KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – In its first game in 276 days, the 12th-ranked Tennessee basketball team took down Colorado in a tight defensive affair, 56-47.
Tennessee (1-0) saw a balanced effort across the board with nine of 10 Vols who saw action getting on the score sheet, while Jeriah Horne led Colorado (2-1) with 15 points.
Tennessee’s John Fulkerson and Santiago Vescovi led the Big Orange in scoring with 11 points apiece, while Yves Pons was a beast on the boards, pulling in a team-high 10 rebounds. Vescovi also added a game-high five assists.
Sophomore Josiah-Jordan James had the most balanced game for the Vols, tallying eight points—knocking down all four of his attempts from the charity stripe—six rebounds, three assists and three steals.
Redshirt junior Victor Bailey Jr., who made his debut with Tennessee after sitting out last season as a transfer, earned the start and was explosive in the early going, draining his first three shot attempts to score eight first-half points.
The freshman duo of Keon Johnson and Jaden Springer combined for 10 second-half points and was key to the Vols pulling away late.
The Vols came roaring out of quarantine, opening the night on a 12-2 run through the game’s first four minutes. James and Fulkerson led the way with five and four points, respectively, during that early stretch.
The Buffaloes responded to UT’s initial punch, coming within as few as four points with less than a minute to play in the half. However, Tennessee’s stifling defense and a timely 3-pointer from Vescovi took the Vols into the locker room with a 31-24 lead.
Colorado fed off the momentum it built before halftime to cut the UT lead to 33-31 at the second half’s under-16 media timeout.
Out of that break, Johnson provided an integral spark, forcing a jump ball to halt the Buffaloes possession, then forcing an immediate turnover which led to a dunk. Vescovi then drained a three seconds later to put UT up 38-31 with 14:41 remaining.
The Vols put a stranglehold on the Buffaloes through the remainder of the second half and used several late buckets to close out the season-opening victory.
New Hoopers: Tennessee’s crop of fresh faces combined for 22 of the team’s 56 points in their first appearances inside Thompson-Boling Arena.
Up Next: Tennessee returns to action for a Saturday afternoon clash with Cincinnati. Tipoff from Thompson-Boling Arena is set for 12:30 p.m. ET on the SEC Network Alternate Channel.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee (2-1) is back in action at Thompson-Boling Arena on Thursday, playing its third home game of the 2020-21 campaign, as Furman (1-2) comes to town for a 7 p.m. ET contest.
The Lady Vols needed a game to fill a void, and Furman found itself in the same position after Stetson had to cancel its contest this week vs. the Paladins.
UT is coming off a hard-fought, 79-73 overtime loss at West Virginia on Sunday in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge and will face its second Big 12 foe in three games when it plays Texas in Austin on Sunday at 5 p.m. ET (4 CT) on ESPN. The Lady Vols have home victories under their belts vs. Western Kentucky (87-47) and ETSU (67-50) and are next slated to appear at T-BA on Dec. 20, as Jackson State provides UT its final foe before the holiday break.
Furman, which has not yet played a game on its campus in 2020-21, is coming off a 78-59 setback in Atlanta vs. Georgia State on Sunday. The Paladins opened the season with an 83-43 loss at Clemson on Nov. 25 and claimed their lone victory at Georgia Southern on Dec. 3, 73-58. With its next scheduled contest set for Dec. 13 at Elon, Furman isn’t expected to make its home debut until a Dec. 16 meeting with Converse.
Single game tickets are on sale, starting at just $5. Go to AllVols.com to purchase.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Thursday’s game will be live streamed by SECN+ with Bob Kesling (PxP) and Andraya Carter (analyst) on the call.
SECN+ games are online broadcasts and are available only on WatchESPN via computers, smartphones and tablets. All of the games included in the ESPN package (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU) and the SEC Network 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 22nd 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 in the black bar at the top of the page.
Air time for games on the Lady Vol Radio Network generally occurs 30 minutes prior to tip-off.
QUICK GLANCE AT THE LADY VOLS
UT is led in scoring by junior guard/forward Rae Burrell, who is putting up 18.7 ppg. and shooting 46 percent from the field and 77 percent from the free throw line. She averaged 10.5 ppg. and shot 60 at the line a year ago.
Senior Rennia Davis, who is on all of the preseason watch lists and a projected All-SEC First Team pick by the coaches and players, is second in scoring (11.0 ppg.) and ties for the team lead in boards at 6.7 rpg.
Sophomore Jordan Horston, an SEC All-Freshman performer a year ago, has come on during the past two games and is third in scoring at 9.7 ppg. and leads UT in assists average (3.7) and steals average (3.0) as a reserve.
Tennessee enters game four with 10 players averaging better than 11 minutes of duty per game and eight averaging at least 5.0 points per contest.
Green (grad. transfer), Suárez (freshman) and Walker (grad transfer) are in their first season at Tennessee.
Green (7.7 ppg.), Suárez (7.0 ppg.) and Walker (5.7 ppg.) are UT’s fourth, fifth and sixth-leading scorers.
Suárez is tied for second in rebound average (6.7), while Walker is second in assist average (3.0).
RECAPPING UT’S LAST GAME
Junior Rae Burrell and sophomore Jordan Horston combined for 17 fourth-quarter points, but it wasn’t enough to give UT the win as the Lady Vols suffered their first loss of the season, falling to WVU on the road in overtime, 79-73.
Burrell was Tennessee’s (2-1) high scorer with 18 points, nine of which came in the fourth quarter and included a 7-of-8 effort at the free-throw line. Horston and Keyen Green were also in double figures, notching 13 and 12, respectively.
West Virginia (4-0) was led by Kysre Gondrezick with 27 points and five assists. Madisen Smith also had a good outing, tallying 16 points and six assists.
ABOUT FURMAN
Furman is led by 5-foot-9 redshirt senior wing Tierra Hodges, who is averaging a double-double of 16.0 ppg. and 14.3 rpg.
Also scoring in double figures for the Paladins are 5-9 freshman guard Tate Walters (14.0 ppg.) and 6-0 freshman wing Sydney James (11.3 ppg.)
With a scoring average of 58.3 ppg., Furman is shooting only 34 percent from the field and 31 percent on threes.
The Paladins average 21.3 turnovers per game.
Furman returned nine letterwinners and two starters from last season’s 19-12/8-6 squad that tied for fourth in the Southern Conference.
Leading the Paladins is 11th-year head coach Jackie Carson, a Furman alum who is 164-152 during her tenure at Greenville, S.C., school.
RECAPPING FURMAN’S LAST GAME
Georgia State used a strong first half and solid 3-point shooting to pave the way to a 78-59 victory over visiting Furman on Sunday.
The Panthers (2-1) outscored the Paladins (1-2) 26-9 in the second quarter to take a 42-19 lead into intermission and were never threatened over the game’s final 20 minutes.
Furman got a game-high 23 points and 14 rebounds from senior small forward Tierra Hodges, who registered her third double-double in the Paladins’ three games this season. Freshman Tate Walters followed up her 25-point performance in Thursday’s win at Georgia Southern with a 15-point effort.
The Paladins shot just 32.3 percent, making good on 20-of-63 attempts, and committed 18 turnovers.
THE LAST TIME UT AND FURMAN MET
Semeka Randall led four Lady Vols in double figures, as second-ranked Tennessee rolled past Furman, 90-38, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Knoxville on March 18, 2000.
Randall fired in 17 points, while Tamika Catchings contributed a 14-point, 14-rebound double-double to propel UT to a 50-14 halftime lead and victory number 29 on the season.
Gwen Jackson tossed in 14 points, while Kara Lawson added 10 to round out Big Orange scorers in double digits.
UT held the Paladins to 20.3 shooting from the field, then an NCAA tourney record for lowest field goal percentage in a game.
UT/FURMAN SERIES HISTORY
Tennessee leads the all-time series with the Paladins, 4-0.
The Lady Vols are 1-0 vs. Furman in games played in Knoxville.
UT is 3-0 vs. the Paladins in neutral-site games, which all happened to take place at the Winthrop Invitational in 1973, 1974 and 1976.
UT and Furman last met on March 18, 2000, in the NCAA First Round at Thompson-Boling Arena, with the second-ranked Lady Vols cruising to a 90-38 victory.
Paladins coach Jackie (Smith) Carson played for Furman in that 2000 contest on The Summitt, tallying five points, eight rebounds and a blocked shot in 28 minutes of action.
This marks the second game this season vs. a team from the Southern Conference. UT defeated ETSU on Dec. 1 in the second contest of the year, 67-50.
The Lady Vols are 65-20-1 all-time vs. schools from the Southern Conference through that game with the Buccaneers.
Dec 5, 2020; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Volunteers head coach Jeremy Pruitt speaks with quarterback Harrison Bailey (15) during the first half against the Florida Gators at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
Opening Statement…
“Today was our last day of finals. Our guys, along with our academic staff have done a really nice job this semester working to finish this semester off. I know they’ll be looking forward to probably tomorrow, there’s no school for them, so that’ll be the first time probably since June. It will be a little unusual for the next couple of weeks, but we’ll be good. Should be able to get some extra film and things in. I know they’re excited about this weekend. Had three really good days of practice and (we’re) ready to go to Nashville.”
On how QBs Harrison Bailey and J.T. Shrout have stacked up this week…
“They’re taking the same amount of reps with the ones and the twos, both of them. I feel like we’ve had really good tempo. Seems to be some confidence there. The more reps they get, they’re going to continue to improve and I think they’ve done a nice job.”
On possibly expanding the scholarship limits to help teams out next season…
“My understanding is next year’s returning senior class doesn’t count against your 85 (scholarship) limit. I’m not sure that’s exactly right, but that’s my understanding.”
On if PK Toby Wilson will travel this week…
“Toby will travel. He’ll travel.”
On TE Austin Pope’s health status and if he plans to return next season…
“My conversations with Austin, it’s been very unfortunate for him. He had a great offseason, came back and looked really, really good. He’s played some good football for us and unfortunately for him with the injury, it sidelined him this year. I’ve not had a conversation particularly with him about that for probably a couple of weeks now, but we’d love to have him back.”
On how he see’s the program and himself after his first three years as head coach at Tennessee…
“Well, every day I look in the mirror (and) I don’t think I’m getting any younger, so that’s one thing for sure. It’s obviously been a whole lot of fun. Myself, my family, the men who came here, we knew exactly what we were getting into. We love the kids that we’re around, we love the administration, representing the University of Tennessee and we’re excited about an opportunity on Saturday.”
On if he plans to use other running backs in addition to Eric Gray and Ty Chandler…
“Yeah, absolutely. Dee’s (Beckwith) been getting a lot of reps and Jabari Small. Jabari got injured down at Auburn during warmups. Both of these guys are back. Dee’s a guy that really missed all of summer and fall camp, (but) he’s a guy the more reps he takes the better he’s getting. He played on special team last week and he’ll continue to see an increased role.”
On if Tennessee had any COVID issues this week after getting back tests…
“No. We’ve been very fortunate. I know that’s probably not the case here locally, throughout our state and our country. It’s very unfortunate. We continue to preach safety and I can’t say enough about what Jeronimo (Boche) and Dr. (Chris) Klenck and their staff have done in educating our players to help prevent them from getting this (virus).”
On the difficulty in prepping for Vanderbilt with the recent coaching change and roster changes for the Commodores…
“Well, we’ve been focused on the things we can control, which is us. We have lots of things we need to improve upon. Our kids have great attitudes, continue to work extremely hard, and are trying to work to play a complete game. Throughout the season, we’ve played really well in spurts at times. Then there have been some times we have not. So, just looking for a complete game.”
On Vanderbilt freshman QB Ken Seals…
“Well, he’s a good athlete. Plays with poise and confidence. He can extend plays. He’s got a really, really good arm – seems to be able to make all the throws. He’s got good playmakers outside. They have four or five running backs they play that are really talented and I’ve been impressed with their offensive line.”
On being ready for Vanderbilt to throw everything they have at them…
“I think it’s probably the case with both teams. The kids work extremely hard and our opportunities are running out. I think both sides will be aggressive and try to do everything that they can to play at the best of their ability.”
On his message to recruits over the past few weeks…
“It’s really interesting. If you look at the SEC, there are some teams that have finished playing. For 10 days leading up to signing day, they obviously have an advantage not working on opponents. Some teams have been out for one week, some for two and some of us that are playing the entire time. I don’t know any time in my career that I have taken my cell phone to practice, but over the last 10 days I have done that a few times just expecting phone calls and things like that based off being able to continue to recruit and coach the football team. It has been very unusual circumstances for sure.”
On if playing this late has affected the way he approaches the day…
“If you want to be a good recruiter, you have to recruit every single day. We probably spent a little more time over the last couple of weeks to recruit just knowing this was coming based off our schedule. Just trying to stay on top of things. Its unusual, it is for everybody. There have been a lot of firsts this year. We are learning from it, adapting to it and really going full speed ahead.”
On his reaction to the team’s continued work ethic despite a difficult year and season…
“I’ve kind of been on both sides of it. I’ve been on teams that haven’t lost any games and there have been times where it seems like you have to drag it out of them every single day. Obviously, we haven’t had the season that we would love to have. A lot of it is that we have good leadership on our team. We have a lot of guys who know they are going to be back and are looking forward to the future of our program. They understand where we are at and the things that we have to do to get to where we have to get to. With the leadership that we have on the team, they have a lot of pride in the University of Tennessee and they want to finish off the season the right way.”
On the potentially quick turnaround for a bowl game…
“Well, me and Phillip (Fulmer) have obviously had conversations about it and I don’t know the exact dates of all the bowl games, but it’s the circumstances. If that’s what we do, we will put our best foot forward and keep on grinding.”
Brothers Osborne know how to get their fans going, but with their latest hit, they specifically wanted one that the crowd could pick and go with right away. So, they sat down and wrote “All Night.”
John Osborne explains, “We wanted to write a song that just felt good. We didn’t want to think too hard about it. We wanted to write a song that no matter what happened we knew that our fans at our shows were gonna love to sing along to, and that’s what we did”
Feel free to sing along while watching the music video for “All Night” from Brothers Osborne…
Tenille Arts’ song “Somebody Like That” lists all the things that can go wrong with love, but then pivots to the promise of uncompromising love.
As she sings in the song, “the real thing won’t be easy, it may take a while.”
But, with using her parents as an example of lasting love, Tenille thinks while it’s possible, it’s still hard to love somebody like that, “It’s very hard to love without limits, because I think if you are hurt in the past by certain things, you immediately put up a wall or…for me in a new relationship it always takes me a minute to be like ‘Why do I feel that way? Oh yeah, it’s because this happened in the past.’ and I think that does put up kind of barriers in everybody,” Tenille adds a ray of hope though, “Hopefully you find somebody who can just knock all of those barriers down.”
Check out the music video for Tenille Arts’ “Somebody Like That” right here…
Luke Combs’ latest hit, “Better Together,” has been 2 years in the making!
Luke shares that the song was written back in his home state, “I wrote ‘Better Together’ in the mountains of North Carolina about two and a half years ago maybe. We started it there.” At the time he gave fans a little taste of it, by posting it on his social media, “I put a little clip of it on my Instagram” and Luke says the reaction to the track was great, “People have always loved it.”
Talking about how the final version of the song came out, Luke says, “We ended up recording it and going with a kind of a very stripped down production of just me and a piano and I couldn’t be happier with the way it turned out.”
“Better Together” is included as one of the songs on What You See Is What You Get, which took home the award for Album of the Year at both the CMA & ACM Awards in 2020.
Check out the lyric video for Luke Combs’ “Better Together” right here…
Lady A has been cranking out hit after hit for more than a decade now, but at the heart of the trio’s success is songwriting. Charles Kelley, Hillary Scott and Dave Haywood all proudly wear the title of songwriter before anything else. That’s why they’re so happy about their latest hit “Champagne Night”, which is result of their appearance on the NBC show Songland earlier this year. Originally titled “I’ll Drink To That” and presented to the group by Madeline Merlo, Charles Kelley immediately declared “this might be a hit, seriously.” Now with contributions from Madeline, Tina Parol, David Thomson, Patricia Conroy, Shane McAnally, and Lady A, “I’ll Drink To That” became “Champagne Night”.
Hillary gushes about the new version of the song, “What I love so much about ‘Champagne Night’ is just how the song makes me feel. It’s just so happy and fun and makes me just want to have a great time with people I love.” She also loves the fact that the group can help out a young songwriter, “I love the story of this song, I love that Madeline Merlo got this big, huge chance to come on Songland and work with Shane McAnally.”
Hillary says that “Champagne Night” really took off once the fans heard it, “We’re all celebrating the fact that this song got such a great response by the fans.” In the end though, Hillary shares “I couldn’t be more excited for Madeline as an up and coming songwriter, and I just know that this is the first of many for her.”
Check out the evolution of “Champagne Night” right here…
Some albums take a few months to make. Some take a couple of years. Brett Eldredge had an album two decades in the making, and he thinks it was completely worth the wait! In 2016 he released Glow, an album of 11 holiday tracks that Brett dreamed of making since he was a little boy.
He says, “I’ve been thinking about it for twenty-something years. Since I was a little kid, I was like ‘One day I’m going to record a Christmas song, just like these songs we’re listening to here’…you know, by the Christmas tree as a kid.” When Brett did get the chance to make his first holiday album, he jumped at the chance, “I’ve been waiting my whole life to make this album. I know it sounds cliché a little bit, but it’s totally true…it couldn’t be more true. This is THEE album I’ve been waiting to make my whole life, and kind of sums me up as a person, and how much I love Christmas.”
In 2018, Brett added 7 more songs, and released Glow (Deluxe Edition). This year Brett released a brand new Christmas single, “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” (Latin version) which features Sofia Reyes. He previously recorded a version with Meghan Trainor, but this time Brett and Sofia have the musical conversation in both English and Spanish.
This Christmas season Brett has also been spending time with Kelly Clarkson performing “Under the Mistletoe.” From their appearance on Christmas In Rockefeller Center a couple weeks ago, to last night’s performance on NBC’s The Voice, and then heading to The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon later this week, Brett is bubbling over with Christmas spirit…which he’s probably thrilled about, because as he says, “I love Christmas.”
Check out Brett and Kelly’s performance of “Under the Mistletoe” from The Voice, right here…
