Looking back at Tennessee’s overtime win against Purdue in 2017

Looking back at Tennessee’s overtime win against Purdue basketball in 2017.

No. 2 seed Tennessee (27-8, 14-4 SEC) will play No. 1 seed Purdue (32-4, 17-3 Big Ten) Sunday in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan.

Tipoff between the Vols and Boilermakers is slated for 2:20 p.m. EDT and CBS will televise the contest.

Sunday will mark the seventh all time meeting between Tennessee and Purdue. The Boilermakers have won four of the six previous games between the two schools.

Purdue also has a two-game win streak in the series. The Boilermakers defeated Tennessee, 71-67, during the 2023-24 regular-season.

Tennessee earned its last victory against Purdue during the 2017-18 season. The Vols defeated Purdue, 78-75 in overtime, during the Battle 4 Atlantis in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands.

The game was tied, 31-31, at halftime and tied, 63-63, in regulation.

Grant Williams totaled 22 points and eight rebounds for the Vols, while Kyle Alexander recorded 13 points and 11 rebounds.

Admiral Schofield finished with 10 points and seven rebounds for Tennessee.

Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Former Vols win NBA summer league championship

Two former Vols win the NBA summer league championship.

Portland defeated New York, 85-77, Sunday, winning the NBA summer league championship at Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Two former Tennessee basketball players made contributions for the Trail Blazers.

Kyle Alexander came off the bench and played 16 minutes. He recorded 14 points, four rebounds, three blocks, one steal and one assist.

Alexander was 4-for-6 in field goal attempts, 2-for-5 in three-point attempts and 4-for-4 from the free throw line.

Keon Johnson started for Portland and played 31 minutes. He recorded two points, three rebounds, three steals and one assist.

Johnson was 1-for-6 from the floor and 0-for-4 in three-point attempts.

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Kyle Alexander, Keon Johnson to play for NBA summer league championship

Former Vols Kyle Alexander and Keon Johnson to play for NBA summer league championship.

Portland will play New York for the NBA summer league championship Sunday.

Former Vols Kyle Alexander and Keon Johnson will play in the championship game for the Trail Blazers.

Johnson is a second-year NBA player and started last season for Portland. He was acquired at the trade deadline from the Clippers.

Johnson was a two-way player, splitting time between Los Angeles and Agua Caliente, the team’s NBA G-League affiliate based in Ontario, California.

Alexander played for the Scarborough Shooting Stars of the Canadian Elite Basketball League during the 2021-22 season.

The Canadian native was a two-way player for Miami from 2019-20. He split time between Miami and the Sioux Falls Skyforce.

Tip off for the championship game is slated for 3 p.m. EDT at Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. The contest will be televised by ESPN.

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Kyle Alexander playing basketball in Spain

Former Vol Kyle Alexander playing professional basketball in Spain.

Former University of Tennessee basketball player Kyle Alexander is playing professionally in Europe.

Alexander, a power forward and center, is currently playing for Urbas Fuenlabrada in Spain’s Liga ACB.

He played for the Volunteers between 2015-19.

During his senior season on Rocky Top, Alexander averaged 7.3 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game. He shot 61 percent from the floor and 42.9 percent from beyond the 3-point arc.

After his collegiate career in Knoxville, Alexander, who hails from Scarborough, Ontario in Canada, entered the 2019 NBA draft and did not get selected.

He did, however, sign as a free agent with the Miami Heat.

The former Vol was a two-way player for the Heat, splitting time with the Miami and the NBA G-League’s Sioux Falls Skyforce during his first season as a professional in 2019-20.

Alexander played in two regular-season games for Miami and averaged one point per game.

He had a spot on the postseason roster for the Heat, which lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2021 NBA Finals.

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VFL Kyle Alexander on Heat’s NBA Finals roster

Kyle Alexander, a former Vol, is on Miami Heat’s roster for NBA Finals.

ORLANDO — Former University of Tennessee basketball player Kyle Alexander is in the NBA Finals.

Alexander has been on the Miami Heat’s active roster since the NBA resumed play in a Central Florida bubble.

Alexander signed with Miami after he was not selected in the 2019 NBA draft.

He later signed as a two-way player for the Heat, splitting time between Miami and the Sioux Falls Skyforce, the team’s G-League affiliate.

Alexander, a native of Scarborough, Ontario in Canada, played for the Vols for four years between 2015-19.

The power forward and center made his NBA debut on Aug. 20. He played one minute and grabbed a rebound in the Heat’s 130-116 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.

Alexander did not play in Game 1 of the NBA Finals Wednesday night as Miami lost to the Los Angeles Lakers, 116-98, at AdVentHealth Arena.

Ranking the 30 best players of the 2019-20 NBA G League season

With the NBA G League season likely to be canceled soon, Rookie Wire took a look at the best players to suit up this year.

As the NBA braces for a lengthy hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic, the growing belief around the league is that the G League season will soon be canceled.

The G League regular season was set to conclude on March 28 and the decision to end play is likely an easy one to make given the financial burden it places on organizations. While the season will soon be canceled, all G League players will be paid through the end of the year.

The NBA itself is preparing for the possibility of returning to play in mid-to-late June as the best-case scenario after the CDC recommended on Sunday that all events with 50 or more people be canceled for two months to help slow the spread of the virus.

With the G League likely set to be canceled, Rookie Wire decided to take a look at the best players to suit up this season as there have been some spectacular performances from around the league.

Players must have appeared in at least 20 games to be considered. Stats were used from the NBA G League, Basketball-Reference and RealGM.

30. Donta Hall, Grand Rapids Drive

Hall, who finished second in double-doubles among all players with 22, emerged as a strong post player with the Drive this season. He was named to the 2019-20 Midseason All-NBA G League Team and was solid all season long in his first year as a professional.

29. Christ Koumadje, Delaware Blue Coats

The 7-foot-4 center led the G League in blocks with four per game and was seventh in rebounding. He recorded two triple-doubles this season with points, rebounds and blocks and tied the mark for most rebounds in a game by an individual player at 24.

28. Kyle Alexander, Sioux Falls Skyforce

Alexander quickly became one of the best big men in the league this season and his play resulted in a two-way contract from the Miami Heat. He finished fifth in blocks and 14th in rebounding with the Skyforce to cap a productive first year.

27. Eric Mika, Stockton Kings

The former BYU product placed 29th in scoring among all players and second in rebounding. Mika recorded 16 double-doubles and tied the G League season-high of 24 rebounds by an individual player. He eventually earned a 10-day contract from the Kings in February but was not signed to a second one.

26. Paul Watson, Raptors 905

Watson was named to the 2019-20 Midseason All-NBA G League Team and continued his strong play for the rest of the season. Watson scored in double figures in each of his 30 games played in the G League and eventually earned a two-way contract from the Toronto Raptors.

25-21 | 20-16 | 15-11 | 10-6 | 5-1

Heat to sign undrafted rookie Kyle Alexander to a two-way contract

The former Tennessee forward is 13th in the G League in blocks and 22nd with seven double-doubles this season with the Sioux Falls Skyforce.

The Miami Heat are reportedly planning to sign rookie Kyle Alexander of the Sioux Falls Skyforce to a two-way contract, according to Andre Fernandez of The Athletic.

Alexander joined the Heat organization over the summer after going undrafted out of the University of Tennessee. The 6-foot-10 forward appeared with the Heat during Summer League and in the preseason but was waived prior to the start of the season.

With the Skyforce, Alexander has emerged as one of the top big men in the G League. Alexander is averaging 10.6 points, nine rebounds and two blocks in 23 appearances. The rookie is 13th in the G League in blocked shots and 22nd with seven double-doubles.

Rookie players are taking over the NBA G League in 2019-20

Among the top scorers in the G League this season, five players in the top 10 are first-year players.

As the NBA G League approaches the one-month mark of the season, several players have performed well and are off to great starts with many of those outings coming from the 2019 NBA Draft class.

Among the top scorers in the G League, five players in the top 10 are rookies and two first-year players, Kyle Guy and Marial Shayok, hold the top individual scoring performances of the season with 42 points each.

With most players having suited up in around 8-10 games, Rookie Wire took a look at those rookies that are making an impact with their respective clubs this season.

Jeremiah Martin, Sioux Falls Skyforce

The former Memphis forward is currently second in total scoring (242) this season and leads all rookies to this point. Martin is averaging 22 points, 6.2 assists and 3.1 rebounds in 11 games for the Skyforce.

Martin has shown no problems transitioning to the G League as he has seven games scoring at least 20 points, including three 30-plus games. He is converting on 52.8% of his shots, including 33.3% from 3-point range.

NBA teams previously had a wealth of free-agent talent available in the G League player pool but the addition of two-way contracts has made a dent in the number of available players to sign.

Martin could be one of those players to target this season.