KNOXVILLE – Tennessee’s defense was superb, leading the 13th-ranked Volunteers past UNC Greensboro, 76-36, Saturday afternoon at Thompson-Boling Arena.
It was the fewest points the Vols have allowed in Thompson-Boling Arena history (opened in 1987) and fewest overall since the 1983 season-opener, when Tennessee held Ohio Northern to 33 points.
The Vols (7-2), forced 25 turnovers, tied a season-high with 13 steals and held the Spartans to 14-for-38 (.368) shooting—the fewest field goals made and attempted by an opponent all season.
Vols G-F Josiah-Jordan James / Credit: UT Athletics
Josiah-Jordan James shot a career-high 4-of-7 (.571) on 3-pointers and tied with Brandon Huntley-Hatfield for the team lead in points, with 12. Santiago Vescovi was the third Vol to score in double-figures, with 10 points. Vescovi also tied career-highs in both assists (8) and steals (4).
The Big Orange offense got in rhythm early and never looked back, draining 3-for-4 from beyond the arc to start the game. Leading 15-11 midway through the opening period, the Vols separated themselves from UNCG with a 13-0 run that lasted 4:04. UT was 5-of-7 from the floor during that span, with five different Vols logging a bucket.
Tennessee’s strong four-game span of defense continued Satuday in the friendly confines of Thompson-Boling Arena. The Vols held the Spartans to 7-of-21 (.333) shooting from the field and 1-of-9 (.111) on 3-pointers during the first half. John Fulkerson was stingy around the rim, swatting away three UNCG shots. Vescovi was also strong on the defensive end, snagging three steals in the half.
The second half was all UT. The Big Orange shot 16-of-32 (.500) and opened up a 19-0 run lasting from 12:32 to 4:39. UNCG attempted only 17 field goals and UT forced the Spartans to turn the ball over 12 times.
Spartans guard De’Monte Buckingham was the only UNCG player to score in double figures, finishing with 10 points.
UP NEXT: Tennessee is back in Thompson-Boling Arena Tuesday night for a battle with USC Upstate. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. ET on SEC Network+ and tickets are available on AllVols.com.
LOCKDOWN FIRST-HALF DEFENSE: Over the past four games, Tennessee is allowing just 22.3 points in the first half. The Vols held UNC Greensboro to 15 points on 7-for-21 shooting during Saturday’s opening period—the fewest first-half points by any Tennessee opponent this season.
BOUNCE-BACK SHOOTING: After shooting just 6-for-39 from 3-point range in Tuesday’s overtime loss to Texas Tech in New York City, Tennessee surpassed that made 3-point total by the 2:24 mark of the first half Saturday. The Vols shot 13-for-35 (.371) from behind the arc in Saturday’s win.
VOLS CREATING MORE TAKEAWAYS: With a season-high-tying 13 steals on Saturday, Tennessee recorded its fifth game of 10 or more steals this season—matching the season-long total of games with 10+ steals from the entire 2020-21 season. The Vols forced turnovers on 40.8 percent of UNCG possessions. That’s a UNCG program low since that stat has been tracked (2001-02), and the third-highest turnover percentage ever forced by Tennessee over that same span.
HISTORIC D: Tennessee held UNC Greensboro to 0.587 points per possession, the Spartans’ second-lowest offensive efficiency in the last 21 seasons. This is also Tennessee’s fourth-lowest defensive efficiency over that same time span.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Bowl practice is underway for the Tennessee football program as the Vols commenced preparations for the TransPerfect Music City Bowl on Saturday morning inside the Anderson Training Center. UT will hold 15 bowl practices before its clash with the Purdue Boilermakers on Thursday, December 30 in Nashville.
Head coach Josh Heupel met with members of the media after Saturday’s practice and discussed the excitement around the program’s postseason proceedings. Tennessee’s coaching staff is also focused on rounding out the 2022 recruiting class, with early signing day set for Wednesday, Dec. 15.
Vols HC Josh Heupel / Credit: UT Athletics
“Great time for our program, a lot of things going on,” Heupel said. “Ready to go finish off this recruiting class. Spent a couple of good weeks out on the road, our staff and myself, and excited about finishing it off here this weekend and through the early part of next week. Great opportunity to get some practice in. We’ve had a couple since we finished the season. Great opportunity to go play in a great bowl game here, the Music City Bowl, close for a bunch of our fans. Expect and excited to see them pack that place out and have a great environment there on the 30th.”
Coming off a 7-5 season in Heupel’s debut campaign on Rocky Top, the Vols took time to reset mentally and get healthy before postseason practice began. The UT head coach wants his players to feel rejuvenated before getting into the nitty-gritty of bowl prep.
“I think the biggest thing in bowl preparation is not getting stale,” Heupel said. “Getting some good-on-good work so that they have an understanding of the tempo and they’re accustomed to it, and then your players being as fresh as they possibly can mentally and physically when you get to the bowl site and the bowl game.”
Heupel also spoke to the opportunities presented by these 15 extra practices for younger players that did not take as many reps throughout the season. The early portion of bowl practices will mirror spring ball and postseason camp, with less experienced players receiving more chances to compete and improve their craft.
“Because you are able to rep more guys like you would in a spring ball or training camp, they naturally see the opportunity that they have to go out there and compete,” Heupel said. “Instead of being on the practice squad or scout team – whatever you call it – they’re getting mainstream reps with your units, offense and defense. Guys have been great here through the early part.”
Tickets for the TransPerfect Music City Bowl can be purchased by visiting the bowl website or by clicking HERE. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. ET, and the game will televised on ESPN.
Existing season ticket holders can renew their tickets for the 2022 season now by visiting AllVols.com. Fans wishing to purchase new season tickets for the 2022 season can submit a request by clicking HERE.
A complete transcript of Heupel’s Saturday presser can be viewed below.
Opening statement… “Good to see everybody. It’s been a while. First of all, just with the weather and the storms that have come through this region here, want everybody to know that our thoughts are with everybody here that’s been affected by the storms, and will continue to be that way.
“Great time for our program, a lot of things going on. Ready to go finish off this recruiting class. Spent a couple of good weeks out on the road, our staff and myself, and excited about finishing it off here this weekend and through the early part of next week. Great opportunity to get some practice in. We’ve had a couple since we finished the season. Great opportunity to go play in a great bowl game here, the Music City Bowl, close for a bunch of our fans. Expect and excited to see them pack that place out and have a great environment there on the 30th. Through those bowl practices as we get going here next week, excited to get some development time with our young guys inside of our roster as well, as we prepare for that football game. So, a lot of things going on. Excited about them, and I’ll open it up for some questions here.”
On prospects taking official visits this weekend and witnessing the environment of bowl practice… “Huge for us. When we started this recruiting process with COVID, we were talking about the things that were going to be inside the building and how we were going to play. This fall, they’ve gotten a chance to see that. Now, the guys that are here at the end of this recruiting cycle get an opportunity to come and see us practice. They get to see the energy inside of our building firsthand. They get to see their position coach talk, communicate and teach through position drills, through the team. I think it’s an awesome time to get the real feel inside of our building every single day. I think it will be a huge part of how we finish this recruiting cycle.”
On the team’s reaction to playing in the TransPerfect Music City Bowl… “I think everybody’s excited about what the gameday environment will be with our fanbase just leading up to it, even before the announcement. When the announcement happened, I was on the road and our staff was on the road recruiting, but for our guys here inside this program, they’re extremely excited about it. We were looking forward to and in some ways hoping that was the destination that we were going to be in. For guys that are around this region, easy trip for their families to come up and share in the experience, not just on gameday but the entire week. For our kids that are further away too, their families will be able to come in. A great city, and a huge part of our base inside of this state, our recruiting base. You guys know that for myself and our staff, we’ve tried to place a huge importance on doing in-state recruiting the right way. With us taking over (Nashville), with some COVID limitations as well, think it will be a great opportunity for myself and the staff to get familiar with some VFLs that are in the area, be able to meet with some donors. It’ll be a great week.”
On his opinion of the early signing period… “It is what it is. At this point, I’m excited about it being where it is right now for us inside of this program to be able to finish off the recruiting cycle this way. As early as recruiting gets started – I’m talking about sophomores and juniors – I think it’s good to put a quicker end to the process than being in February.”
On what he’s learned about Purdue so far… “I’m going to be honest, haven’t started down that track too far here. There’s been enough other things going on in the first couple weeks here out in the recruiting cycle.”
On his thoughts on Alontae Taylor’s decision to forego the bowl game… “Well, I think for Alontae – I had an opportunity to sit down with him on the back end of it – he’s very thoughtful, took information, understood potentially where he was slotted and made a good decision for him. At the end of the day, you guys have heard me say this the back half of the year as you guys started asking those questions, you want to be able to give good, concrete information to kids and have them make a really sound decision for themselves and I feel like Alontae did that. We’re going to help and support him in every way as he goes through the draft process, excited about his future. It’s a kid that has been a great leader from the time that he stepped on campus for us. For me, he’s been a great resource in just helping build the foundation of Tennessee football. (He’s) a guy that battled through injury the last three weeks of the season and really those are things that not very many people knew. It’s an opportunity for him to get back and get healthy here before he ends up in that draft process.”
On which players he sees stepping in to fill Taylor’s spot… “All the guys that you guys have seen throughout the course of the season have an opportunity to step up. We’ll go through bowl practice and the guy that practices the best will get an opportunity to start at that position, but I imagine that we’ll see multiple people play.”
On the challenges of playing a full season, stopping, then getting going again… “Reset, get some guys healthy, get them feeling as good as they possibly can as you get into the meat and potatoes of your bowl preparation. In doing that, there’s a strength component to it in the weight room. You get a little bit of work on the weekends here the last couple of recruiting weekends. A lot of that is fundamental then just a little bit of good-on-good work where they still simulate and see some of the speed and tempo that you’re going to when you get back to your bowl game. I think the biggest thing is bowl preparation not getting stale, getting some good-on-good work so that they have an understanding of the tempo and they’re accustomed to it and then your players being as fresh as they possibly can mentally and physically when you get to the bowl site and the bowl game.”
On any other players notifying him they are planning to skip the bowl game… “No. There are still some guys going through the process of making a decision, what’s right for them and their future. We continue to help them through that process. The guys have been awesome. Whoever ends up showing up, we’re ready to go play, but (we) anticipate having a pretty full roster.”
On the structure of bowl practices… “Preseason and spring ball are similar in some ways. At the end of the day, there’s a big bulk of individual work at the beginning. You get some crossover work, wide receivers-DBs, running backs-linebackers, o-line-d-line. Then you finish with some team preparations as well. Some fundamentals on special teams, not a lot of scheme at this point. That will kind of be consistent to the early part of next week.”
On telling the younger guys how meaningful bowl practice reps are… “See, I don’t think you have to motivate them. I think, because you are able to rep more guys like you would in a spring ball or training camp, they naturally see the opportunity that they have to go out there and compete. Instead of being on the practice squad, or scout team – whatever you call it – they’re getting mainstream reps with your units, offense and defense. Guys have been great here through the early part.”
On attending Otis Anderson’s funeral and his eulogy… “I didn’t know I was going to speak until I almost got to the church. To me it was just important to celebrate a young man’s life. You love all your guys and it’s a sudden and tragic loss of life. Family is, obviously, going through it and the emotions that come with that and there are a lot of stages to that. Just wanted to show support to the family, but also to fellow teammates and brothers. Having an opportunity to see some of those guys and share in the grieving process was important for me and my wife. It was a tough day.”
After a week off for finals, No. 9/9 Tennessee (8-0) leaps back into action on Sunday afternoon with a non-conference clash vs. Georgia State (4-4) at Thompson-Boling Arena.
The contest between the Lady Vols and Panthers will tip off at 2:02 p.m. ET and marks the first of five straight games for the team coming up on The Summitt between now and Dec. 30.
This will be only the second meeting between these programs, with UT claiming the initial match-up vs. GSU, 98-68, in the NCAA First Round in Knoxville back on March 15, 2002.
Tennessee comes into the contest on the heels of its fourth final-quarter comeback of the season, flipping a seven-point deficit vs. RV/RV Virginia Tech with 5:39 remaining into a six-point, 64-58 victory in Blacksburg on Dec. 5.
The Lady Vols have opened a campaign at 8-0 for the seventh time in the past 20 years and the third occasion in the past five. They are seeking to go 9-0 for the first time since 2017-18 and for the sixth occasion in the past 20 years and third time in the past 10.
Kellie Harper has forged her career-best start at 8-0, surpassing a 7-0 opening in her first year leading the Lady Vols in 2019-20.
Georgia State, meanwhile, enters after falling to Southern Miss in Atlanta on Dec. 1 by a 64-56 score.
The Panthers had a two-game win streak halted with that setback and are 4-2 over their past six contests, including a 77-66 victory over future UT foe Chattanooga. GSU lost its first game of the year vs. SEC member Florida, 84-70, on Nov. 9.
Lady Vols vs. Georgia State / Credit: UT Athletics
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Andy Brock (play-by-play), Madison Blevins Hock (analyst) and Kasey Funderburg (reporter) will be on the call for the SECN+ live stream.
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.
GAME PROMOTIONS
Holiday Hoops: Get $5 tickets for all price zones (excluding courtside), available in advance or on game day. Plus, $1 tickets are available for kids 12 & under.
Kids Day Out: Package includes two tickets, two t-shirts and a pregame event.
Free parking and free shuttle service from the Ag Campus (Lot CF near Brehm & Food Science Bldgs.).
For additional details and information, please call 865-974-1734 or visit the Fans tab on UTSports.com and click on the Fan Experience link.
UT IN TOP 10 IN BOTH POLLS
Tennessee has climbed to its highest positions in both the AP and USA TODAY/WBCA Coaches Polls since being ranked No. 9/8 in the seventh polls of the 2018-19 season on Dec. 17 and 18.
If you are wondering when UT was last in the top five, that was in week three of the 2015-16 polls, when the Lady Vols were ranked No. 4/5 on Nov. 23 and 24. UT was No. 4/4 in the preseason polls.
In various preseason polls in 2021-22, Tennessee was ranked No. 12 in the USA TODAY/WBCA Coaches Poll, No. 15 by AP and Sports Illustrated, No. 16 by USA TODAY Sports and College Sports Madness, and No. 19 in the Lindy’s Sports Preseason Top 25.
The Lady Vols were picked second in the SEC Preseason Media Poll and No. 3 in the SEC Preseason Coaches Poll, marking their best positions since 2015-16 and 2016-17, respectively.
RPI/SOS/BRACKET TALK
The NCAA NET Rankings have UT ranked No. 15 as of Dec. 8, while the NCAA Toughest Schedule report has the Lady Vols tied at No. 9 with South Carolina.
RealTimeRPI.com has UT at No. 2 in RPI as of Dec. 8 with a calculation of .7667 and No. 9 in strength of schedule.
ESPN has the Big Orange at No. 5 this week in its Women’s College Basketball Power Rankings.
In his Bracketology update on Dec. 10, ESPN’s Charlie Creme has Tennessee as a No. 2 seed in the Bridgeport Region. The Lady Vols are shown hosting No. 15 Mercer in the first round, with the winner facing No. 7 Nebraska or No. 10 Princeton.
ABOUT THE LADY VOLS
The Lady Vols continue to persevere and display consistent improvement after losing starters Rae Burrell and Marta Suárez to injuries.
Tennessee relied on defense and rebounding early on to adapt to those personnel losses, and the squad has shown signs of adding multiple offensive threats over its past five contests.
Eight different players have scored in double figures this season, including six who have done so in multiple games.
UT has shown itself to be a tough, gritty team, coming from behind in the fourth quarter four times this season to win games (Southern Illinois, South Florida, Texas, Va. Tech).
Tennessee is led by 6-2 junior guard Jordan Horston, who paces the team in scoring (16.4 ppg.) and assists (4.5 apg.), while ranking second in rebounding (9.4 rpg.) in a breakout season.
Horston is second on the team with three double-doubles and has topped UT in scoring in five of her seven games played.
Alexus Dye, a 6-0 forward, is second among active players in scoring at 9.9 ppg. She is third in rebounding at 8.4 rpg.
Tamari Key, a 6-6 junior center, is putting up 8.9 ppg. and 10.1 rpg. to go along with 4.1 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 and her block average currently ranks No. 1 all-time among Lady Vols in a season and No. 2 in the nation. Key leads Tennessee with five double-doubles thus far, including in the past three games and five of the last six.
To that point, the Lady Vols have registered nine double-doubles this season, including at least one in every game thus far.
Graduate guard Jordan Walker, freshman guard/forward Sara Puckett, graduate forward/center Keyen Green and sophomore guard/forward Tess Darby average 7.6, 7.5, 5.5 and 4.6 ppg., respectively, with Walker and Darby starting alongside Key, Horston and Dye after Burrell’s injury.
Freshman point guard Brooklynn Miles is UT’s eighth active player averaging double-figure minutes at 23.8, and she has been effective as a ball-handler and defender. She dished out six assists while committing zero turnovers in the win at Virginia Tech, improving her assist-to-turnover totals to 18 and 12.
UP NEXT: POTENTIAL TOP-10 MATCH-UP
Tennessee is in a stretch where it plays five in a row at home during the month of December, and the next one is the most high profile of the bunch.
Defending NCAA champion Stanford comes to Rocky Top for a 5:15 p.m. ET match-up on Dec. 18 (ESPN2). The Cardinal is ranked No. 4/4 in this week’s polls, so if the teams retain their rankings next week, the clash will be between top-10 foes.
The Lady Vols will then play host to ETSU on Dec. 20 at 6:30 p.m. before the players head home for winter break.
The post-break slate features Chattanooga on The Summitt at 6:30 p.m. ET on Dec. 27, and Alabama opening SEC play vs. UT in Knoxville at 6:30 p.m. on Dec. 30.
UT-GSU SERIES NOTES
Tennessee leads the all-time series over the Panthers, 1-0, with the only meeting coming in Knoxville.
UT and GSU met in the NCAA Tournament First Round on March 15, 2002, with the Lady Vols rolling to a 98-68 win in Thompson-Boling Arena.
The coach of Georgia State at that time was Lea Henry, an LVFL who played for Pat Summitt on Rocky Top from 1979-83.
Henry coached the Panthers from 1994-2010, compiling a career record of 230-207 and a winning percentage of .525. Those marks still rank No. 1 and No. 4, respectively, in Georgia State women’s basketball history.
If she sounds familiar, GSU assistant coach Sherill Baker played collegiately at Georgia, graduating in 2006.
Former Tennessee men’s assistant coach Rob Lanier is now in year three as the head coach of the Georgia State men’s basketball program.
ABOUT GEORGIA STATE
Georgia State finished 13-11 overall and 9-7 in Sun Belt Conference play a year ago, and it returned seven players with starting experience from that squad.
Thus far, senior guard Ashley Foster and junior guard Taylor Henderson have been the Panthers’ leading scorers, averaging 12.3 and 10.3 points per game, respectively. Henderson, however, did not appear in GSU’s last game.
Redshirt junior guard Taniyah Worth is Georgia State’s top rebounder, pulling down 5.0 per contest.
GSU has hit 53 three-pointers, with guard Kamryn Dziak hitting 15 of 32 at a 46.9-percent clip. Worth has connected on 13 of 35 (37.1).
ABOUT THE HEAD COACH
Gene Hill is in his fourth season at Georgia State, compiling a 42-50 record during his time in Atlanta and a 54-90 overall mark in six seasons as a head coach.
He had a previous two-year stint as a head coach at USC Spartanburg from 1999-2001.
Prior to coming to GSU, Hill was on the staff for five seasons at NC State and was at Georgia Tech from 2009-12 as an assistant.
While in Raleigh, he helped lead the Wolfpack to a 112-52 record, including three NCAA Tournament appearances.
Hill also was at Butler and Lander as an assistant.
LAST TIME THEY PLAYED
Ashley Foster led Georgia State with 16 points on Dec. 1 in a 64-56 loss to Southern Miss at the GSU Sports Arena in Atlanta.
Southern Miss jumped out to a 19-12 lead at the end of the first quarter and never gave up the lead. Georgia State fought back in the second quarter to close the gap, but the Golden Eagles used a late run to take a nine-point lead into halftime.
Tennessee women’s basketball head coach Kellie Harper and SEC Freshman of the Week Sara Puckett met with the media on Friday ahead of No. 9 UT’s home match-up with Georgia State slated for 2 p.m. ET on Sunday.
Tennessee is a perfect 8-0 on the season, marking the best start during Harper’s career as a head coach, and is ranked in the Top 10 for the first time since the Dec. 31 poll in 2018. The Lady Vols have claimed wins over No. 23/22 South Florida and No. 12/21 Texas and, in their most recent outing, took a gritty 64-58 victory on the road against a Virginia Tech team that was receiving votes.
“You know, we’re excited to be there. I think our team actually talked about it a little bit this week at practice. I don’t know that that’s our ultimate goal, but we’re excited about how we played to be able to get to that point.”
“Well, Sara can do a lot. We can put her in at several different positions. We run plays to her. We can run plays to other people, and she is a very good passer in those situations. I was just thinking about it this morning and how versatile she is, and how much we need her. I’m so proud of her. She’s given us exactly what we thought we would get.”
“Tamari Key has good timing. Obviously, her size is really important. Her arm length, not just how tall she is but her arm length, is a big part of that. As of late, her positioning has been really good. She understands when she can come off of the post, when she needs to stay back, and she’s quick to the ball. I think right now she just has a has a good awareness of where she needs to be.”
“Well, I think right now she wants to be good, and she wants to affect the offensive player, and she’s doing that a lot with her blocked shots. So, I think she’s very motivated.”
“I think coaches usually have a pretty good idea of what they’re going to get from players with their backgrounds, but you never know. To have a player come in and be who she is, it’s really exciting – really, really exciting. I think a lot of that has to do with her background, how hard she’s worked leading up to coming to college. Also, I think a lot of it is our veterans and how welcoming and how helpful they have been to our entire freshman class.”
On what to make of current offensive progress, and where they can improve…
“We can still get better, offensively. There’s no doubt about it. There’s still plenty of room for improvement – whether that be in terms of our screening, our shot selection, or just our overall execution or timing, being on the same page, communication, shooting – there are a lot of aspects of our offense that we can continue to work on, and we’re still putting a premium on improving in that area.”
On if she has dealt with bad free-throw shooting before, and how she deals with it…
“When your team is not shooting free throws well, and they’re capable, I think you do several different things: you practice it more, you talk about it, and then you stop talking about it and don’t mention it at all. You’re really going to try a little bit of everything. They’re capable. They literally just have to walk in there and knock them down. This is one of the first times that I’ve actually talked to the team about, ‘What do you need? Why are we not making them, and are you feeling pressure?’ (I asked) where are they at mentally, because I do think it’s pretty mental with our team, because they can make them.”
“One thing that we saw at Virginia Tech, they were playing a guard on Sara (Puckett), and we were able to post her up with that guard. She can post up post players. She can take them out in the court, out on the floor. We just get to use her versatility, and I thought down the stretch the matchups that we had were in our favor to really get the ball to Sara (Puckett) in that fourth quarter.”
On the fact that Georgia State likes to play fast and creates a lot of turnovers…
“Well, we have to show poise against the press and against a little bit of pressure. I think for us, when we talk about turnovers, it’s to take care of basketball. Sometimes we want to do too much; we try to force something that’s not there. So, we have to be aggressive, but it’s also being a little bit more patient, offensively. I think that will clean up some of our offensive woes, but also eliminate a lot of turnovers.”
On being on the stretch where you just are focusing on your team and playing basketball…
“I’m really excited about this stretch. I was very excited about this week in particular, because we were going to get team practices, we’re going to get rest time, and we’re going to get individual practices and position work. We are going to get a lot done this week, and it’s good to walk in the gym and (see) you’ve got players in there shooting. It’s always fun to see. When you finish finals, the weight is off your shoulders. They get to be a little bit more free. This is their time to feel what it is like to be a pro. It’s what it feels like right now – they play basketball, eat, sleep, play basketball. And they’re excited about this time. We’ve also really challenged them to be in the gym more now that they have more free time. You know, being at home just feels good. We get to play in Thompson-Boling in front of our fans. We’re real excited about this stretch.”
On being undefeated, ranked in the Top 10 without Rae Burrell…
“We have a lot of players that have stepped up. I think what you see is just some grit and toughness and maybe a chip on some shoulders, and that is good. I like a team with a little chip on their shoulder. I think the challenge now is to continue to have that. When you’re 8-0, sometimes you relax. The one thing that we have not seen from this team is that. We’ve not seen them relax. They have not come in to practice complacent. They come in and fight and push every day. We openly talk about it. We openly talk about how we’re going to get better and why we can’t just stay where we’re at.”
On whether Rae will be back before January…
“You know, at this point, I don’t know. We’re hoping we’ll know a little bit more in the next week or so, but she’s still rehabbing, and we’re going to see where it goes.”
On how Rae Burrell has embraced being a leader off the court…
“You know, I think it’s hard. I think first off when you were injured, and you’re taken away from your team. I think it’s really, really hard to stay engaged. I’ve been there. I’ve witnessed it numerous times as a coach. You just feel so removed because you’re not right in the battle, so to speak with your teammates. So, I think for her, she’s been a great cheerleader for them during the games and practices, I think she’s been really positive with them. I think that’s important. And right now, trying to become even more engaged in practicing whether she’s in a passing drill that she can do or she’s staying on the sideline, helping some young players. I think you when you’re injured you have to be intentional about finding the right moves otherwise you can start clothing and that’s where Rae is right now. She’s really trying to be intentional about how she can help his team.”
On how encouraged she is by Brooklynn Miles’ recent performances…
“I’ll be honest with you, she’s played well for us. We’ve needed what she can bring, and I think what we’ve seen from day one was her defensive presence on the ball, in particular. (She’s) setting the tone with her aggressiveness, utilizing her quickness, but now she’s really developed some poise about her, offensively, and a little bit of confidence in running the team and moving people around. Her voice is a little bit stronger, I think, as a point guard on the offensive end. So that’s good to see. I think that’s her personality. And with her playing well and finding teammates, I think that just gives her a little bit more confidence and we’ll probably continue to see her grow. That’s where I think we will go with her.”
On what she would say to fans about the upcoming home games…
“Oh my goodness, come watch this team. This is a team that, to me, is easy to embrace. They’re just going to give you everything they’ve got, and they leave it out on the court, and fans want to see that. They want to see some passion and fight and toughness. And that’s why I think our fans love this basketball team, in particular. So, you know, we have a solid product. We’re on a win streak, and it’s time to get out and see this team play.”
On why she has a good relationship with this team…
“We try to be open with them and talk to them about specifics, what we’re trying to do. I told them the other day that sometimes I may makeup something to come in and yell at them about. We’re going to try to find ways to continue to push them, but I don’t think they can feel that unless they know you love them, unless they know that you genuinely care about them as human beings. And we do we love these girls, period. And then they’re also really good athletes, but as people, I’ve really enjoyed being around them.”
“I just think it says that we’re really about each other. We go out there and we play for each other, for the coaches, for the staff, and we’re just all in it together. We’re not necessarily focused on just what we do individually, but how the team does, and that personally, is my main mindset. I want the team to win, and so I’m going to give 100 percent effort every time I’m on the floor. And I know that every single person that is on the bench and on the floor with me is going to do the same thing.”
On making it to the AP Top 10 for the first time in nearly three years…
“I mean, it’s very exciting. We were all just kind of on our heels waiting until it came out. But you know, we’re not satisfied; we just want to keep climbing, growing and keep getting better together. That is just our goal every day when we go into practice.”
On how she’s progressed over eight games…
“I feel having eight games under my belt has been very beneficial. This is because I get to kind of see how college basketball is, how I fit into the system and how it goes. I’ve really enjoyed it, and I just can’t wait to take this experience and keep growing with my team.”
On settling into the offense…
“I mean, my teammates give me the ball. I’m going to look for my shot. If I don’t have it, then I’m going to kick it out, because I know they’re going to hit it. So, I’m just being confident in myself because they put their confidence in me, and that’s just really what I’m focusing on.”
On how many of the threes taken versus Texas Tech were quality shots…
“I talked with our guys about it yesterday. We rushed at least six of them where we didn’t have the ones that we wanted to take. We knew against them, going in, the way they packed the defense and tried to keep it on one side that we were going to get looks. We told them we should be excited about it because we think we’re a good shooting basketball team. I thought we started the game with some of our good shooters taking off balance shots. I say this all the time, a really good shooter can shoot his way into a bad night by being edgy, trying to get his shot up and being off balance. I do think when we shoot balanced threes, and the ones that we practice, that we are a really good shooting team. The other night we had some point blank looks at it that we didn’t make, but all that can happen if you get off to a bad start where you start doubting yourself a little bit.”
On importance to find another inside scorer to help the offense…
“I think it’s extremely important. I think that Olivier (Nkamhoua), Brandon (Huntley-Hatfield) and Uros (Plavsic) going forward (can fill that role). I do think that we’ve got to be a more physical team. Those guys are guys that can provide that for us. Our guards are pretty physical. I think people look at them and see how hard they work at running through screens and getting through screens, but around the rim there’s no doubt that we need those guys to continue to get better.”
Vols HC Rick Barnes / Credit: UT Athletics
On what Olivier Nkahmhoua is doing differently that is not allowing him to play as many minutes…
“We trust our guys, but I’ve said many times that we can look at our guys’ body language because we are around them so much and we know them so well because of the time that we spend with them. We can tell when we felt like they’re really locked in to doing what we know they’re capable of. I will say this, in the Texas Tech game, he made some nice blocks and some extra effort plays as we like to call them. He made some plays, helped, went over and blocked a shot, things like that. We need that more. Obviously, we need him to be a physical rebounder inside. I think that where Olivier’s got to continue to improve is where he missed an easy shot. He came right down the floor and then took a shot that could he make? Probably, but being off balance like that it’s not a high percentage shot. So, it’s almost like in his mindset, I think he felt like when he missed that little bunny around the rim that, ‘I’ve got to get it back.’ He doesn’t have to get it back. He’s too good of a player and we’ve got great confidence and trust in him. That’s where he’s got to continue to grow. It’s tough when you miss those right around the rim when nobody’s guarding you, it really is. The fact is, in the last game against Texas Tech, we were just trying to get the best. We knew we were struggling to score. We felt we could guard them. We had four guards out there at one time, because they tried to post out guards and our guards were not going to have any of it. We felt we just needed to try to get the guys out there that could get some points for us.
On if amount of free throws the team takes per game is concerning…
“When you kick out for a bunch of threes, you’re not going to get fouled a lot. We need to get better physically at driving the ball. Santiago (Vescovi) and Zakai (Ziegler) both go in there and they’re willing to put their body on you and try and create some contact when they’re going at a good speed. The other night, we had a chance to put the ball inside some and our passes weren’t on time. We threw passes at people’s feet. When you’re playing against a team that is going to collapse really quickly, you’ve got to be clean with that delivery or the guy catching the ball is going to have absolutely no room to work. That goes back to the pass being delivered where it needs to be delivered on time.”
On if there is a certain number of free throws that he would like to see a game…
“We would like to make more than the other team shoots. That’s what we would like to say. That would be the goal any game. If we could make more free throws than the other team shoots, that would be a good night.”
“Physicality. We think Brandon is one of the strongest players we’ve ever coached. He’s learning how to practice better, that’s where it’s going to start. You saw the other night as soon as he came into the game there was no question that Texas Tech came right at him. They didn’t even hesitate one minute. It’s him understanding, and he is. Brandon is working at it and he’s come so far from when he first got here in the spring in terms of his mindset. Brandon is smart, he’s talented, but it’s a mindset to understand that’s a big jump from where he was last year to where he is today. Our schedule probably hasn’t helped him but it will in the long run. The big games that we’re in it’s going to help him. Do I think he can go out in some games and do better if we had a different schedule than we had, yeah probably. The fact is what we’re getting ready to get into come into December, every night is going to be a highly physical, contested game. We’ve got a couple more weeks to try and get him there. He had a great practice yesterday. We wanted him to be more physical in practice yesterday and he did a nice job doing it.”
On UNC Greensboro defensively and what can be done offensively…
“One, we need to shoot the ball better. Again, what we’ve practiced, you guys have seen us, some nights we’ve been a really good offensive team. What it goes back to is Kennedy (Chandler) is learning every night. I’ve said it before, every game has a different personality. The way he plays at Colorado, he was able to use high ball screens to get to the rim well. I think he’s not there yet knowing that the next game against Texas Tech was a totally different coverage. That’s where he’s going to have to understand, prepare himself. Everything Texas Tech did, we talked about with him. Talked about where he was going to have to fight. Talked to him about where his gaps were going to be, where we get him on the court where he can still do what he’s really good at. His preparation, getting there. Kennedy is going to continue to work at getting better at it. For what he’s done up to this point, he’s a freshman. Obviously learning that and he will every game out. Every game that he’s played poorly, not up to the standard that he wants or what we want, he’s come back and tried to do better with it in practice.”
On Justin Powell’s limited minutes… “Just like I said earlier, it goes back to we know our guys’ body language, we know when we feel like they are locked in and ready to play. We knew it was going to be a defensive struggle so now you know it’s on the other end looking at it, ‘Okay, if Justin is not making shots, it’s going to get into a defensive grind we have to try and get our best defensive players out there who we think can make shots too.’ That’s where we get in a bind a little bit. There is no doubt Justin has improved his defense since he’s been here. We think he’s going to be a terrific player. Again, he played 10 games at Auburn before he got here and we think he’s got a good feel. He’s learning this system, especially defensively. He’ll be fine too. We have confidence in all these guys. We’re in games. When we’re in those high-level games where we know that every possession matters, I have a great coaching staff and there’s a lot of dialogue going on over there who we all feel is locked in and ready to go to go and try to help us get a win. That’s the decision we made the other night.”
On zone defense against Tennessee…
“We haven’t seen that many guys play us in zone that much, we haven’t seen it very much. We’re ready for it. We feel we’re a good offensive team. We feel like we can get better. Again, every game is going to be a grind but if we will execute what we do we’re going to be fine. Now making shots, you see it happening. Villanova took 50 threes, made I think 13 of them. That’s part of the game that we wish we could control every night. What we’re more concerned about is execution and if we execute we are going to be a good offensive team.”
On what it was like playing in Madison Square Garden…
“It was amazing. The last time I had been in that gym, it was myself, my mother and my father. We were going to watch Stephon Marbury. Now, for this to be the next time I was able to be in that gym and for them to come watch me play meant a lot. It’s amazing.”
On being a spark off the bench this season…
“To be honest, it means a lot to me, but to the team I feel like it means a lot too. No matter if I’m getting five minutes or 25 minutes, I have to give it my best and give all I can to help the team win.”
On what he sees his role being on the team…
“To be a pest on defense and to get everybody else involved. I don’t come in thinking I’ve got to shoot, shoot, shoot. Really, it’s just to speed the defense up, get stops and make a change on the defensive end.”
On how much he believes he helps push and also learn from Kennedy Chandler in practice…
“A whole lot. I’ve never played somebody this fast in my life. If you can guard him, you’ll guard anybody. He’s one of the fastest guys I’ve ever had to stay in front of. It’s just great playing against him every day.”
On the learning curve that comes with transitioning from high school basketball to the scouting reports in college…
“That was a pretty big difference. I had friends previously, before I got to college, who told me ‘The scouting report is going to really get you. They’ll know what you like to do and what you don’t like to do. They’ll know what you did the game before.’ Coming in and actually seeing that, it is a big difference. At the end of the day, if you can play, you can play.”
Lauren Alaina recently announced that she’ll be heading out in 2022 on her Top Of The World tour!
Lauren shared on social media…
Lauren also shared, “After two long years, I have some TOURreffic news! I am so excited to get back on the road for my second headlining tour presented by maurices. My fans have continued to support me even when we weren’t able to be in the same room together. I’m on Top Of The World thinking about being back on stage, face to face, with the people who got me here.”
The Top Of The World tour starts in Silver Springs, MD in late February and runs until mid-April (as of now) with the last show in Charleston, SC.
The tour takes it’s name from Lauren’s recently released album, SittingPretty On Top Of The World
When it comes to the album title, Lauren says “I titled the album Sitting Pretty On Top of the World based off of the fifth track called ‘On Top of the World, and I wrote that song about my struggles with depression. I was out for a walk with my mask on in my neighborhood when the whole world was shut down and the only thing we were allowed to do was walk on the sidewalk far away from everyone else and the weight of the whole pandemic hit me in that walk for whatever reason I think…I think we all got there at different times…when it finally hit us what was actually happening. I got upset…then I got upset with myself for being upset and I wrote down ‘hitting rock-bottom sitting on top of the world.’ We made it about a break up to make it a little bit of a softer…I guess delivery for the idea but it ended up being ‘hitting rock bottom sitting pretty on top of the world.’”
Lauren had another project come out in 2021 as well…her book – Getting Good At Being You, arrived earlier this week.
Lauren says, “This book encompasses all things that made me the woman I am. Faith. Family. Friends. Fans. Loss. Love. Hope. Endings. New beginnings. Healing.”
Check out her book, buy tickets to her tour, and watch the music video for her song “Getting Over Him” which features her buddy Jon Pardi.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The 13th-ranked Tennessee men’s basketball team returns home Saturday, taking on UNC Greensboro at 4:30 p.m. ET at Thompson-Boling Arena.
Fans can catch Saturday’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. Roy Philpott (play-by-play) and Mark Wise (analysis) 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 135 on Sirius, channel 191 on SiriusXM and channel 962 on the SiriusXM app.
Vols F-C Handje Tamba / Credit: UT Athletics
Tennessee (6-2) is coming off of a two-game road trip in which it split contests at Colorado and against Texas Tech in New York City. Led by freshman Kennedy Chandler’s 27 points on 13-for-20 shooting, the Vols grabbed a road win at Colorado on Saturday, 69-54, before falling to Texas Tech in overtime on Tuesday, 57-52. The Vols were plagued by a cold night from the field against the Red Raiders, shooting just 19-for-71 (.268) for the game.
Tuesday marks the third all-time meeting between Tennessee and UNC Greensboro and the first during the Rick Barnes era.
Up next, Tennessee is back at Thompson-Boling Arena for another home game, taking on USC Upstate at 7 p.m. on Tuesday. The game will be televised on SEC Network+.
THE SERIES • Tennessee won both of its previous meetings with UNC Greensboro. The Vols scored 92 points in each game (1998 and 2011), which both took place at Thompson-Boling Arena. • Tennessee’s margin of victory in this brief, two-game series is 30.5 points. • The Vols own a 96-17 all-time record against current members of the Southern Conference. • North Carolina native Rick Barnes has faced UNC Greensboro only once during his 35-year head coaching career. In just his second game as a head coach, Barnes guided his 1987-88 George Mason squad to a 107-79 home win over the Spartans on Dec. 3, 1987. He has since coached 1,120 more games leading into this matchup. • Barnes owns a 22-1 career head coaching record against current members of the Southern Conference.
LAYUP LINES – TEAM • Tennessee leads the nation in defensive efficiency, according to KenPom. The Vols are allowing only 87.2 points per 100 possessions. • The Vols are leading the SEC in both assists per game (17.8 apg) and assist/turnover ratio (1.58). • 46 percent of Tennessee’s points this season have been scored by first-year Vols (282 of 613). • The Vols are attempting 8.1 more 3-pointers per game than they did last season (28.0 per game compared to 19.9). In wins, UT is shooting .395 from long range. In losses, that average drops to .164. • Tennessee owns a +28.3 scoring margin at home this season (87.5 ppg to 59.2 ppg). The Vols have yet to score less than 80 points at Thompson-Boling Arena this year.
LAYUP LINES – PLAYERS • After missing three games with a left-hand injury, Josiah-Jordan James has averaged 6.0 points, 9.0 rebounds, 2.5 steals and 2.0 blocks off the bench over UT’s last two games. • Sophomore guard Justin Powell is shooting .786 from 3-point range at home this season (11-of-14). • Saturday will be John Fulkerson’s 140th career game as a Vol. He ranks second on Tennessee’s all-time games played list and is on the verge of passing school-record-holder Wayne Chism (142, 2006-10). • Santiago Vescovi made 18 total 2-point field goals in 27 games last season. He already has made 17 2-point field goals through eight games this year—many of them layups.
ABOUT UNC GREENSBORO • UNC Greensboro enters Saturday’s contest against Tennessee coming off of an 11-day break between games. The Spartans last played on Nov. 30—a 74-61 win over Elon. • The Spartans are in their first season under the direction of head coach Mike Jones. Jones came to UNCG following a 10-year stint at Radford and has also been a member of coaching staffs at VCU (2009-11), Georgia (2003-09) and West Virginia (2002-03). He replaces Wes Miller, who took the head coaching job at Cincinnati in April after 10 years as the head coach at UNCG. • Saturday’s game is UNC Greensboro’s first and only game of the season against a major conference opponent. The Spartans last played a high major team in the 2021 NCAA Tournament, falling to No. 4 seed Florida State in the first round, 64-54. • Over the course of the past five seasons, UNC Greensboro is the SoCon’s winningest program with 132 total wins since the start of the 2016-17 season. Entering the 2021-22 season, UNCG has won at least 20 games in five straight seasons. • A transfer from Cal State-Bakersfield, graduate guard De’Monte Buckingham leads the Spartans in scoring (13.3 ppg) and rebounding (8.3 rpg). Buckingham has scored in double figures six times this season and 65 times during his career. He has also scored 20 or more points three times this season and 12 times in his career. • In five homes games this season, UNC Greensboro is allowing 54.8 points per game. In four games away from home, the Spartans are allowing 73.8 points per contest. • UNCG was picked sixth in the SoCon Preseason Coaches Poll.
LAST MEETING WITH UNCG • Tennessee opened the Cuonzo Martin era with an impressive 92-63 triumph over UNC Greensboro on Nov. 11, 2011, at Thompson-Boling Arena. • A crowd of 17,483 saw the Vols shoot .646 from the field and .625 (15 of 24) from 3-point range. UT never trailed and held a 49-30 lead at the half. • Point guard Trae Golden started his sophomore season in style, setting career-highs for points (29), rebounds (6), assists (9), field goals made and attempted (10-14) and 3-pointers made and attempted (5-9) in just 27 minutes of action. The performance earned him SEC Player of the Week honors. • Golden did not miss a 2-point field-goal attempt (5-5), he shot 4-of-5 at the free-throw line and he also recorded two steals and a blocked shot. • Jeronne Maymon and Jordan McRae also set career-highs for scoring, totaling 15 and 14 points, respectively, while senior forward Renaldo Woolridge tied a career-high with eight rebounds and also tallied 11 points. • McRae was 4-of-5 from 3-point range after shooting 1-for-9 from beyond the arc the previous entire season. • Junior guard Skylar McBee drained both of his 3-point attempts to finish with six points off the bench. • Tennessee finished with 21 assists on 31 made field goals. • Guard Korey Van Dussen had 12 points to lead three Spartans who scored in double figures.
KC & SANTI A DANGEROUS DUO • Tennessee’s starting backcourt duo of Kennedy Chandler and Santiago Vescovi combines to average 29.6 points, 7.5 assists, 7.8 rebounds and 3.9 steals per game while shooting .368 from 3-point range. • Chandler and/or Vescovi have led or shared the team lead in scoring in five of UT’s eight games. • In games at Thompson-Boling Arena, the pair averages 29.8 points per game and boasts a 2.77 assist/turnover ratio. • And in Tennessee’s wins, the duo’s scoring average jumps to 31.7 points and they shoot .424 from 3-point range.
JOJO CRASHING THE BOARDS • In Tennessee’s final game last season, Josiah-Jordan James pulled down a career-high 13 rebounds. • He’s carried that same crash-the-glass mentality into this season, as he leads the Vols with 6.8 rebounds per game. • James has been UT’s leading rebounder 14 times during his career on Rocky Top.
ZEIGLER WON’T BACK DOWN • True freshman guard Zakai Zeigler has proven to a rock-solid addition to this Tennessee roster. He exploded for a team-high 18 points in the Vols’ win over North Carolina. • Zeigler ranks sixth on the team in scoring (7.0 ppg), third in total assists (20) and fourth in steals 1.1 spg) while logging 17.9 minutes off the bench. • Among Vols who average five or more minutes per game, Zeigler owns the best plus/minus rating per 40 minutes at +23.9. • Zeigler also owns a 1.8 assist/turnover ratio.
There are people who wait until the last minute to prepare for Christmas, then there’s people who have their decorations out as soon as they can…and Dan + Shay says both methods are OK.
That’s what their new holiday song, “Officially Christmas” is all about.
Dan Smyers says “So, people often debate when is it OK to start celebrating Christmas…when is it OK to decorate for Christmas… some say if the day after Halloween some say you gotta wait till Thanksgiving but the way we see it, it’s officially Christmas whenever you feel it in your heart. We wrote this song about that…we wanted people to have an anthem, when they felt the Christmas spirit they could probably celebrate it and say it’s officially Christmas.”
Check out the music video for “Officially Christmas” from Dan + Shay…
