Category: Tennessee Volunteers

Tennessee wins big as red hot Dalton Knecht torches Florida

Dalton Knecht scored a season-high 39 points for the Tennessee Volunteers in a blowout win over the Florida Gators on Tuesday.

Coming off a 28 point performance in a loss to Mississippi State and 36 points three days later in a road win over Georgia, Dalton Knecht’s scorching hot streak somehow continued in Knoxville as the senior guard dropped a season-high 39 points for Tennessee in a blowout win over Florida, 85-66, on Tuesday night.

Knecht stayed red hot from the three point line, knocking down four of his six attempts on a night where he finished 13-23 from the field and a perfect 9-9 from the free throw line. He also tacked on a season-high eight rebounds in his best overall performance of the season for coach Rick Barnes and the Vols.

The 6’5 guard, who was SEC co-Player of the Week last week, put himself in a great position to win the award for a second week in a row – and at this point he is the clear front runner for SEC Player of the Year.

Tennessee has now won 12 straight at home and moves to 3-1 in the SEC, and Knecht’s recent performances are a huge reason for their success. The transfer from Northern Colorado has been a revelation for this squad, who desperately needed offensive firepower to add to an elite defensive roster.

If Knecht can continue to score 25+ per night this team will be very difficult to beat not only in the SEC, but into the NCAA Tournament as well – and Knecht could find himself going from JuCo star, to Big Sky First Teamer, to All-American in a three year span.

USA TODAY Sports lists Tennessee, Ole Miss as bowl season winners

USA TODAY Sports’ Paul Myerberg named the Volunteers and the Rebels, as well as the playoff champs, as bowl season’s biggest champions.

With bowl season in the rearview mirror, USA TODAY Sports’ Paul Myerberg took to the internet to decide who the biggest champions were from the past two weeks in college football.

The list of course kicked off with the two playoff champions, Michigan and Washington. The Wolverines finally got over the hump for their first playoff victory after coming up empty the previous two years, and the Huskies rode a superstar performance from quarterback Michael Penix Jr.

Outside of the final four, however, Myerberg pointed out a trio of SEC teams. Tennessee got glimpses of promising young quarterback Nico Iamaleava, who put up 178 yards of offense and scored four touchdowns against Iowa’s formidable defense, while Missouri’s win over Ohio State issued a statement about the Tigers’ place in the college football pantheon.

Ole Miss set itself up for some positive 2024 momentum as well by capping off the first 11-win season in program history. The Rebels will only get better as Myerberg pointed out quarterback Jaxson Dart’s 2024 return and the best incoming transfer portal class in the nation will set Lane Kiffin’s team up well for the 12-team playoff.

The USA TODAY Sports writer rounded out his column by tabbing Kansas, who beat UNLV in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl, and Northwestern, who defeated Utah in the Las Vegas Bowl, as other big winners. His full insight, as well as his losers list, can be found here.

Tennessee coach Rick Barnes among first time nominees for Naismith Hall of Fame

Tennessee basketball coach Rick Barnes is among the newcomers on the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame ballot for the class of 2024.

The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame released the list of eligible candidates for the class of 2024 and Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes was among the first-time nominees.

Barnes was joined by fellow newcomers Vince Carter, Bill Laimbeer, Mike Fratello, and the 2008 U.S. Olympic Basketball team, known as the ‘Redeem Team’.

Barnes has been a head coach every season since 1987, when he began his career at George Mason by going 20-10.

The next year he was at Providence in the Big East, spending six years with the Friars and making three NCAA Tournaments.

From there he spent four years at Clemson and then 17 as the head coach of the Texas Longhorns, making the NCAA Tournament in all but one season and appearing in the Final Four, while coaching legends like Kevin Durant, TJ Ford, and LaMarcus Aldridge.

Barnes has been at Tennessee the past eight seasons, with five NCAA Tournament appearances and even a No. 1 overall ranking during the 2018-19 season.

All told Barnes has a 788-409 record, including a 9-3 start this year, good for a 65.8% winning rate. He has been named conference coach of the year six times, and Naismith Coach of the Year once, and his team has been in the NCAA Tournament an astonishing 27 times, although he has only made the one Final 4.

Barnes joins Miami coach Jim Larranaga among active college basketball head coaches on the ballot, and recently retired coaches who are eligible include Bo Ryan and John Beilein.

Finalists from the Honor’s Committee for the Class of 2024 will be announced on Friday, February 16, in Indianapolis, Indiana, during NBA All-Star Weekend.

The entire Class of 2024 will be unveiled during the NCAA Final Four in Phoenix, Arizona, on Saturday, April 6, in a nationally televised broadcast.

Best Amazon Prime Big Deals Day deal for each team in the US LBM Coaches Poll

View our favorite Amazon Prime Big Deals Day deals for each team in the US LBM Coaches Poll Top 25.

The college football season is heating up and ranked teams are headed in all directions in the US LBM Coaches Poll.

Oklahoma leapfrogged Texas after a convincing win over their rivals. Following suit was another riser in Louisville, who sent Notre Dame down the ladder after a big home win.

No matter what team you pull for, it’s the perfect time to show your support. Amazon Prime Big Deals Day has arrived.

Amongst the slew of deals available on Tuesday, Oct. 10 and Wednesday, Oct. 11, college football’s top-25 will be well represented in the Amazon savings.

Check out our list of featured Amazon Prime Day offers for each team currently in the US LBM Coaches Poll top-25 right here:

Best Tennessee Volunteers gear for 2023 football season

Gear up, Vols fans. It’s time for another season of Tennessee football.

The University of Tennessee Volunteers are back. With fall right around the corner, it’s time to gear up for another optimistic year out in Knoxville.

That makes right now the perfect time to show off your Tennessee fandom and support your Vols. Luckily, there’s way more than one way to do just that.

Fans can, and should, be covered from head-to-toe in Tennessee hats to Volunteer sneakers for the upcoming season.

But don’t stop there. From the tailgate, to home, to wherever you’re on the road, you can show off your University of Tennessee pride.

Check out our collection of the top Tennessee Volunteer gear ahead of the 2023 season below:

Nike releases 2023 Tennessee Volunteers running shoes

You can’t miss the brand new 2023 Vols Nike sneakers:

Are you ready for your Tennessee Volunteers to stomp all over the competition (Alabama and Vanderbilt included), in 2023?

With the upcoming football and NCAA seasons just around the corner, show off your Vols pride… and footwear.

Nike has released the 2023 lineup of their ever-popular customized NCAA kicks. The Pegasus model sneaker is fully fit with Tennessee’s orange and white colors, with the Volunteers’ logo to top it all off.

Have your first look at the University of Tennessee Nike footwear right here:

Tennessee Volunteers Nike Pegasus sneaker 2023
Tennessee Volunteers Nikes (Fanatics)

Now that you’ve seen them, walk all over your rivals by grabbing a pair today.

Visit Fanatics right now to become the first Vol you know to own these Tennessee Nike kicks:

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We occasionally recommend interesting products and services. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. Vols Wire operates independently, though, and this doesn’t influence our coverage.

All or nothing: Who will secure the last two spots to the College World Series?

The eyes of the college baseball world will be set on Hattiesburg and Stanford on Monday night.

Six of the eight spots for the Men’s College Baseball World Series have been fulfilled. Florida, Virginia, Oral Roberts, TCU, Wake Forest, and LSU have all secured their spots.

With those spots filled, the eyes of the college baseball world will be set on Hattiesburg and Stanford on Monday night.

In Hattiesburg, the Southern Miss Golden Eagles will look to take down Tennessee and clinch their first College World Series appearance since 2009, the only other trip to Omaha in school history.

Tennessee will be looking for its second appearance in three years, last getting there in 2021. They also made it in 1951, 1995, 2001, and 2005.

The Golden Eagles defeated Tennessee 5-3 in the first game of the Hattiesburg Super Regional on Saturday. Tennessee, however, would claim game two 8-4 on Sunday afternoon behind a quality performance from Chase Dollander who struck out seven over eight innings.

It’s unclear as of early Monday who will be starting for either side.

Then, at 8:00 p.m. on Monday night out in Stanford, California will be the rubber match between No. 8 Stanford and Texas. Both programs are looking for their third-straight College World Series appearance.

The Longhorns took game one of the series on Saturday 7-5 before Stanford bounced back with an 8-3 win on Sunday afternoon. Monday’s projected starters are Matt Scott for Stanford and Tanner Wilt for Texas.

After the final two programs punch their tickets to Omaha this evening, the College World Series will begin on Thursday and will be played through the June 24th weekend.

WCWS national semifinal teams are set, four remain

As the end of the Women’s College World Series draws near, the final four teams are set.

And then there were four. On Sunday, the four teams who advanced to the national semifinals were set. The last four teams remaining in the race to the Women’s College World Series are No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 3 Florida State, No. 4 Tennessee, and No. 9 Stanford.

All four teams are in action on Monday where they battle it out to see who will play in the championship series. There could be only two games or up to four games depending on which team wins. Tennessee and Stanford must win twice to move on to the championship series, but Oklahoma and Florida State need one win to head to the finals.

Stanford defeated No. 7 Washington and Tennessee took down No. 6 Oklahoma State to move onto the semifinals.

The championship series runs from June 7-9, if necessary, and is a best-of-three series for the championship.

All games will air on ESPN, all times in ET.

Monday’s schedule

  • Game 11 | No. 1 Oklahoma vs. No. 9 Stanford | 12 p.m. | ESPN
  • Game 12 (if necessary) | 2:30 p.m. | ESPN
  • Game 13 | No. 3 Florida State vs. No. 4 Tennessee | 7 p.m. | ESPN
  • Game 14 (if necessary) | 9:30 p.m. | ESPN

Home field advantage: Who was the most dominant at home in 2022?

These teams were the best at defending the home turf in 2022.

The game of college football has a massive following and a large part is due to the traditions and pageantry of the sport. Home games in college football are just at another level than we see around most of the NFL.

Sometimes they get a little too rambunctious, just look at the Tennessee vs Ole Miss game last year. Does anyone need some mustard?

Regardless of how that game turned out, there is just something about watching your favorite team at home. The rankings were determined by the team’s record at home and the average margin of victory in those games.

Best nonconference matchups of the 2023 college football season

The best 20 nonconference games of the 2023 season.

We are under 100 days to the college football season but who is counting anyway? Well, just about everyone is. Teams are gearing up to make a run at the College Football Playoffs and end Georgia’s run of dominance. The Bulldogs are 29-1 over the last two seasons where they won the title in both.

Can anyone step up and prevent them from joining the Minnesota Golden Gophers in college football immortality? Minnesota won three straight titles in the early to mid-1930s. A feat that has seems impossible to repeat, until now. Almost a century later, we could be witnessing history.

Before we get to the CFP, there is plenty more that needs to be addressed. Teams have fall camps, nonconference games, and the run to their respective conference championship games.

In their 100 storylines to follow, CBS Sports ranked the best 20 nonconference matchups of the 2023 college football season. Plenty of eyes will be on the likes of Alabama, Colorado, Texas, and Texas A&M, but who else should we be paying attention to ahead of conference play?

One notable matchup missing is the opening game of the season in Dublin, Ireland, where Notre Dame and Navy are set to meet on the gridiron. That game was among our must-see games in each week of the 2023 college football season.

Check out the list from CBS Sports: