A look at the 2022-23 Tennessee basketball roster and regular-season analysis.
March has arrived and the focus shifts to postseason play throughout college basketball.
Tennessee (22-9, 11-7 SEC) finished fifth in the Southeastern Conference regular-season standings. The Vols’ final regular-season ranking is No. 19 in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.
The 2023 SEC Tournament begins on Wednesday at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. No. 5 seed Tennessee will play the winner of No. 12 South Carolina and No. 13 Ole Miss on March 9 at 3 p.m. EST. The contest will be televised by SEC Network.
Following the 2022-23 regular season, Vols Wire looks at the performance of Tennessee’s basketball roster.
Performance and analysis for each Tennessee player is listed below.
Bully (a.k.a. Jak), the Mississippi State bulldog, saw his pupper life flash before his eyes as a Tennessee Vol basketball player went hurling toward the bench where he was sitting like a good boy.
During Mississippi State’s Tuesday tilt with Tennessee, Vols senior guard Josiah-Jordan James tried to go for the basketball as it was going out of bounds.
However, James lost balance and started to lean into the front row seats where Bully and his handler were sitting. While James was trying not to collide too hard with the woman sitting with Bully, the bulldog leaped into the air in what looked to be an absolutely adorable attempt to get the basketball for himself.
Bully was unsuccessful in his attempt to get the ball, but he got a little air in the process.
OH NO 🙈
Tennessee’s Josiah-Jordan James almost took out Mississippi State’s mascot, “Bully” 😭pic.twitter.com/G6gwF0hOiI
However, Mississippi State junior guard/forward Cameron Matthews was right on hand to give Bully some good boy scratches and love to comfort him for not getting the basketball.
Josiah-Jordan James to enter NBA draft and will maintain college eligibility.
Josiah-Jordan James has entered the NBA draft, but has the chance in returning to the Volunteers next season.
James and his teammate Santiago Vescovi have decided to explore their options. Both, however, can return to UT if they withdraw from draft consideration by June. 1.
Tennessee point guard Kennedy Chandler entered the NBA as a one-and-done player, while James and Vescovi, who recently completed junior seasons, will going through the draft process to gain feedback.
James averaged 10.3 points and 6.0 rebounds per game last season.
He helped the Vols win the SEC championship for the first time since 1979. James averaged 14.0 points per game in the SEC Tournament.
James was a five-star recruit from the 2019 class and was the first five-star player to be signed by head coach Rick Barnes.
Wisconsin faces Tennessee in Knoxville on Saturday afternoon. Badger fans should be sure to know these three opposing players.
After picking up a much-needed victory over Milwaukee at home last weekend, Wisconsin (6-5) hits the road to Knoxville to take on Tennessee (8-3) on Saturday afternoon.
The Badgers and Volunteers have split the four previous contests in this series, with Wisconsin winning a 74-62 decision at the 2016 Maui Invitational in the last meeting.
Wisconsin has lost four of its last six leading into Saturday’s matchup, though it was able to take care of business in a 83-64 victory over Milwaukee the last time out. Tennessee has fallen on some hard times as well as of late, dropping two of its last three. The Volunteers lost to No. 12 Memphis and Cincinnati before breaking their losing streak in a 75-53 win over Jacksonville State last Saturday.
Though I would expect this to be a close contest, Tennessee is certainly the favorite to come out on top in the end; we all know how awful the Badgers have played on the road this season, and though the Volunteers did lose one of their top players recently with Lamonte Turner’s decision to undergo season-ending shoulder surgery, head coach Rick Barnes still has a pretty strong rotation.
Here are the three players on the other side who Badger fans should keep a close eye on throughout Saturday afternoon’s contest.
Bowden has taken a big leap this season after serving as the fourth or fifth option on Tennessee’s loaded roster last year.
An excellent shooter, the 6-5 senior from Knoxville has become the team’s leading scorer this season. However, with Turner – who was their No. 2 scorer and one of the top facilitators in the nation at 7.1 assists per game – now sidelined, the Volunteers will need Bowden to step up and shoulder an even greater share of the offensive load.
Bowden has scored at least 11 points in all but two of Tennessee’s games this year and is coming off of his second-highest scoring total of the season (19 points) in its win last Saturday against Jacksonville State.
Dec 14, 2019; Knoxville, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers guard Yves Pons (35) moves the ball against Memphis Tigers forward Precious Achiuwa (55) during the first half at Thompson-Boling Arena. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
As with Bowden, Pons has assumed a far greater role for the Volunteers this season compared to last.
One of the freakier athletes in college basketball, the 6-6 junior from France has always had major potential, and he now appears to be putting it all together. Pons’ minutes have skyrocketed from 11.7 to 32.6 minutes per game this season, and he has poured in at least 10 points in eight of 11 games while averaging over nine points more than he did in 2018-19.
Pons is also second on the team in rebounding and third in the SEC in blocks per game. He rejected a school-record six shots in Tennessee’s last game.
James was one of the nation’s top high school recruits in the class of 2019, earning five-star status and the No. 22 spot in the 247Sports composite national rankings and making a trip to the McDonald’s All-American Game. Unsurprisingly, the 6-6- combo guard from Charleston, S.C. has been an instant-impact addition for Tennessee this season.
He’s struggled a bit to knock down shots, but he’s still making an impact in the scoring column, and his production should increase moving forward with Turner out of the lineup. James is also second on the team in assists, and his rebounding average is the highest of any Volunteer and all SEC freshmen.
While he hasn’t put up the kind of numbers we often see from highly-touted freshman, there’s no question James has still established himself as one of Tennessee’s top players. He may not be a sure-fire “one and done” player destined for the first round in this year’s NBA draft as things stand today, but he still looks to have a bright future at the next level ahead of him and will undoubtedly be the top pro prospect on the floor in this matchup.
The two teams traded leads during the opening three minutes of the game, after which the Vols never trailed again. Tennessee’s largest lead of 16 came at the 5:35 mark of the second half, and UT coasted from there to finish with the final margin.
Lamonte Turner paced the Volunteers with 16 points and 12 assists, as well as three rebounds and a steal. John Fulkerson chipped in 14 points and four rebounds of his own, while Jordan Bowden scored 13 points and kept the window clean with 12 boards. Josiah-Jordan James also grabbed 11 boards to go along with 4 points to round out the Vols in double-digits.
Tennessee shot a lethargic 37 percent from the field, including 28 percent from behind the arc on 18 attempts. Their 10 turnovers was a modest sum, while the Vols’ seven blocks and 43 total rebounds show that they dominated the paint. It was not UT’s best performance, but it was good enough tonight against a lesser opponent.
The victory extends the Volunteers’ Division I-leading home-court winning streak at Thompson-Boling Arena, now sitting at 30 straight games. Much less, the Vols also extended their season-opening winning streak to five games.
The Vols next play on Friday, November 29, against the Florida State Seminoles. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET and can be watched on the CBS Sports Network.
KNOXVILLE — The Tennessee men’s basketball team extended their Division I-leading home winning streak to 29 games after defeating the Alabama State Hornets on Wednesday night, 76-41.
The Hornets jumped out to a three point lead on the opening possession, but the Vols answered back and tied the score just one minute into the game; UT took the lead on their next possession and held it for the rest of the game. Their largest lead of 37 came at the 1:01 mark of the second half after a late-game surge, and Alabama State managed to sink a couple of free throws in the final minute to clinch the ending score.
Tennessee was led by Jordan Bowden, who notched 16 points to pace the Vols, while adding a couple of rebounds and an assist. Three other starters also posted double-digit points, with Lamonte Turner adding 13 of his own along with six dimes, Yves Pons adding 11 with five rebounds, and John Fulkerson scoring 10 points with three rebounds in support. Guard Josiah-Jordan James pulled down 13 boards and dished out five assists.
The Vols hit 46 percent of their shots from the field, though that includes a sub-par 29 percent mark from beyond the arc. They only shot 64 percent from the charity stripe on 25 attempts, which could stand for some improvement. Tennessee’s 12 turnovers to ASU’s 19 is a respectable margin, and the team total of eight blocks is encouraging.
The Vols’ next game is on November 25 against the Chattanooga Mocs at Thompson-Boling Arena. Tip-off is schedule for 7 p.m. ET and will be broadcasted on SEC Network+.
