#11 Tennessee (4-0) at Virginia Cavaliers (3-0)
Thursday, November 21st, 2024 | 8:30pm CT / 9:30pm ET
Nassau, Bahamas | Baha Mar Convention, Arts & Entertainment CenterWatch
Nassau, Bahamas – The 11th-ranked Tennessee men’s basketball team heads to the Bahamas this week for the Baha Mar Championship, set to take on Virginia in its opening game Thursday night at 8:30pm CT.
Fans can catch Thursday’s game between the Volunteers and Cavaliers on CBS Sports Network. Chris Sylvester (play-by-play), Kyle Macy (analyst) and Sam Hyman (reporter) will have the call.
Fans can also listen live on their local Vol Network affiliate to hear John Wilkerson and Bert Bertelkamp describing the action.
Tennessee recorded a 103-68 victory over Austin Peay State University Sunday, behind a scintillating offensive performance at Food City Center.
The Volunteers shot a remarkable 63.8 percent, tied for its fifth-best mark of the last 20 seasons (2005-25) in the decisive victory and got a game-high 23 points from senior forward Igor Mili?i? Jr., who paced the team in scoring for the second straight outing.
The Matchup
After starting 1-4 against Virginia, Tennessee is 4-4 in its last eight games in the series, which dates back to 1917, the ninth year of the Volunteers’ program.
This is the fifth neutral site at which the two sides have met, joining Atlanta (loss in 1981), Indianapolis (loss in 1982), East Rutherford (loss in 2000) and Columbus (win in 2007). The 1981, 1982 and 2007 games were all in the NCAA Tournament, as Virginia is one of three schools Tennessee has faced thrice in the event.
The Cavaliers, who went 23-11 (13-7) and reached the NCAA Tournament last year, placed fifth in the ACC preseason poll.
Junior guard Isaac McKneely paces Virginia with 16.0 ppg and owns a 64.7 percent (11-of-17) 3-point clip.
Tennessee is 122-101 all-time versus current ACC schools and has defeated all of them at least once except Notre Dame (0-1).
Rick Barnes owns an 82-77 all- time mark against the current ACC membership, including a 12-5 ledger in his Tennessee tenure.
News and Notes
Igor Milic?ic? Jr., spent his freshman year (2021-22) at Virginia. He then transferred to Charlotte, where he played his first season (2022-23) under Ron Sanchez, who is now the Cavaliers’ interim head coach.
Virginia is the second of four ACC schools the Volunteers will face in non-conference play. They already won at Louisville (11/9), plus will host Syracuse (12/3) and meet Miami (12/10) in New York.
Tennessee owns a 7-2 all-time record in the Bahamas, with each game coming in the Battle 4 Atlantis. It went 2-1 in 2013 (fifth place), 2-1 in 2017 (third) and 3-0 in 2022 (champion). The Volunteers, who beat third-ranked
Kansas to claim that 2022 title, have won four in a row in the Bahamas.
In Rick Barnes‘ tenure, UT is 10-10 in its eight multi-team event (MTE) appearances. That includes a 7-5 record outside the continental United States.
This is the second year in a row the Vols open their MTE with an ACC foe. They beat Syracuse, 73- 56, on 11/20/23 in Honolulu.
The Volunteers lead the nation with a 58.1 percent field-goal clip. They have shot over 53.0 percent in each of the last seven halves, including surpassing 57.0 percent in each of the past four, with a mark over 63.0 twice.
Tennessee shot 32-of-44 (72.7 percent) inside the arc in its last outing, a win over Austin Peay.
In the Vols’ first four games, they led for 155:32 of a possible 160 minutes and trailed for only 1:34.
Chaz Lanier needs just 16 points to become the fourth player on Tennessee’s roster with at least 1,000 career points.
The Volunteers are seeking a 5-0 start for the third time in six years, alongside 2019-20 (5-0) and 2020-21 (7-0).
Tennessee’s 175 wins over the last eight years (2017-25) rank co- eighth nationally, alongside both Liberty and Saint Mary’s. Only Gonzaga (217), Houston (210), Kansas (195), Duke (188), Purdue (186), San Diego State (179) and Virginia (179) have more. Through 11/18/24, just 14 schools own over 170 victories in that span.
Tennessee Tabbed Third
Tennessee placed third in the SEC preseason poll, as voted on by a select panel of league and national media members.
Only the two Yellowhammer State schools, Alabama and Auburn, finished above Tennessee in the voting.
Tennessee has claimed a top-five spot in the preseason media poll seven consecutive years, dating back to the 2018-19 edition.
Winning Ways
Over the last eight seasons (2017-25), Tennessee paces all SEC programs in total wins (175) and is tied for first in postseason victories (18), while placing a narrow second in winning percentage (.726). In that span, UT has three SEC titles, winning the regular season in 2018 and 2024, plus the 2022 tournament.
In that same eight-year stretch, the Vols are one of only three SEC teams with an overall winning percentage of over .700, alongside Auburn (.728) and Kentucky (.701).
In SEC play over the same eight-year period, Tennessee (86-39; .688) is second in the league, behind Kentucky (87-38; .696), in both victories and winning percentage. Only Auburn (81-45; .643) and Alabama (78-48; .619) have even 70-plus wins.
Over just the last four seasons (2021-25), UT owns an 83-28 (.7478) overall record. That is good for the most victories and the best winning percentage of any SEC team in that span. Auburn ranks second at 80-27 (.7476) during that time.
In that same four-year span, Tennessee (39-15; .722) is tied with Kentucky for the best record in conference play among SEC teams.
Preseason Plaudits
Zakai Zeigler was a Preseason First Team All-SEC pick from the media, alongside Auburn’s Johni Broome, Florida’s Walter Clayton Jr., Alabama’s Mark Sears and Texas A&M’s Wade Taylor IV.
In addition, Zeigler was one of five individuals to earn votes for SEC Preseason Player of the Year, joining Sears (the designee), Broome, Taylor and Georgia’s Asa Newell.
This is the third year in a row Zeigler, a second-team choice in advance of both the 2023-24 and 2022- 23 campaigns, garnered Preseason All-SEC honors from the media. He is the fourth such three-time selection in UT history, joining Allan Houston (first team in each of 1990-91, 1991-92 and 1992-93), Tony Harris (first team in each 1998-99, 1999-2000 and 2000-01) and Tyler Smith (second team in 2007-08, first team in both 2008-09 and 2009-10).
The league’s coaches also labeled Zeigler a Preseason First Team All-SEC choice, placing him alongside the same four players. It marked his third consecutive year receiving that distinction, the only such player in the league.
Zeigler earned Preseason Second Team All-America plaudits from the Blue Ribbon Yearbook. The other second-team choices were Broome, Taylor, Duke’s Cooper Flagg and Purdue’s Braden Smith. He was named a Preseason Third Team All-American by ESPN’s Jay Bilas.
Zeigler was one of nine SEC players to earn a spot on the Naismith Trophy Preseason Watch List. He also made the Lute Olson POY Award Early Season Watch List, as did Darlinstone Dubar.
Poll Presence
Tennessee has played 207 games as a ranked team in the AP Poll in Rick Barnes‘ tenure, posting a 155-52 (.749) record. Over 67.0 percent of the Volunteers’ 307 games since Barnes arrived in 2015-16 have come with the team ranked in the AP Poll, all since 2017-18 (207 of 241, 85.9 percent).
UT is 134-47 (.740) while in the AP top 20 under Barnes, 103-34 (.752) while top-15, 79-25 (.760) while top-10, 36-12 (.750) while top-five, 17-2 (.895) while top-three and 7-1 (.875) while No. 1.
The Vols are 28-22 (.560) in AP top-25 matchups under Barnes, including 22-15 (.595) with both teams in the top 20, 13-9 (.591) with both in the top 15 and 7-6 (.538) with both in the top 10.
1K Club
Tennessee has three players with over 1,000 points, each of whom entered the season above that mark. It also has another who is just 16 away from quadruple digits.
Darlinstone Dubar owns 1,359 points in 116 outings, good for 11.7 ppg across four seasons.
Jordan Gainey possesses 1,219 points in 104 contests, an average of 11.7 ppg over four years.
Zakai Zeigler has 1,114 points in 105 appearances, giving him a 10.6 ppg average in four seasons.
Chaz Lanier is closing in on 1,000 points, as he owns 984 points in 108 outings, a 9.1 ppg ledger across five campaigns.
INAM: “It’s Not About Me”
In each of Zakai Zeigler’s three full seasons, Tennessee finished top-15 nationally in assist rate, per KenPom. It ranked No. 13 in 2023-24 (61.0), second in 2022-23 (66.2) and sixth in 2021-22 (63.0).
Thus far in 2024-25, the Volunteers have twice notched 20-plus assists. Their high mark is 24 versus Montana (11/13/24).
Tennessee posted 20-plus assists 11 times in 2023- 24 and reached 25-plus thrice, with a high of 28 against Vanderbilt (2/17/24).
In 2022-23, Tennessee amassed 20-plus assists in seven contests, with 25-plus four times. It posted a high of 29 versus South Carolina (2/25/23).
The Volunteers recorded 20-plus assists 10 times in 2021-22, logging 25-plus on four occasions. They had a high of 29 versus Longwood (3/17/22) in the NCAA Tournament opener and against USC Upstate (12/14/21).
