCUIT • Tennessee has won its last eight games against in-state opponents and is 23-5 vs. in-state foes under coach Rick Barnes. • Those 23 wins include Vanderbilt (10x), Tennessee Tech (4x), ETSU (3x), Lipscomb (twice), Chattanooga, Memphis, Tennessee State and UT Martin.
SANTI SEEING A BIG RIM • With 46 made 3-pointers so far this season, Santiago Vescovi is on pace to finish the season with the seventh-most made threes in program history (89). • Tennessee is guaranteed to play at least 15 more games this season (14 regular season, one SEC Tournament), and Vescovi is averaging 2.9 made threes per game. • Vescovi made a career-best 53 3-pointers in 27 games last season. He’s already made 46 through 16 games this season.
KC & SANTI A DANGEROUS DUO • Tennessee’s starting backcourt duo of Kennedy Chandler and Santiago Vescovi combines to average 26.8 points, 7.4 assists, 7.9 rebounds and 4.2 steals per game while shooting .365 from 3-point range. • Chandler and/or Vescovi have led or shared the team lead in scoring in eight of UT’s 16 games.
BIG “ROSH” STEPPING UP • Junior big man Uros Plavsic entered this season averaging 1.9 points and 5.9 minutes per game. • Thanks to earning an enhanced role during the first five games of SEC play, Plavsic is now averaging career-bests in minutes (11.4 mpg), scoring (3.7 ppg), rebounding (2.9 rpg) and field-goal percentage (.556). • And his 46 rebounds through 16 games are more than his total through his first two seasons (32).
GAMES MPG PPG RPG Pre-conference games (11) 9.9 3.0 1.9 SEC games (5) 14.7 5.2 5.0
On his concerns after watching the Kentucky game tape… “Again, not to take anything away from Kentucky, because I thought they played as well as I’ve ever seen them play, to be quite frank. But also, looking at it, a lot of things we didn’t do. Defense was really not very good. Our one-on-one defense wasn’t there at all. Some of the points they got, some of those drives to the basket, we obviously didn’t get it across to the guys the way we wanted it done. Because, again, our one-on-one defense wasn’t very good.
“With that said, we have to get more from, really, it’s everybody. The frontline, our starting frontline (John Fulkerson and Olivier Nkamhoua) didn’t have one rebound in the game, that’s I think 38 minutes between them. That can’t happen. It goes back to consistency. What do we know we’re going to get every single night? What we’re going to have to do to get that. With that said, we’ve moved on. Got to get ready for a big one tomorrow night (at Vanderbilt).”
Vols HC Rick Barnes / Credit: UT Athletics
On turnovers being an issue for Tennessee right now… “When we watch it on tape, really, it shouldn’t happen if guys are locked into the game. Like those plays there at half court (at Kentucky), I think it was four or five-point game, under four (minutes) to go (in the first half), we turned it over twice at half court. When we’re running, we always tell guys you’ve got to always expect a team to maybe jump you at some point in time. We had three guys that ran like we normally do, like we’re in transition, but they look back and they’ve got to see something is going on. And they didn’t really react. So they left Santi (Vescovi) and Olivier (Nkamhoua) there on their own. That can’t happen.
“Those baskets (off turnovers), there’s just no defense (for them). And that skews your whole defensive numbers, when you give up turnovers, when your offense turns it over and they lead to baskets. You can’t do anything about it. I don’t understand it. I think we should be able to handle the ball better than that. But it’s everybody being totally locked in. When we watch the tape, I ask guys what are you thinking right here? The obvious answer is they’re not. Then you ask the question what are you thinking prior to the game? Because everything that Kentucky did, we talked about it and expect it. It goes back to you want players to get lost in the game. I think when guys are concerned about other things, whether it’s scoring or not rebounding, whatever it may be, you still have to have short memory. You have to go from play to play to play. To be quite honest, when we ask those questions, they don’t have an answer. But the answer simply is you’re not locked into the game the way you should be.”
On how much of the LSU and Kentucky games were turnover problems versus defensive problems… “A lot. Our turnovers, again, we keep talking about when we turn people over, we’re not getting enough out of it. We had a three-on-one break and we didn’t get anything. I’d rather shoot it (in transition). Or we had a chance for a lob. But we held onto it. They got back. On that possession, we turned the ball over. You’ve got to capitalize on those plays right there in the open court. Unfortunately for us, other teams are doing that against us when we turn it over.”
On getting players locked in… “I would go back to this, a lot of this is new for a lot of guys. And I’m not making excuses for anybody, because I know there are other people in the country that play with young players. But it goes back, where understanding every game is different. And that, I do think when young guys make a mistake, they have a tendency to kind of hold onto it a little bit. That’s why you need so much consistency from your older players, to settle things down for you. You go back, again, as much as we talk about taking care of the ball as one of our things that we talk about—that being shot selection, taking care of the ball, giving yourself to get a shot every time. It’s concentration and it’s understanding that every possession matters. You’re not asking guys to be uptight. You’re just asking them to protect the ball. Obviously I have to do a better job getting them to keep understanding that. When it all gets back to it, it comes back to me, hey, as many steps as they’ve ran, I’ve told them that, now you know why I have you run these (steps), why I have you do this or do that. I want you guys to be aware of how important it is to take care of the basketball.”
On potential changes to the starting lineup… “I think, after we’ll be back on the court today, we’ll decide what we’re going to do there. We’re going to see what happens. It’s not one player, it’s not. It’s consistency. Your older players have to be your most consistent players. They have to be. I’m not just talking about John (Fulkerson). He’s one of our older players. John, Santi, Josiah. Uros (Plavsic), I mean, he’s been around long enough. Olivier (Nkamhoua), VJ (Bailey). Those guys have been around the longest. Those are the guys, and I’m not just talking in a game, I’m talking in practice, everything we do.”
On getting consistency from older players… “I wish I could answer that. If I did, we would fix it. We talk to them. We spend a lot of time with our older guys trying to get them to understand. The tough part is when we watch tape and the things that we talk about as a team that we want to do not only as a team but individually, guys don’t do it. And their answer is always ‘I don’t know’. They should know. Again, that is on me that if they don’t know, it is on me. I am going to keep harping on it until they do fully understand. When we say we need to do this, we need to do this. Or you need to do this.”
On Kennedy Chandler’s defense at Kentucky… “I don’t think there is any question that I would be shocked after the way the last couple games where he has struggled if he doesn’t really make a real conscious effort to turn it around defensively. He and I sat on the bus and watched the game coming back. We watched the whole film together. He sees it. He does. He sees everything you would want him to see after watching it in a replay. Now it’s a matter of doing it.”
On Tennessee’s 3-point shooting at Kentucky… “I have told these guys all year if they will just do what we practice—are you baffled sometimes when we miss wide-open shots? It happens sometimes. I have seen other teams miss wide-open shots. Would I like to see us shoot it? We still think we have proven we can make shots if we will let it come in the flow of what we are doing. Guys are so anxious to make a shot that they are rushing things. We keep talking about taking care of the ball. It’s just not being anxious and when it comes in the flow. If we do what we are supposed to do offensively, it will work. It will work. I think some of the people that have struggled shooting the ball, they are just anxious and it is throwing off their timing and their rhythm.”
On Vanderbilt… “I think Jerry (Stackhouse) has done a terrific job. He is building the program more and more. They have done a great job developing players that have stayed with them and helped them and really find their roles and their niche. As you know, they shoot the ball well. They have good balance. They run really good stuff on offense. They are changing their defenses up. You can see a couple different defenses out of them. Certainly, Scotty Pippen Jr., preseason player of the year. He gets a lot of attention and for him to keep putting up the numbers that he is putting up is pretty impressive. But he has got some other guys around him that are really playing the roles they need to play.”
On concern level with this team… “It is still January. I don’t think anyone has played a more demanding part of the (early) season schedule on the road than we have. That is why we have tried to play such a tough schedule. We are going to do that anyway. The fact is, it has been tough. Now, we have a chance. Every game. We are on the road again against one of our in-state rivals. It is tough. Every game is tough and it is tough for everybody. We have to go on the road early with three of the top five picks in the league. I like to think that we have learned something and that we will continue to learn and know that you have to play every single night. You have to be ready. The consistency has to be there. The reliability has to be there for all of us from me all the way down. It has to be there. That we know we are going to be in a battle every single night.”
On former players he has coached against like Jerry Stackhouse… “I have been doing it a long time. I tell people all the time Jerry Stackhouse made arguably one of the top five collegiate plays I have ever seen. Not against us, thank goodness. I saw it and I used to show it to my team all the time. How much ground he covered from half court to the basket. He did it in two dribbles and reversed dunked the ball two-handed. I would have to think about that. There are a lot of guys. I was really looking forward to the Memphis game because I have so much respect for Larry Brown. Even a coach that has been around a long time and I have studied him a lot through the years. Rasheed Wallace I think is on their bench, too. There are a lot of guys like that.”
On what Tennessee can learn from the game against Kentucky… “Some people had the mindset of just moving on to the next game, but other people had the mindset of letting it soak in and realize that we did not play great on the defensive end. The reality is that we lost, it wasn’t one of our better games, but we must keep on going and get ready for the game tomorrow. There are plenty more games ahead and that’s what we have to think about.”
On what his mindset during games is… “I’m just trying to play my role to win and do anything it takes to get the job done. I’m not thinking about anything—shooting, defense—but all that will come if you’re just trying to do your role and hopefully, we’re playing to win at the end of the day.”
On how he feels about his defense… “I can always get better at it. The past couple weeks, I’ve tried to guard Kennedy (Chandler) in practice and I know if I can guard him, I can guard anyone. Guarding him every day is what’s going to make me better and having the mindset of a defensive stopper and knowing nobody is going to get by me.”
KNOXVILLE – Scoring 73 points in the final three quarters, the No. 5/6 Tennessee women’s basketball team used a balanced offensive effort to down No. 19/20 Kentucky, 84-58, Sunday afternoon at Thompson-Boling Arena. The game marked the annual We Back Pat game, bringing awareness and recognition to the Pat Summitt Foundation in its fight against Alzheimer’s disease.
With the win, the Lady Vols improved to 17-1 overall and 6-0 in SEC play. It’s the best season-opening overall record since UT started the 2007-08 campaign at 22-1. The 6-0 league beginning is the program’s best since going 13-0 in 2014-15.
Keyen Green – Lady Vols / Credit: UT Athletics
Rae Burrell and Keyen Green tied for the team lead in scoring, dropping 14 points apiece. Burrell was white-hot from beyond the arc, going 4-of-4 on 3-pointers in the game. It was a defining day for Green at Tennessee, as she tied her UT high in points and rebounds, pulling down seven. She added three assists, her most since joining the Big Orange in 2020.
In total, 10 of 13 Lady Vols taking the court scored. Four players finished with double-figure scoring, as Jordan Horston (11) and Jordan Walker (10) joined Burrell and Green.
The balance showed in the stat sheet, as Tennessee was 10-of-20 from beyond the arc. The Lady Vols also outscored UK in the paint, 40-28. UT pulled down 21 offensive boards, its fifth game this season with more than 20. That translated to a 22-8 advantage in second-chance points. Led by Burrell and Green’s contributions, Tennessee recorded 39 bench points to Kentucky’s nine.
Tennessee and Kentucky traded baskets early, with neither team taking more than a two-point lead. The Lady Vol offense then went cold, but UT’s defense kept it within range. Tennessee went on a five-minute scoring drought, but as the buzzer sounded in the first quarter, UT trailed by only six, 17-11.
The Lady Vols came back with a complete second-quarter performance, outscoring the Wildcats 27-10 in the period. UT opened the quarter on an 11-2 run, as Burrell drained a pair of 3-pointers. Walker also made one from deep, and Tamari Key laid one in from under the hoop. Burrell was on fire for the stanza, scoring 11 points on 4-of-4 shooting and a perfect 3-of-3 marksmanship from beyond the arc. The Lady Vols were 11-of-17 (64.7 percent) from the floor and made all four of their 3-point tries, taking a 38-27 lead into the break.
Tennessee epitomized offensive efficiency through the middle part of the third quarter, scoring on nine consecutive possessions. Horston and Green both posted seven points in the quarter, but Burrell drained a 3-pointer at the buzzer from way downtown to give the Lady Vols a 64-43 lead going to the fourth.
The fourth quarter saw more balance on the offensive end from Tennessee, as six Lady Vols logged points and 12 different players checked into the contest. Sara Puckett and Walker both scored five while Green pulled down two boards.
After the quick turnaround of Thursday’s road game and today’s home tilt, the Lady Vols will have time to rest and recover, as they enjoy a bye on Thursday and face No. 18/15 Georgia in Athens next Sunday.
SECOND QUARTER COMEBACK: The Lady Vols poured in 27 points in the second quarter. It’s their highest point total of any quarter during conference play this season and ties their season high for second-quarter points. With three periods of 20+ points vs. UK, UT now has scored 20+ points in 20 of its last 32 quarters.
MAKING IT RAIN: Tennessee shot a scorching 50 percent from behind the arc, hitting a season-high 10 threes. It was the most 3-pointers scored by a UT team since dropping 14 on Furman on Dec. 10, 2020. The percentage was the highest since the Lady Vols connected on seven of 10 for 70 percent vs. Ole Miss on March 5, 2020, in the SEC Tournament.
DOMINATING THE BOARDS: The Lady Vols out-rebounded the Wildcats 50 to 29, marking the 15th time through 17 games that UT has managed a double-digit rebound margin. Tennessee has now had 50+ rebounds in 11 games this season, and it’s the 29th time the Lady Vols have collected 50 or more rebounds during the Harper Era.
POINTS FROM THE LINE: UT went 10 of 12 from the free-throw line, posting its highest free-throw percentage of the season at 83.3 percent.
Luke Bryan‘s Born Here Live Here Die Here (Deluxe Edition) continues to roll out the hits – “Up” is the latest track released from the project.
Talking about his current single at country radio Luke says, “’Up’ is a song that really, it just checks all the boxes for a country song to me. It talks about what I love, what’s dear to me. It talks about my home. It talks about my faith, and the fact that the songwriters used a simple word, ‘Up,’ to create so many images is pretty special.”
When it comes to the recently released music video for the song, Luke adds, “I could not be prouder, not only of the message of this song, but also how this video turned out. I hope everyone enjoys watching it as much as I have.”
Brett Eldredge woke up in the middle of the night to write his new song “Want That Back.”
Brett shares, “I woke up at 3:33 am one night and was feeling the weight of everything going on in the world. From the pandemic, to the hate and the violence – all these different things made me crave the pure and simple parts of life that I miss. I was looking for comfort in these moments that I feel bring purpose into my life. It was just such a powerful feeling that overtook me and I couldn’t go back to sleep until I wrote the whole chorus.”
Check out the music video for Brett’s “Want That Back”
“Want That Back” is the second song that Brett has released for his fans in the last several weeks.
Right before the end of 2021, Brett shared the music video for “Holy Water.”
Jameson Rodgers‘ current single at country radio is “Missing One.”
Jameson has released the music video for track as well, and he shares, “The ‘Missing One’ video, this was my third official music video that I’ve I’ve ever done. So, I feel like I’m getting a little more comfortable each one. This one was cool, we shot half of it south of Nashville at a gas station there and then the other half was filmed a couple hours south of Chicago. We had some some actors and actresses out of the Chicago area.”
He adds, “The guy and girl and the mom in the video I think they were all from around Chicago, or based out of Chicago anyway. It was it was cool getting to kind of handpick the people that were going to be in the video. I’ve never really done that before, maybe picked one for the ‘Some Girls’ video but it was just cool kind of diving in and handpicking some some faces and people that I thought fit the the vibe of this music video. And Dustin Haney directed this one and crushed it. He’s done all three of my music videos and just crushed every single one of them. This was probably my favorite one so far. So I hope y’all enjoy it and go check it out.“
Did you catch Jordan Davis‘ recent appearance on The Tonight Show Staring Jimmy Fallon?
Jordan shares what it was like for him to get the invite to appear on the late night talk show, “You know, that’s one of those calls that you want, I mean that’s a major, you know what Fallon has done for so many musicians, the spotlight that he’s able to shine on songs and up and coming talent. So, just to really be honest with you, to have my name in that running is pretty crazy, much less to get the call to come and do it. I’m grateful for the opportunity,”
Watch Jordan perform his Top-5 hit “Buy Dirt”.
Of course appearing on The Tonight Show would be enough of an evening for some artists…but not Jordan Davis.
While in New York he caught wind that some newlyweds, Claudia and JD, were using his current single as their wedding song, so Jordan kicked into action to make their special day even more special.
Watch it unfold here…
A day that everyone will soon not forget.
Jordan Davis and Luke Bryan are knocking on the door to number-one with their Top-5 hit “Buy Dirt.”
As Kane Brown is approaching the top of the country music airplay chart with “One Mississippi” – he’s giving his fans a musical treat with “Whiskey Sour.”
Turns out that Kane can relate to the lyrics in “Whiskey Sour” not through his own experiences, but through those around him, “The story behind the song is kind of weird for me. All my friends are really going through a depressing time with relationships. So when I heard this song for the first time, it really resonated with me just because the people around me and that’s why I fell in love with the song so much.”
Kane treated fans that came out to his Blessed & Free tour this weekend to “Whiskey Sour” and his Top-10 hit “One Mississippi.”
Conner Smith‘s debut EP, Didn’t Go Too Far, is available now!
Talking about getting to the point where his EP is finally released, Conner says “These past 6 months have been a wild ride and started off my career in a way I could only have dreamed of.“
Conner adds, “Didn’t Go Too Far is the next step for me. This group of songs really gives listeners a look into my world and my roots. I can’t wait to show fans more of who I am as a writer and a performer throughout this year.”
Didn’t Go Too Far track list:
1. “College Town” (Conner Smith) 2. “Learn From It” (Conner Smith, Daniel Ross) 3. “Didn’t Go Too Far” (Conner Smith, Matt Dragstrem, Matt Jenkins) 4. “Take It Slow” (Conner Smith, Ryan Hurd, Mark Trussell) 5. “I Hate Alabama” (Nick Columbia, Drew Green, Hunter Phelps, Lee Starr) 6. “Somewhere In A Small Town” (Conner Smith, Zach Crowell, Hunter Phelps)
When it comes to his debut EP, Conner says “Didn’t Go Too Far is a collection of songs that I hope shows people more of who I am – as a writer, an artist, and as a person. This group of songs feels like the right way to kick off an exciting 2022. I can’t wait to get this project into the world and get to play these songs live.”
Conner Smith’s debut EP, Didn’t Go Too Far is available now and features his current single at country radio “Learn From It.”
