#5 Tennessee (14-4 | 4-1 SEC) at Vanderbilt (5-13 | 0-5 SEC)
Saturday, January 27th, 2024 | 5:00pm CT/6:00pm ET
Nashville, TN | Memorial Gymnasium | TV: SEC Network
Nashville, TN – The fifth-ranked Tennessee men’s basketball team heads to the state capital to face Vanderbilt Saturday night at Memorial Gymnasium. Tipoff is set for 65:00pm CT.
Fans can catch Saturday’s game between the Vols (14-4, 4-1 SEC) and Commodores (5-13, 0-5 SEC) on SEC Network. Dave Neal (play-by-play) and Jon Sundvold (analyst) will have the call.
Fans can also listen live on their local Vol Network affiliate to hear Bob Kesling and Bert Bertelkamp describing the action.
In its last outing, Tennessee rolled to an impressive 91-71 home victory over Alabama.
Fifth-year guard Dalton Knecht dropped 25 points, becoming the first SEC player in over three years with four straight 25-point outings, as the Vols claimed a wire-to-wire triumph at a sold-out Food City Center.
The Matchup
Tennessee’s 129 victories over Vanderbilt are its most against any foe. The only other school it has defeated triple-digit times is Georgia (100).
The Volunteers’ 11-game series winning streak (1/9/18 to 1/10/23) was snapped in the most recent meeting, as the Commodores won, 66-65, on a buzzer-beater on 2/8/23 on their home court.
This is the 11th time in the last 13 matchups, dating back to 1/9/18, the Volunteers are ranked and the Commodores are not.
Following a 22-15 (11-7) campaign that included a trip to the NIT quarterfinals, Vanderbilt was voted No. 11 in the SEC preseason poll.
Fifth-year guard Ezra Manjon is Vanderbilt’s leader in both points (15.2) and assists (3.3) per game.
Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes and Vanderbilt head coach Jerry Stackhouse were both among the 14 new members inducted into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame last year on 4/21/23. More information can be found on Page 19.
News and Notes
During his nine-year Tennessee tenure, Rick Barnes is 29-6 (.829) against in-state foes, including 12-1 (.923) over the last 13 such contests.
Santiago Vescovi’s next start will be the 129th of his career, moving him past Chris Lofton (2004-08) and Allan Houston (1989-93) for sole possession of the most in program history.
Zakai Zeigler has 25 steals in the last nine games (2.8 spg), making him the second UT player in Rick Barnes‘ nine years to achieve that feat, alongside former teammate Kennedy Chandler, who had 26 from 11/26/21 to 1/8/22.
Zeigler needed just 83 appearances to become the 12th Volunteer ever with 150 steals.
After previously eclipsing 17 points just twice in his career, Jonas Aidoo scored 19 in each of the last two games, his first time tallying even 15-plus back-to-back as a collegian. The 38 points are his second-most in a two-game stretch at UT, trailing only the 43 he had from 12/9/23 to 12/12/23.
Dominant DK
Dalton Knecht, the SEC’s active career PPG leader (15.27) and a two-time reigning USBWA National Player of the Week, has 128 points in the last four games.
The only other SEC player in the last 15 seasons (2009-24) to score at least 128 points in a four-game span is Arkansas’ Mason Jones (2/26-3/7/20).
A two-time reigning SEC Player of the Week, Knecht is the first player to win the award back-to- back since Kentucky’s Immanuel Quickley (2019-20) and the fourth Vol ever to do so, joining Admiral Schofield (2018-19), Ron Slay (2002-03) and Dyron Nix (1989- 90).
Knecht is also the fourth Vol to win it thrice in a season, joining Nix, Grant Williams (2018-19) and Chris Lofton (2006-07, 2005-06).
Knecht is the fourth Vol with at least three 35-point games in a season, alongside Bernard King, Ernie Grunfeld and Tony White.
In four road games at UT, Knecht is averaging 31.3 ppg and 5.3 rpg, while posting a 61.4 FG% and a 48.3 3P%. He has 24-plus points in each outing, with 36-plus in two.
Winning Ways
Over the last seven seasons, dating back to the start of the 2017-18 campaign, Tennessee leads all SEC teams in postseason wins (15), while placing a close second in in total victories (158) and winning percentage (.721). In that span, the Vols have claimed a pair of SEC championships, winning the regular season in 2018 and the tournament in 2022.
In that same seven-year stretch, the Vols are one of only three SEC schools with an overall winning percentage over .700, alongside Auburn (.726) and Kentucky (.704). No other SEC team is at even .650.
In SEC play over the same seven-year period, Tennessee (76-36; .679) is second in the league in both victories and winning percentage, trailing just Kentucky (78-35; .690). Only Auburn (73-41; .640) and Alabama (70-44; .614) also have 70-plus wins.
Over the last three seasons only (2021-24), UT owns a 66-23 (.742) overall record. That is good for the most victories and the best winning percentage of any SEC team in that span.
Racking Up Ranked Victories
Over the past four seasons (2020-24), Tennessee leads all SEC teams in AP top-25 wins with 17, good for co-seventh nationally. It is also tied for with Arkansas for first among SEC schools in AP top-10 victories with seven, placing co-seventh nationally. UT’s five AP top-five wins in that span pace the SEC and are tied for the most of any team in America.
Over the last four seasons (2020-24), Tennessee has played a league-high 31 games against AP Top 25 opponents, going 17-14 (.548). The Vols are the only SEC team, regardless of number of games, with a winning record against ranked foes during that span, while Alabama is second at 14-16 (.467).
Tennessee (31), Alabama (30), Arkansas (29) and Missouri (26) are the only SEC teams to play over 25 ranked foes since the start of the 2020-21 campaign.
Quality Company
Tennessee, Arizona, Kansas and Purdue are the only four teams to earn an AP top-five ranking in each of the past three seasons (2021-24).
In addition, Tennessee, Baylor, Houston and Kansas are the only four schools ranked in the AP top six each of the past four years (2020-24).
UT is one of only six teams to reach the AP top six in four of the last six seasons (2018-24), joining Baylor, Duke, Gonzaga, Kansas (all six) and Kentucky. Those are six of the only 10 schools in the AP top five in at least four of the past six years, alongside Michigan, Michigan State, North Carolina and Virginia.
The Volunteers are one of only 11 teams to earn an AP top-two ranking in greater than one of the past six seasons. The others are Arizona, Baylor (three), Duke (four), Gonzaga (five), Kansas (four), Kentucky, Michigan, Purdue, UCLA and Virginia.
INAM: “It’s Not About Me”
The Volunteers have posted 20-plus assists seven times this season, including in six of the past 10 contests. They have 25-plus twice this season, with a high of 27 against George Mason (12/5/23).
Tennessee has a 61.7 percent assist rate that ranks No. 14 nationally, per KenPom, through 1/24/24.
Last season, Tennessee placed second nationally, per KenPom, with a 66.2 percent assist rate. It also logged a 64.9 percent mark in SEC play.
Poll Presence
Tennessee has played 185 games as a ranked team in the AP Poll under Rick Barnes, posting a stellar 138-47 (.746) record. Over 64.5 percent of the Volunteers’ games since Barnes arrived in 2015-16 have come with the team ranked in the AP Poll.
Furthermore, UT owns a 117-42 (.736) record while ranked in the AP top 20 during Barnes’ tenure, an 86-29 (.748) mark while in the top 15, a 66-20 (.767) ledger while in the top 10, a 28-8 (.778) tally while in the top five, a 17-2 (.895) record while in the top three and a 7-1 (.875) mark while at No. 1.
The UT Vols are 23-20 (.535) in top-25 matchups under Barnes, including 17-13 (.567) with both teams in the top 20, 9-7 (.562) with both in the top 15 and 6-5 (.545) with both in the top 10.
