Scotty McCreery was first inspired to become a singer because of George Strait…now he’s singing “Damn Strait.”
It turns out when Scotty was young his first concert helped him decide a career path, “The first country music concert I ever went to was George Strait, Reba, and Lee Ann Womack. When I saw that show I said ‘I’m gonna do that one day.'”
So when he heard the Trent Tomlinson and Jim Collins song Scotty knew he had to record it, especially when he heard the lyric “first time we danced was to ‘Marina Del Ray’.”
Scotty says “Every now and then you hear a song that sounds so much like you. I grew up as a huge George Strait fan, and when I heard this song I raised my hand to say ‘I want to this one.'”
“Damn Strait” is one of the 12-tracks included on Scotty’s album, Same Truck, which arrived last Fall.
Scotty says that his current single at country radio is easy to relate to, “Every country fan has a George Strait story and everyone has a memory attached to their favorite songs.”
Now fans are attaching new memories to “Damn Strait.”
Fans will get to hear Scotty sing this one live and in-person when his Same Truck tour launches next week in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Fans love Dan + Shay for many reasons…their music, their live show, and the way they are on social media.
They also know that when they reach out to Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney on socials, that it’s really the duo answering back.
Dan + Shay share, “Social media is always been super important to us. I guess we’ve probably driven a lot of people on our team crazy because we won’t give out the passwords to our accounts (laugh)…but, you know ever since we started we wanted to have that 1 on 1 personal connection with fans.”
When people share heartfelt messages with Dan + Shay, the guys want the fans to know that those words of how the music helped them mean everything to the duo, “Even you know outside of being an artist, just on a human level, you know somebody said ‘Hey I’m having a tough day and your song made my day better’ we’ve had messages say that the music has saved somebody’s life and that stuff is like…that’s bigger than us, it’s bigger than the song, it’s so powerful that’s why we do this. For us to just be able to jump on the Instagram or Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat whatever it maybe…and just say ‘Thank you. Thank you for listening to this music you know as much as this song might mean to you, you listening to that song means just as much to us that’s why we need to do this and you’re the reason we get to live our dream so it’s a 2 way street.”
These days fans are sending messages that they love Dan + Shay’s current single at country radio, “Steal My Love” from their latest album, Good Things.
Watch the music video for “Steal My Love” and then head to socials and tell the guys what you think…
Fans, and friends of actor Bob Saget were shocked Sunday January 9th to learn of his passing. Bob was on tour, and even performed a show the previous night in Orlando, where he was found unresponsive in a hotel room.
Mitchell Tenpenny was someone who grew up watching Bob’s work, and was sadden to hear the news.
Mitchell shared a picture of himself, Jimmie Allen and Bob Saget with the comment, “Got to meet and hang out with Bob when me and Jimmie Allen did Nashville Squares. He was so kind to us and most of all very funny. He took extra time to make us feel special and I’ll never forget that. RIP to a legend.”
Nashville Squares was a country music themed version of Hollywood Squares that aired on CMT.
Here’s a clip of the episode that included Mitchell and Jimmie from November 2019.
OXFORD, Miss. — No. 7/8 Tennessee picked up a 70-58 win on Sunday in The Pavilion at Ole Miss, ending the No. RV/RV Rebels’ 13-game win streak.
Now 15-1 on the season, the 2021-22 squad is making UT’s best start since 2017-18 when it went 15-0. With four straight SEC wins, it’s the Lady Vols’ hottest start to conference play since beginning 13-0 in 2014-15 en route to a 15-1 SEC regular-season title.
Junior Jordan Horston was the top scorer for the Lady Vols (15-1, 4-0 SEC), turning in a double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Graduate Alexus Dye was also a top producer with 17, while sophomore Tess Darby scored a career-high 13 points.
Jordan Horston – Lady Vols / Credit: UT Athletics
Ole Miss (13-2, 1-1 SEC) was led by Shakira Austin who finished with 26 points and nine rebounds. Lashonda Monk was also in double figures with 11.
Snudda Collins hit one of three free throws to get the Rebels on the board first, but Key answered on the other end by getting an offensive board and turning it into three points after being fouled on the made basket. The Lady Vols then hit a shooting slump, going 0-7 from the floor over a five-minute span. Ole Miss jumped out to a 9-5 lead before the media timeout, but following the break, Key hit a pair of free throws to set off a 6-0 run that reclaimed the lead for UT at 11-9 with 3:15 left in the opening quarter. UM got a layup on the other end, but Tennessee closed out the first with five points capped off by an old-fashioned three-point play by Keyen Green to lead 16-11 at the start of the second.
Austin nailed a jumper 12 seconds into the second period, and the teams traded baskets until Darby followed up a Horston jumper with a trey on the next possession to put the Lady Vols ahead by nine at the 8:01 mark. Two more Darby 3-pointers and a jumper by Dye resulted in a 13-0 UT run that gave Tennessee a 32-15 lead with 4:20 left in the half. Monk converted on a pair of free throws two minutes later, but on the next trip down the floor Dye got the bucket and the foul to put UT up by 18. The Lady Vols would maintain that advantage over the final minute, taking a 39-21 lead into halftime.
Both teams came out hot in the second half, scoring baskets on four straight possessions to move the score to 43-26 less than two minutes into the third. Key hit the first of a pair of free throws, but five straight points by Ole Miss pulled the Rebels within 13 by the 7:35 mark. Horston converted on a 3-point play to put the Lady Vols back on top by 16, and that margin would hold until Austin scored five points in a row to put the score at 51-40 with 3:42 left in the quarter. Green hit a jumper to end the drought, and the closing minutes were a back-and-forth affair with a pair of free throws by Rae Burrell sending the game into the final stanza with the Lady Vols up by 13 at 57-44.
Collins opened the fourth with two made free throws, but Tennessee exploded with seven points in less than a minute to lead 64-46 with 8:24 left in the game. The Rebels rallied, launching into a 9-2 run and holding UT without a field goal for more than 6 minutes to pull within 11 with 3:11 to play. Brooklynn Miles ended the drought for UT with a layup at the 2:15 mark, and UM would cut it to 10 points less than a minute later, but Tennessee wound down the clock, and a final bucket by Horston gave UT the 70-58 victory.
UP NEXT: The Lady Vols travel to Nashville for a Thursday match-up at Vanderbilt. Tennessee and the Commodores will meet at 9 p.m. ET (8 CT) at Memorial Gymnasium.
DOUBLE-DOUBLES CONTINUE: Jordan Horston recorded her seventh double-double of the season against UM on Sunday. Tennessee has logged 18 double-doubles on the season and at least one Lady Vol has managed a double-double in 15 of 16 games so far.
TESS FROM LONG RANGE: Tess Darby went three of six from behind the arc against the Rebels. She has now hit 24 treys on the season, nine of which have come during SEC play. She is averaging 35.3 from distance on the season and is shooting 44.4 percent in conference games.
DARBY’S FREE THROW DEBUT: Sophomore Tess Darby went a perfect four of four from the free-throw line against Ole Miss. Prior to this contest, she had never shot a free throw in a collegiate game, making her season and career average from the charity stripe 100 percent.
KEEPING OPPONENTS IN CHECK: The Rebels entered today’s contest with a field goal percentage of 43.9 percent but were held to just 33.9 percent shooting. The Lady Vols’ defense has kept all 16 opponents at 36 percent shooting or below this season, and through four SEC games Tennessee is holding opponents to just 28.3 percent from the floor.
BATON ROUGE, La. – The 18th-ranked Tennessee basketball team rallied in the second half, but eventually fell on the road to No. 21 LSU Saturday night, 79-67.
Freshman guard Kennedy Chandler led Tennessee with 19 points. Junior guard Santiago Vescovi added 14, while junior forward Uros Plavsic had a season-high 12 points on 5-for-8 shooting along with seven rebounds off the bench.
Vols C Uros Plavsic / Credit: UT Athletics
Sophomore Tari Eason led the way for LSU with 24 points. Second-chance points played a major role in the game, as LSU outscored Tennessee, 18-5.
After holding a seven-point lead at halftime, LSU was hot out of the gates in the second half, exploding for a 20-7 run that extended its lead to 20 points at 62-42.
Refusing to go away quietly, Tennessee responded by gradually chipping away at the Tigers’ lead, cutting it down to as few as five points at 71-66 on a Vescovi 3-pointer with three minutes remaining.
Following Vescovi’s three, two straight fast-break layups from LSU guard Brandon Murray and Eason quickly pushed the Tigers’ lead back to nine points, paving the way for LSU’s 12-point win.
After controlling the majority of the opening period, LSU took a 42-35 lead into the halftime break. The Tigers led for 11:20 of the first half, pulling in front by as many as 10. LSU’s 42 first-half points were Tennessee’s most given up to an opponent this season.
Tennessee took an early six-point lead at 9-3 on a 3-pointer by Vescovi, but LSU responded immediately with a 13-2 run to pull ahead for good.
Chandler led the Vols with 14 points in the first half on 5-for-7 shooting.
UP NEXT: Tennessee returns to Thompson-Boling Arena for a matchup with South Carolina on Tuesday. Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. ET on SEC Network.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — No. 7/8 Tennessee (14-1/3-0 SEC) and RV/RV Ole Miss (14-1/1-0 SEC) put their unbeaten league records on the line Sunday afternoon, when the Lady Vols and Rebels meet in Oxford, Mississippi.
The Lady Vols and Rebels will tangle at 12:02 p.m. CT (1:02 p.m. ET) at the 9,500-seat Sandy and John Black Pavilion at Ole Miss. This will mark the 59th contest between these programs, with UT owning a 50-8 all-time record and entering with a six-game series winning streak.
Both teams are riding on winning sprees as well, as the Lady Vols have claimed victories in the last five contests after suffering their only loss of the season on Dec. 18 vs. (then) No. 3/3 Stanford, 74-63, in Knoxville. Ole Miss, meanwhile, carries a 13-game run of Ws into Sunday’s matinee, with its only loss coming at home in the season opener vs. Belmont, 62-50.
Lady Vols G Alexus Dye / Credit: UT Athletics
With Jordan Horston recording an 18-point, 13-rebound double-double and Tamari Key blocking a career-high 11 shots, Tennessee picked up its third victory this season over a ranked foe in very dominant fashion, blowing out No. 25/23 and defending SEC champion Texas A&M, 73-45, in Knoxville on Thursday night. The win ended a three-game series losing streak to the Aggies and propelled the Lady Vols to their best conference start since going 3-0 in 2017-18.
Ole Miss, which had its first two SEC contests against Arkansas and South Carolina postponed due to COVID protocols, played its first game since Dec. 21 on Thursday. The Rebels took care of Florida in Gainesville, 74-56. UM had 18 steals and caused 25 Gator turnovers, resulting in 26 points off those miscues.
The Lady Vols, who are No. 1 nationally in field goal percentage defense (29.9) and No. 22 in scoring defense (54.2), will face an Ole Miss team that shoots a similar field goal percentage as Texas A&M did, but the Rebels prefer to get to the rim or free-throw line as opposed to shooting threes. UM has hit only 45 treys in 2021-22. Also aggressive defensively, Ole Miss ranks eighth nationally in scoring defense (50.0), 10th in total steals (162) and No. 31 in turnovers forced (21.21).
Comparing schedules, UT and UM both claim victories over a ranked South Florida team. UT topped the (then) No. 23/22 Bulls, 52-49, in Knoxville on Nov. 15, while Ole Miss defeated (then) No. 18 USF, 61-53, at the Palm Beach Invitational on Dec. 21.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Tiffany Greene (play-by-play), Steffi Sorensen (analyst) will be on the call for the SEC Network broadcast.
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 radio stations and by audio stream, with Mickey Dearstone behind the microphone. Now calling the action for his 23rd season, Dearstone is joined by studio host Bobby Rader.
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.
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 Vol Network Affiliates.
Air time for games on the Lady Vol Radio Network generally occurs 30 minutes prior to tip-off.
TENNESSEE IN SEC PLAY
UT is 417-88 (.826) in SEC regular-season games through Arkansas, winning 18 regular-season championships and capturing 17 SEC tourney titles.
Tennessee Head Coach Kellie Harper is 22-10 in SEC games in her third year on Rocky Top, including 3-0 in 2021-22, and has a 2-2 record in SEC Tourney play.
UT tied for third in 2019-20 and finished third outright in 2020-21, marking its best back-to-back outcomes in league play since taking second in 2013-14 and first in 2014-15.
The Lady Vols were picked second in the 2021-22 SEC Preseason Media Poll and No. 3 in the SEC Preseason Coaches Poll, marking their best positions since 2015-16 and 2016-17, respectively.
ABOUT THE LADY VOLS
The Lady Vols are one of the nation’s biggest stories of 2021-22, opening up at 14-1 against one of the NCAA’s toughest schedules despite losing returning starter Marta Suárez for the season to injuries and playing without top returning scorer Rae Burrell for 12 games (injury) and this year’s leading scorer and rebounder Jordan Horston for three (injury/illness).
Tennessee picked up its third victory over a ranked team this season on Jan. 6, as the Lady Vols rolled past No. 25/23 Texas A&M in Knoxville, 73-45. UT, which carded four wins over ranked foes last season, only had one ranked win at this point a year ago.
The Big Orange women also have victories over No. 23/22 South Florida (52-49) and No. 12/21 Texas (74-70 OT) to their credit and beat an RV/RV Virginia Tech squad, 64-58, all without Rae Burrell playing.
Tennessee is led by Jordan Horston, a 6-2 junior guard, who paces the team in scoring (15.1 ppg.), rebounding (9.5) and assists (4.0 apg.) in a breakout season.
Horston is second on the team with six double-doubles and has topped UT in scoring seven times.
Tamari Key, a 6-6 junior center, is putting up 10.7 ppg. and 9.0 rpg. to go along with 4.3 bpg. She had a triple-double of 10 points, 18 rebounds and 10 blocks in UT’s 74-70 OT victory over No. 12/21 Texas.
After carding a career-best and No. 2 all-time Lady Vol total of 11 swats against Texas A&M, Key’s block average (4.3) currently ranks No. 1 all-time among Lady Vols in a season and she is No. 1 nationally. Key leads Tennessee with seven double-doubles thus far and has scored in double figures in eight of her last 10 games for the best stretch of her career
Alexus Dye, a 6-0 forward, is third among active UT players in scoring at 9.9 ppg. She is third in rebounding at 8.3 rpg and has three double-doubles, including a 13/10 effort vs. Arkansas on Sunday.
Freshman guard/forward Sara Puckett is UT’s fourth-leading scorer. She is putting up 8.0 ppg. and is shooting 48.9 percent from the field, 35.9 percent on threes and 77.8 percent on free throws and has scored in double figures five times. She got her first career starts vs. UTC and Alabama during Horston’s absence because of illness.
After playing 12 minutes at Arkansas, Rae Burrell logged 17 minutes vs. Texas A&M on Thursday night, scoring nine points and adding three rebounds and two steals with the team’s best +/- at 22. Burrell also hit an off-balance buzzer-beating three at the end of the first quarter to cut the Aggie lead to 21-20 entering the second stanza. She now is averaging 7.7 ppg. and hitting 50 percent on field goals.
Graduate guard Jordan Walker tallied nine points, five assists, three boards and two steals in 27 minutes vs. A&M, surpassing 1,000 career points between her time at Western Michigan and Tennessee in the victory on Thursday. She now is averaging 7.7 ppg., 3.9 rpg. and 3.5 apg.
Graduate forward/center Keyen Green is UT’s seventh player averaging better than 7.0 ppg., contributing 7.2 ppg. and 3.2 rpg. and shooting 58.2 ppg.
Tennessee has 10 players averaging double figures in minutes per game, with freshmen Sara Puckett (22.9), Brooklynn Miles (21.5) and Kaiya Wynn (10.0) among them.
THE LADY VOLS IN SEC GAMES THIS SEASON
UT is scoring 68.3 ppg. and allowing 50.7. ppg., while shooting 42.1 percent from the field and holding opponents to only 26.8 percent.
Tennessee is out-rebounding SEC teams, 50.7 to 38.7 for +12.0.
The Lady Vols have limited foes to shooting only 20.5 percent from the three-point arc, including games vs. noted three-ball teams Arkansas and Texas A&M.
Jordan Horston (15.0 ppg., 10.0 rpg. and 4.5 apg.), Tamari Key (13.0 ppg., 8.0 rpg. and 7.0 bpg.) and Jordan Walker (12.7 ppg., 5.3 rpg. and 4.7 apg.) have led UT in its first three conference games.
Alexus Dye (8.3 ppg., 8.0 rpg.) and Keyen Green (7.7 ppg., 2.7 rpg.) are right behind them. Green is hitting 83.3 percent (10-12) in league games.
LOOKING BACK AT THE LAST GAME
No. 7/8 Tennessee rolled to a decisive victory over No. 25/23 Texas A&M on Thursday night, posting a 73-45 win in Thompson-Boling Arena.
With three straight SEC wins to open league play, it is UT’s best start in conference action since going 3-0 at the outset of the 2017-18 SEC slate.
The Lady Vols (14-1, 3-0 SEC) were led by junior Jordan Horston, who posted a double-double with 18 points and 13 rebounds. Junior Tamari Key narrowly missed a double-double with nine points and a career-high 11 blocked shots.
Destiny Pitts led the Aggies (10-4, 0-2 SEC) with 12 points and five rebounds. Kayla Wells and Qadashah Hoppie were also in double figures with 11 and 10, respectively.
NOTABLES FROM OUR LAST GAME
JOJO CROSSES 1K: With 3:42 to go in the second quarter, graduate Jordan Walker scored on a put-back to record her 1,000th career point. Her tally of 1,004 through the Texas A&M game includes 755 in two seasons at Western Michigan and 250 in two years at Tennessee.
BIG GAME HORSTON: Junior Jordan Horston has excelled in Top-25 match-ups this season, averaging 22.3 ppg. and 12.3 rpg. against ranked opponents in 2021-22.
FROM DOWNTOWWWWN: Tennessee tied its season-high of seven treys against TAMU. Sophomore Tess Darby led that effort, nailing two on 50 percent shooting from behind the arc.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE TIME: Jordan Horston recorded her sixth double-double of the season against the Aggies. Tennessee has logged 17 double-doubles on the season and at least one Lady Vol has managed a double-double in 14 of 15 games this season.
SHOT SWATTING: Junior Tamari Key blocked a career-best 11 shots against TAMU, ranking second all-time in Lady Vol single-game records behind Kelley Cain’s 12 vs. LSU on Feb. 22, 2010.
20+ POINT QUARTERS: Tennessee tallied 20+ points in each of the first three quarters vs. A&M, giving the Lady Vols 20+ scoring efforts in 15 of their last 20 quarters. UT also has hit 20+ points in five straight contests and in six of the past seven games.
UP NEXT: A TRIP TO MUSIC CITY
The Lady Vols will wrap up their two-game stint of road tilts, facing Vanderbilt on Thursday at 8 p.m. CT (9 p.m. ET) at Memorial Gymnasium.
The contest is slated to be televised by SEC Network.
UT-OLE MISS SERIES NOTES
UT will enter the 59th meeting in the series with a 50-8 edge, including a 23-2 record in games played in Knoxville, a 21-4 mark in Oxford and a 6-2 slate at neutral sites.
Tennessee has won 34 of the last 35 meetings with Ole Miss, with the only setback in that sequence coming in Oxford, 67-62, on Jan. 12, 2017.
The Lady Vols have won 20 straight over the Rebels in Knoxville, with the last Ole Miss victory (69-65) coming on Jan. 31, 1987, in Stokely Athletics Center.
On Jan. 9, 2020, in its last trip to Oxford, Tennessee held a short-handed Ole Miss squad to 28 points, which tied for the third fewest UT has allowed in a game and the fewest by an SEC foe.
The Rebels scored only 14 points in the second half of that game, which was the sixth fewest ever tallied in the final 20 minutes by a UT opponent. Ole Miss’ two fourth-quarter points tied for second fewest ever in a quarter by a Big Orange opponent.
UT Head Coach Kellie Harper is 5-0 vs. Ole Miss as a head coach, including 4-0 while leading the Lady Vols. Harper took Missouri State to Oxford on Nov. 19, 2015, and came away with a 91-78 victory over the (then) Matt Insell-coached Rebels. Her first UT unit claimed the 84-28 triumph in Oxford on Jan. 9, 2020 in Yolett McPhee-McCuin’s first year.
Harper was 6-1 vs. Ole Miss during her playing days at Tennessee from 1995-99.
Rae Burrell has scored 14, 17 and 18 points in her last three games vs. the Rebels.
Jordan Horston had 13 and 12 points, respectively, last season.
As a freshman in 2019-20, Tamari Key tallied 19 points the last time UT played in Oxford.
ABOUT OLE MISS
Ole Miss is led by Shakira Austin (13.6 ppg., 8.7 rpg.) and Madison Scott (11.5 ppg., 5.7 rpg.).
The Rebels have held opponents to 50.0 ppg. and 34.7 percent shooting on field goals.
Ole Miss is averaging 11.6 steals per contest, forcing opponents into 21.2 turnovers per game.
The Rebels’ 13 straight wins add up to the third longest winning streak in program history.
UM returned 10 letterwinners and all five starters from a squad that made it to the 2021 WNIT Final.
UM’s Destiny Salary is a transfer from Tennessee.
ABOUT THE HEAD COACH
Ole Miss is led by Yolett McPhee-McCuin, who is 44-58 in her fourth season in Oxford and 138-121 overall in her ninth year as a head coach.
“Coach Yo” was 94-63 at Jacksonville University before making the move to the Magnolia State.
She has led Ole Miss to one WNIT berth and saw JU play in one NCAA and two WNIT tournaments.
LAST TIME OLE MISS PLAYED
In its first contest in over two weeks due to COVID-19 postponements, Ole Miss proved that it’s still one of the hottest teams in the nation, walking away from Exactech Arena with a 74-56 win over Florida Thursday night in its SEC opener
A balanced scoring attack from the Rebels (13-1, 1-0 SEC) allowed them to control the Gators (10-5, 0-2 SEC) the final 20 minutes of the night to move to 1-0 in conference play.
Shakira Austin led the way with 18 points and 10 rebounds, while Madison Scott and Lashonda Monk added 15 and 11, respectively.
WHEN UT AND UM LAST MET
The No. 14/16 Lady Vols fended off an upset-minded Ole Miss team in the SEC Tournament Quarterfinals in Bon Secours Wellness Arena on March 5, 2021, winning 77-72 to advance to the semifinals.
No. 3 seed UT (16-6) was led by senior Rennia Davis, who turned in a career-high-tying 33 points and added 14 rebounds to record her sixth-straight game with 20+ points and ninth double-double of the year. Junior Rae Burrell had 18 points and sophomore Jordan Horston added 12.
Top scorers for Ole Miss (11-11), the No. 11 seed that had already ousted sixth-seeded #13/13 Arkansas on Thursday, were Donnetta Johnson with 20 points, Shakira Austin with 14, and Jacorriah Bracey with 13.
On how he would grade his team’s shot selection… “We need to throw in the fact that we turn down shots. In shot selection I would probably rate it a 75 percent, because we want guys to shoot the ball when we are open. That is what we have done all year practicing. When they put it back in the holster and aren’t willing to shoot it, that usually leads to something not quite as good. We have showed them that obviously where we turn down really good shots to take a little more difficult shot. We just want our guys to do what we practice and what works. I have seen the open court; you have got to make those layups when you are struggling to make some shots from the perimeter or around the rim. Those shots are tougher than people may think but overall if you ask me to put a number on it, 75 to 80 percent probably.”
Vols HC Rick Barnes / Credit: UT Athletics
On what he thought about Ole Miss shooting 50 percent on 3-pointers and what are their rules on helping defense when it comes to the 3-point line… “It changed during the game, we are a very heavy help team, as you know. We like to make plays in the gaps but Wednesday was the first time all year that we faced someone that got hot. Looking at the percentages coming in, we obviously want to play percentages throughout our scouting report. They got hot and no one has done that this year up to this point, which was a great thing for us. We learned from it, we talked about how we do that and what do you do when a team has two guys. You had Matthew Murrell hitting a couple where normally there is a heavy help line. When you have a guy that’s capable of rising up and you have to shave back a little bit. During the game once we said ‘OK, now we are going to adjust what we need to do here because you got a guy who is really feeling it,’ we did a terrific job of it coming down the stretch. Throughout our entire game with our defensive packages, we got a lot of things we could adjust to but like I said that was the first time all year that we played someone that it looked like the basket was the Atlantic Ocean had opened up for him.”
On John Fulkerson not playing during overtime and what he needs to see from him… “Energy and effort. He has to understand that he is in a league now where coaches have seen him for a long time, and he has to adjust and adapt what we have been telling him for a long time. When he can get the ball and space to work, I believe it creates a problem. Personally, if we were playing against him, let him get down there and get his back to the basket against guys that weight 30 to 40 pounds more. We have told him that, the other night it was strictly based on energy, effort and being productive.”
On the offense struggling in games and if it is the same thing that they keep struggling with… “It is, it all gets back to lack of execution from the start and piling it on top of you to where you are making yourself, not only are you playing against your opponent, but you are playing against yourself. It always gets back to the details, taking care of the details where we should know where our shots are coming from. We should know what to do to get in position and get those shots in a position to go rebound it. If you go back, it is just being inconsistent with the details throughout the game. It should never be like that way at the start, the way we started that game with the three turnovers we had, no way should that happen at this time of year. So, you ask the question. We are locked in defensively, but we must have that same attitude on offense. It is different, you can script some things in terms of when you play against your opponent. The offensive side is totally different, you have to react to them, like the other night changing defenses. If you go back to it, they had a simple game plan. It was not their changing defense; it was you are going to have to get somebody inside to go at us because we are not going to help down here that much and see what can happen. They pretty much stay with their shooters but with all that said in done if we would have moved the ball like we should, we would have had any better looks. We had some looks, but they could have been the kind of looks that we want inside and out.”
On LSU as a top defensive opponent… “Well, they switch almost one through five and are willing to do that. They are very aggressive in terms of attacking the ball. They really go at it like that. They do have the pressure they use, the full-court pressure, two to one it. They can turn it around and match it any way they like to do it. But the key in any game when you are playing against an outstanding defensive team is taking care of the basketball. You have to get attempts. You have to hope you can get yourself to the foul line. You have to make them work and not let them have it knowing they are going to be very aggressive in terms of getting the ball. They are always swiping at it, digging at it, trying to break it away. You have to be strong with the ball.”
On impressions of Zakai Zeigler so far describing him as “fearless”… “He is fearless. It is in his DNA. If I could coach that, believe me it would be the first thing I would coach every player I have ever coached. We knew he was a good player when we were able to get involved with him. Some of the things you do not know is just that. You used the word fearless and that is a great word to use because he is going to go at it. He has a short memory and is extremely competitive. He is hard on himself. He is going to continue to improve in many areas because he is a smart player. With his energy and effort in terms of what he brings, our guys have tremendous faith in him.”
On the potential to be the best defensive team at Tennessee… “I think we have the potential to be the best in a lot of areas. We have to get everyone in the boat at the same time. We have a very unselfish group of players. They like each other and pull for each other but it goes back to improvement. Can we still get better defensively? We can. We have to continue to rebound the ball at a higher clip on both ends. That is really important because rebounding on the offensive end helps your defense. It helps the start of the transition. There are a lot of ways we can get better and we will work to that. Up to this point, these guys are not perfect but they are trying to do what we are asking them to do. It goes back to not everybody fully understanding everything at the level they need to. Honestly, most of the time during games most substitutions occur from the defensive end than the offensive end. We need everyone because every possession matters. We do not just say it, believe it.”
On his impressions of LSU … “You look at them and they will rebound, run, given the opportunity they are going to shoot it. I think they play unselfish together. In addition, I think that Will (Wade) has a team he really likes because they are giving him effort on both ends.”
On how Jahmai Mashack being on the scout team has helped him… “It has helped him a lot. It is teaching him that there is a lot more to the game than just playing. Having to learn multiple sets in a quick turnaround. When we go out with our scout team they come in and have to learn a lot of stuff quickly. I think that any time you can do that it continues to help. It has helped Quentin (Diboundje) and will help Jonas (Aidoo) in the long run. When he goes out and goes into the game, we expect him to bring the energy that we know he is capable of. He is a guy that can block out and rebound. He can score the ball but he needs to get settled in on the offensive end. Defensively, he did a great job the other night when we were down and floundering. We put him in the game and told him he had to change the rhythm of the game with your offensive rebounding. He then went out and got three of them real quick.”
On what he can take from the two overtime games that Tennessee has played this year… “Bad shooting nights happen with everybody. At the highest level, when Mike D’Antoni was with Houston, they went something like 0-for-28 one night. After the game, he walked into the locker room and said ‘Guys, tomorrow they’ll go in.’ You can’t coach making shots but what you can coach is guys taking rhythm shots and shots they practice. The takeaway from it is what we have told our guys day one; if you play defense and rebound at the level we’re capable of, we’ll always have a chance even when you can’t make a shot. It happens some nights with every team, but you find a way to work through it. The difference between the Texas Tech and the Ole Miss game was the reaction of our players. You could look into the eyes of Santi (Vescovi), Zakai (Zeigler) and Olivier (Nkamhoua). The way Olivier was talking in the huddle and those guys had the thought of we’re not going to lose this game. They said we’re going to find a way; it might not be pretty but we’re going to get it done. That was the difference because, in the game against Tech, we just felt like who was going to make a play, who was going to do it. Santi’s play at half-court was huge when he hit that three. There were so many things there, but it was the defense on the other end where we were able to shut down some guys that were making some threes for them. We knew they were going to be in long possessions; when you’re playing against a team that is going to use the whole shot clock the whole time, when you’re down six it feels like 12. I told our staff that maybe Kermit (Davis) was happy with those shot clock violations even though you know he wasn’t, but they took two minutes off the game because I think we forced four of them. That is what postseason play is about because you’re going to have to play against different teams and different styles. For the most part, I thought our guys stayed locked in defensively the other night.”
On last year having great defense and an average offense… “Well, if you get right down to it, you have two freshman guards going through things they haven’t gone through before at a very high level. You have Olivier being in a role he hasn’t been in before but the way he responded the other night keeps happening because he was locked in on both sides of the court. Josiah and Santi have been there before but the other three who were on the court at the end of the game were a new experience for them. It’s going to be a year where every game is going to be a learning experience for the two freshman point guards. What we need is guys coming off the bench, capable of making shots, playing defense, and being reliable. We want guys to keep climbing up the rope because I know that everybody on our bench at some point can come in and help us win games.”
On his reaction to Rick Barnes saying that against Ole Miss he talked on the floor more than ever… “I would agree. I think early on in the game, my voice was louder and more into the game, and then later, it started showing that I had been talking the whole game and it just seemed natural. I just feel like I need to keep improving on my game and adding parts to my game and I think being more vocal is a big part that I need to bring.”
On if sometimes offensive struggles can be mental… “I think 100 percent, offense can be mental and even luck. A lot of things can come down to luck, and that’s why we pride ourselves in defense because on offense, a lot can be affected by luck or other factors. Missing shots can easily get into anyone’s head and it’s not always easy to get out of that slump, but that’s why we are the type of team that we are, where we grind it out on defense and then all we go out there on offense with no pressure, because when we come down on the other end, we can get it back.”
On if he feels like it’s important for him to be a consistent scorer to complement John Fulkerson… “I think it’s important for our opponents to have a good post presence between me and Fulky, and between Uros and Brandon as well, I feel like it’s important that the team has confidence in that inside scoring.”
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – No. 7/8 Tennessee rolled to a decisive victory over No. 25/23 Texas A&M on Thursday night, posting a 73-45 win in Thompson-Boling Arena.
With three straight SEC wins to open league play, it is UT’s best start in conference action since going 3-0 at the outset of the 2017-18 SEC slate.
Lady Vols G Jordan Horston / Credit: UT Athletics
The Lady Vols (14-1, 3-0 SEC) were led by junior Jordan Horston, who posted a double-double with 18 points and 13 rebounds. Junior Tamari Key narrowly missed a double-double with nine points and a career-high 11 blocked shots.
Destiny Pitts led the Aggies (10-4, 0-2 SEC) with 12 points and five rebounds. Kayla Wells and Qadashah Hoppie were also in double figures with 11 and 10, respectively.
Texas A&M got on the board first with Pitts knocking down a 3-pointer just over a minute into play. Alexus Dye responded with a layup for UT, but a three on the next possession by Wells gave the Aggies a four-point lead by the 8:17 mark. TAMU maintained that advantage through the media timeout, stretching it to eight following the timeout before Sara Puckett hit a three, setting off a 7-0 run capped off by a steal and score by Jordan Walker that pulled the Lady Vols within one with 1:46 left in the quarter. The Aggies rallied back to lead by six 30 seconds later, but senior Rae Burrell scored five straight points, including a three at the buzzer, to put UT within one at 21-20 by the end of the first.
Tamari Key gave Tennessee its first lead of the game just over 30 seconds into the second period, and Dye followed it up with a layup on the next play, fueling a 12-2 run that moved the Lady Vols ahead by nine with 4:57 to go in the half. Sydnee Roby ended the drought for the Aggies, but Walker and Horston followed it up with three straight buckets to extend the lead into double digits at 39-25 with just over a minute and a half to go. The Lady Vols led by as many as 16 after a three by Horston, but Sahara Jones scored the last points of the half for TAMU, cutting the halftime score to 42-28.
Texas A&M added four straight points to start the third, but the Lady Vols outscored the Aggies 12-2 over the next three minutes to go up by 20 at the 5:53 mark. Jada Malone hit a layup for TAMU to cut it to 18, but Puckett and Burrell combined for six points that put UT up 60-36 two and a half minutes later. The Aggies countered with a 6-0 run of their own before a pair of free throws by Walker gave UT a 20-point lead heading into the final stanza.
The Lady Vols kept their foot on the gas in the fourth quarter, limiting the Aggies to three points (fourth-fewest allowed by UT since the quarters format was adopted in 2015-16) while pouring in 11 to expand their lead to 28 points before the buzzer. Every active Tennessee player saw action in the final period with Burrell adding the last points of the night with a fast-break layup.
UP NEXT: The Lady Vols will travel to Ole Miss for a 1 p.m. ET/noon CT contest on Sunday that will be broadcast on SEC Network.
JOJO CROSSES 1K: With 3:42 to go in the second quarter, graduate Jordan Walker scored on a put-back to record her 1,000th career point. Her tally of 1,004 through the Texas A&M game includes 755 in two seasons at Western Michigan and 250 in two years at Tennessee.
BIG GAME HORSTON: Junior Jordan Horston has excelled in Top-25 match-ups this season, averaging 22.3 ppg. and 12.3 rpg. against ranked opponents in 2021-22.
FROM DOWNTOWWWWN: Tennessee tied its season-high of seven treys against TAMU. Sophomore Tess Darby led that effort, nailing two on 50 percent shooting from behind the arc.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE TIME: Jordan Horston recorded her sixth double-double of the season against the Aggies. Tennessee has logged 17 double-doubles on the season and at least one Lady Vol has managed a double-double in 14 of 15 games this season.
SHOT SWATTING: Junior Tamari Key blocked a career-best 11 shots against TAMU, ranking second all-time in Lady Vol single-game records behind Kelley Cain’s 12 vs. LSU on Feb. 22, 2010.
20+ POINT QUARTERS: Tennessee tallied 20+ points in each of the first three quarters vs. A&M, giving the Lady Vols 20+ scoring efforts in 15 of their last 20 quarters. UT also has hit 20+ points in five straight contests and in six of the past seven games.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee baseball received its first preseason top 25 ranking of the year on Thursday, checking in at No. 21 in the Perfect Game Preseason Top 25.
The Vols are one of seven SEC teams ranked in the publication’s preseason poll, the most of any conference. The full Perfect Game Preseason Poll can be seen HERE.
Credit: UT Athletics
UT is coming off one of its best seasons in program history, posting a 50-18 record and advancing to the College World Series for the first time since 2005. UT was ranked as high as No. 2 in the nation in 2021 – its highest ranking in program history – and finished the season ranked as high as No. 5 in the polls.
The Vols hosted a regional for the first time since 2005 and hosted a super regional for the first time ever, posting a perfect 5-0 record in the NCAA tournament’s first two rounds before making the program’s fifth trip to Omaha. UT reached the 50-win mark for just the third time in program history and finished the season tied for the most wins in Division I college baseball.
The Big Orange also posted their best finish in conference play since 1995, going 20-10 in league games to win the SEC Eastern Division for the first time since 1997. Tennessee carried that success into the postseason, advancing to the SEC Tournament Championship game for the first time since 1995. The Vols also had a program record five players earn postseason All-America honors in 2021.
Tennessee returns 24 letterwinners from last season’s Omaha team, including “Super Seniors” in Evan Russell, Luc Lipcius and Redmond Walsh. The Big Orange also added a handful of marquee transfers and welcomed the nation’s No. 5 ranked signing class according to Baseball America and Perfect Game. Russell, sophomore pitcher Blade Tidwell and junior outfielder Jordan Beck have already garnered preseason All-America honors for this coming year.
UT begins its 2022 campaign at home on the weekend of Feb. 18-20 against Georgia Southern. The Vols’ home slate features 37 home games, including SEC series against South Carolina (March 18-20), Missouri (April 8-10), Alabama (April 15-17), Auburn (April 29-May 1) and Georgia (May 13-15). UT’s full 2022 schedule can be seen HERE.
For season ticket information, visit AllVols.com or call the Tennessee Athletics ticket office at (865) 656-1200 or 1 (800) 332-VOLS. Information on single-game tickets will be released in the near future.
