The #4 Tennessee Vols Basketball team will welcome #15 Kentucky in the SEC Finale on Saturday.
Tennessee’s Knoxville Following their victory over South Carolina on Wednesday night, which gave them the SEC regular season title outright for the first time since the 2007–08 campaign, the fourth-ranked Tennessee men’s basketball team will play 15th-ranked Kentucky on Senior Day at Food City Center on Saturday. The game will tip off at 3:00 p.m. CT.
The Vols (24-6, 14-3 SEC) vs. Wildcats (22-8, 12-5 SEC) game on Saturday may be seen by fans on CBS. Play-by-play Ian Eagle, play-by-play Grant Hill, and commentator Bill Raftery will take calls.
Fans can also hear Bob Kesling and Bert Bertelkamp live commentating on the action by tuning in to their local Vol Network affiliate.
On its home court on Wednesday night, Tennessee defeated No. 17/16 South Carolina, 66-59, to secure the program’s 11th SEC regular season championship, including its sixth straight.
Fourth-ranked Tennessee (24-6, 14-3 SEC) led all scorers with 26 points from fifth-year guard Dalton Knecht. Tennessee never trailed at a sold-out Colonial Life Arena en route to defeating its third consecutive AP top-25 opponent in as many games, including its second consecutive road game, which also marked a program first.
Rick Barnes, the head coach in his ninth year, achieved his 100th SEC game victory with the win. During the last seven seasons, Barnes has led the Volunteers to two SEC regular season titles, which is tied for the most of any club during that period.
More parking tips are provided below. Tennessee baseball’s game against Illinois is scheduled for Saturday at Lindsey Nelson Stadium at 12:00 p.m. CT.
Fans having parking passes or those utilizing the Ag Campus, which offers free parking and shuttles, are asked to arrive early. Additionally, because of baseball traffic and shuttle bus drop-off/pick-up, it is not recommended to travel along Todd Helton Dr./Chamique Holdsclaw Dr. Those who plan to attend both baseball and basketball should park using their Men’s Basketball permit, then walk to Lindsey Nelson Stadium and Food City Center.
Under Rick Barnes, Tennessee is 11-9 against Kentucky in the matchup, having won at least once in eight of his nine years and twice in three. On 2/3/24, it defeated a team ranked in the top 10 thanks to a career-high 26 points from Zakai Zeigler, who also contributed 13 assists.
With 11 victories versus Kentucky in the 2015–16 season, UT has outperformed all other teams by five (Auburn and Kansas with six). Kansas (five) has the second-most of these wins (10-5), with Kentucky winning 7-4 and 7-1 against rated Wildcat teams, respectively.
Under Barnes, UT has 7-2 against Kentucky in AP top-25 games, including 4-1 in each top-15 encounter.
Prior to Barnes’ arrival, from 1993 to 2015, UT had a 9-35 record versus Kentucky, including a 7-28 record when ranked and a 4-24 record when ranked in the top-15 (2-21 in the top 10).
Kentucky finished fourth in the SEC preseason poll before going 22-12 (12-6) and advancing to the NCAA Tournament’s Round of 32.
Antonio Reeves, a fifth-year guard, leads the Wildcats with 20.0 points per game, which is third highest in the SEC.
Updates & Remarks
Tennessee wins the SEC regular season championship for the eleventh time in the program’s history. The Volunteers have won six straight championships.
Rick Barnes will be playing for his 200th victory overall at UT after his most recent victory was his 100th in SEC competition.
Both the opening (against Illinois) and final (against Kentucky) CBS broadcasts of the regular season feature UT.
With two games played, Zach Edey has the highest league average (25.4 in the Big Ten), while Dalton Knecht has the second-highest (24.6 ppg) of any player in league action (minimum two GP). They are headed toward being the first Power Six players to score at 24.0 in league action since Luka Garza (26.2) and Markus Howard (28.7) in 2019–20. In the past 22 years (2002–24), only two SEC players have accomplished that feat: Devan Downey (26.2) in 2009–10 and Jodie Meeks (24.9) in 2008–09.
In the past 14 seasons (2010–24), only Knecht and Mason Jones (2019–20) have had six 30-point games and/or four 35-point games in a single season. Knecht is the only Vol in history to win four SEC Player of the Week awards in a single year, and the first since Jones.
On UT’s schedule, Kentucky is the fourth consecutively ranked team, all of which are in the top 20. The Vols have never played four top-20 teams in a row and have only ever faced four consecutive AP-ranked opponents from January 20–31, 2004.
Only twice in the past 20 years (2004–24) has an SEC team faced four consecutive top-25 opponents during a regular season: South Carolina from January 16–27, 2018, and Vanderbilt from January 7–17, 23. The Vanderbilt team is one of four from the SEC to play four consecutive AP top-20 opponents during the regular season in the last 56 years (1968–2024).
For the first time, UT has defeated three straight AP top-25 teams. It has also triumphed in its first consecutive games, both away from home against a team ranked in the AP top-25.
After Florida in 2014–15, UT became the second team in the last 24 years (2000–24) to play each of the three winningest DI programs—Kansas, Kentucky, and North Carolina—a total of four times during the regular season. It is the only squad from that era to have played every game of the regular season away from home.
A pivotal conference with significant achievements
In the second-to-last game of the conference schedule on March 6, 24, the Volunteers defeated #17/16 South Carolina 66-59 to clinch the SEC regular season title.
Guard Dalton Knecht, in his fifth year, scored a game-high 26 points after making his first four 3-pointers. The Gamecocks’ point total was limited by the Tennessee defense to their lowest point total of the season and their lowest at home in more than 13 months.
Tennessee won its eleventh SEC regular season championship as a result of the victory: 1935–36, 1940–41, 1942–43, 1966–67, 1971–72 (shared), 1976–77 (shared), 1981–82 (shared), 1999–2000 (four ways shared), 2007–08, 2017–18 (shared), and 2023–24.
Six SEC regular season championships are currently held by the Volunteers: 1935–36, 1940–41, 1942–43, 1966–67, 2007–08, and 2023–24.
Tennessee has now won at least one SEC championship for 13 seasons. In 2021–22 and 1978–79, the team did not win the regular season, but they did win the SEC Tournament.
After winning two in the previous 35 seasons (1982–2017), the Volunteers have now won at least one SEC crown—regular season or tournament—in three of the last seven seasons (2017–18, 2021–22, and 2023–24), all under Rick Barnes.
Alabama, Auburn, and Tennessee are the only teams with two SEC regular season crowns and/or three or more SEC championships of any kind over the last seven seasons (2017–24).
The University of Tennessee currently holds 207 SEC team titles overall (four are in other leagues) and 203 of those as an institution.
Not only did Tennessee win, but it also became the first team to ever win three straight AP top-25 games, all against top-17 opponents. In eight days, the Volunteers triumphed against #11 Auburn, at #14 Alabama, and at #17 South Carolina. Only three times in its history had the program faced ranked opponents in a row—once spanning two seasons, and once over a run of four games.
Furthermore, the choice allowed the Volunteers to defeat back-to-back AP top-25 teams on the road for the first time ever.
With the win, Rick Barnes’ record in SEC play increased to 100-60 (.625), earning him the 24th head coach in league history to win three or more conferences. Joining Ray Mears (182 from 1963–77) and Don DeVoe (107 from 1979–89) as the only other coaches to win 100 SEC games at Tennessee is Barnes. John Mauer also accomplished this feat during his tenure at Florida.
Playing in his home state of Charleston, South Carolina, native Josiah-Jordan James became the 10th Volunteer to reach 800 boards and broke into the top 10 on the program’s all-time rebounding list.
Excellent Business
The only four teams to rank in the top five of the AP rankings in each of the last three seasons (2021–24) are Tennessee, Arizona, Kansas, and Purdue.
Furthermore, just four universities—Tennessee, Baylor, Houston, and Kansas—have been listed in the AP top six consecutively over the previous four years (2020–24).
Together with Baylor, Duke, Gonzaga, Kansas (all six), and Kentucky, UT is one of just six teams to have appeared in the AP top six in four of the previous six seasons (2018–24). Along with Michigan, Michigan State, North Carolina, and Virginia, those six are among the select 10 schools that have appeared in the AP top five for at least four of the previous six years.
Only 12 teams have finished in the top two in the AP rankings for at least two of the previous six seasons, including the Vols. Ariz., Baylor (three), Connecticut, Duke (four), Gonzaga (five), Kansas (four), Kentucky, Michigan, Purdue, UCLA, and Virginia are the remaining teams.
Accumulating Ranked Wins
Tennessee has won 21 AP top-25 games in the last four years (2020–24), which is six more than any other SEC club (Alabama has 15). Tennessee leads all SEC teams in this category. That places Purdue in fourth place nationwide.
UT also leads the SEC in victories over teams ranked in the AP top 20, top 15, top 10, and top five during that same four-year period. Its 16 top-15 victories ranked third nationally, while its 19 top-20 triumphs rank fourth. Its eight victories in the top-10 tie Purdue and Texas for sixth place, while its five victories in the top five share the most in the country with Arizona, Gonzaga, and Michigan State.
#1 Alabama (2/15/23), #3 Kansas (11/25/22), #3 Auburn (2/26/22), #4 Kentucky (2/15/22), #5 Kentucky (3/12/22), #6 Arizona (12/22/21), #10 Texas (1/28/23) and at #10 Kentucky (2/3/24) are the eight AP top-10 victories during that period.
With 35 games played against AP top-25 opponents over the last four seasons (2020–24), UT has played the most in the league and has posted a 21–14 (.600) record. Regardless of the amount of games played, the Vols are the only SEC team with a winning record against ranked opponents during that time. Auburn’s.455 (10–12) rating places them far behind.
Since the beginning of the 2020–21 season, just three SEC clubs have faced opponents rated thirty or higher: Tennessee (35), Alabama (34), and Arkansas (32).
Strategies for Success
Beginning with the 2017–18 season and over the previous seven seasons, Tennessee has outperformed all SEC teams in terms of overall wins (168), winning percentage (.727), and postseason victories (15). The Vols have won three SEC championships during that time, taking home the regular season crowns in 2018 and 2024 in addition to the tournament title in 2022.
The Vols, along with Auburn (.722) and Kentucky (.702), are the only three SEC schools with an overall winning percentage of greater than.700 during the same seven-year period.
Tennessee (86-38;.694) is tied with Kentucky (86-38;.694) for the league lead in victories and winning percentage in SEC competition during the same seven-year span. The other teams with even 70+ victories are Alabama (77-48;.616) and Auburn (80-45;.640).
UT’s overall record over the last three seasons (2021–24) is 76–25 (.752). That puts them ahead of all other SEC teams in terms of wins and winning percentage throughout that time. Auburn comes in second in both categories (72-26;.735).
“It’s Not About Me,” says INAM
This season, the Volunteers have recorded 11 games with 20 or more assists. They have hit 25 or more three times, their highest being 28 versus Vanderbilt on February 17, 24. According to KenPom, Tennessee has an assist rate of 60.8 percent, which is No. 14 nationally as of 3/6/24.
According to KenPom, Tennessee finished second in the country last season with a 66.2 percent assist rate. In SEC play, it recorded a 64.9 percent rating as well.
Poll Involvement
Under Rick Barnes’ leadership, Tennessee has participated in 197 games while being ranked in the AP Poll, with a remarkable record of 147-49 (.746). Since Barnes joined the Volunteers in 2015–16, the team has been ranked in the AP Poll for more than 66.0 percent of the games played.
UT’s record is 127-44 (.743) and it is ranked in the AP top 20 under Barnes, 96-31 (.756), top 15, 76-22 (.776), top 10, 35-9 (.795), top five, 17-2 (.895), top three, and 7-1 (.875) when ranked first.
Under Barnes, the Vols have a 27-20 (.574) record while playing in the top 25, including 21-13 (.618) when both teams are in the top 20, 12-7 (.632) when both teams are in the top 15, and 7-5 (.583) when both teams are in the top 10.
