Author Archives: Joel Hollingsworth

March Madness: Tennessee vs. Loyola-Chicago TV channel and tip time

The Vols take on the Loyola-Chicago Ramblers this evening at 6:10 p.m. ET. The game is on TNT, and a win will advance Tennessee to the Sweet 16.

While you’re waiting, check out our game preview, and have a listen to Will discussing the game with Sports 180‘s Josh and Will:

Game info

Go Vols!

Gameday Today: Vols March Madness Game 1 roundup

Survive

Tennessee didn’t just survive and advance in the NCAA Tournament yesterday, they absolutely throttled Wright State.

Pressure? What pressure? No, they are the ones who pressure. And they’ve traded their fancy handshakes for an all-business attitude copped from the 1996 Chicago Bulls.

Highlights of the smothering:

And we wouldn’t be doing our job if we didn’t single out this play because it’s so, so good:

What did the SEC Network folks have to say? Good things, as you might expect:

Also check out this collection of photos from UTSports and this quote from Rick Barnes — now a finalist for national coach of the year — about the “talent” of hard work.

Tennesse wasn’t the only SEC team to have a good day yesterday. The conference went 4-0, and now the pressure is on Texas A&M, Arkansas, Auburn, and Missouri to uphold the good name of the group of institutions formerly known primarily for football.

Advance

So, who’s next for the Vols? The Loyola-Chicago Ramblers, who beat Miami with some flair:


The game isn’t until tomorrow at 6:10 p.m. ET on TNT, but we’re already being ever-so-politely trash-talked by a nonagenerian chaplain:

March Madness: Tennessee vs. Wright State TV channel, tip time, and online game-watching party

The Vols open NCAA Tournament play at 12:40 p.m. ET today against the Wright State Raiders. TruTV has the broadcast, so if you’re not watching online or casting to your big screen, you’d better start looking for the channel number now.

While you’re waiting, check out today’s roundup of hype videos and game previews.

Game info

Go Vols!

Gameday Today: Let’s Dance

Let’s dance

Tennessee opens NCAA Tournament play this afternoon at 12:40 p.m. ET against Wright State, and the Hype Machine is already cranked up to 11:

Even the objective media types are adding to the momentum:


But those particular horses must be held, as Tennessee has to get by Wright State first. The Raiders aren’t highly-ranked by KenPom (No. 131 this morning), but they can play defense and score points from the free throw line. They are going to have a real challenge, though, with Tennessee’s physicality.

So what do the Vols need to do to advance today? Well, every time Will has identified exactly what makes the Vols tick, they go full chameleon curveball and surprise everyone by ticking yet another a new way.

So, we’ll just have to see what they have in store for us this afternoon. We’ll have a game thread later this morning for the 12:40 tip on truTV.

ICYMI

It’s not too late to join the Gameday on Rocky Top bracket contest.

Tennessee is one of seven teams that will be featured on NCAA March Madness Confidential, which means we’ll get to see some extra behind-the-scenes stuff peppered into the tournament coverage this year. Nice.

Rivaling the Bruce Pearl Timeline and Brian Williams’ weight loss as the most-repeated go-to talking point for color analysts is the subject of Admiral Schofield’s first name. You may be tiring of it, but I’m hoping to hear it about six more times.

UTSports has an excellent feature on Rick Barnes and how he has positively affected the culture throughout the Tennessee athletic program.

Not to be outdone, the News Sentinel has a great feature on Vol Chris Darrington having to cope with the loss of a friend.

DylanVol takes another look at Vols’ hoops recruiting.

This is about a week late, but I neglected to post it earlier, and because it will never get old, I’m posting it now:

 

Join the Gameday on Rocky Top Bracket Challenge

A bracket here, a bracket there. Brackets, they are everywhere.

Including here.

Join the Gameday on Rocky Top 2018 Bracket Tourney Pool, and show the rest of us how it’s done.

The prize? Bragging rights. Glorious bragging rights.

So head over and sign up now, come up with a snappy bracket name, and make your picks. We’ll update the results weekly, so you have multiple opportunities to feel good about your luck.

Have fun, and Go Vols.

SEC Tournament Championship TV channel, tip time, and online game-watching party

The Vols will play for their first SEC Tournament Championship since 1979 at 1:00 today against Kentucky. ESPN has the broadcast.

 

Game info

Go Vols! I’ll be in the game thread as soon as I finish my pizza. 🙂

 

Vols advance to the SEC Tourney semifinals with win over Bulldogs

Tennessee shook off some rust and sloppiness to beat Mississippi State 62-59 this evening and advance to the semifinals of the SEC Tournament.

It wasn’t pretty.

The Vols had 17 turnovers, shot 33.3% from the field, 25% from the arc, and 60.7% from the free throw line. Grant Williams had only 10 points on 3-of-12 shooting, and Admiral Schofield managed only 13 points on 4-of-12 shooting.

But it was enough.

Despite not shooting well, Tennessee did turn in a good performance on the boards and on defense. They had a 50-33 total rebound advantage over the Bulldogs, 22-10 on the offensive glass. And Lamonte Turner nearly had a double-double, scoring a team-high 15 points and pulling down 8 rebounds to go along with 4 steals.

Tennessee was mostly in control for much of the game, although both teams seemed to be (understandably) rattled for an extended period of time after a scary injury to Nick Weatherspoon, who was carted off on a stretcher early in the second half. He’d landed hard underneath the basket and stayed there while play continued. When his brother and teammate Quindarry Weatherspoon drove toward the basket on a fastbreak after a steal, no official stopped the play, and both Quindarry and Kyle Alexander (who was defending and in pursuit) landed on Nick. Alexander appeared to inadvertently land with a foot on Weatherspoon’s head and neck area, and Weatherspoon remained motionless for several minutes before being secured to a stretcher and taken to the hospital. Prayers for him and his family. The latest report:

When both teams had regained their footing, Mississippi State continued to threaten, but the Vols managed to stay ahead of each threat. The Bulldogs had an excellent chance to take the lead on their last possession of the game:

It was a good shot, but they missed, and so the Vols advance. They’ll play the winner of the Arkansas-Florida game that is being played right now. The tip for that game is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. ET.

Vols-Bulldogs SEC Tournament TV channel, tip time, and online game-watching party

The Vols play their first game of the SEC Tournament this evening against Mississippi State. The game tips at 7:00 p.m. and will be shown on the SEC Network.

Will posted the Vols game preview this morning, and you can hear him talking about it on the radio this afternoon right here:

Auburn lost this afternoon to Alabama, improving the Vols’ chances to open NCAA Tournament play close to home in Nashville, assuming they take care of business themselves. Here’s to hoping that starts with the Bulldogs tonight.

Game info

 

Go Vols!

 

Gameday Today: SEC Tourney Time

If you watch only one Vols-related thing this morning . . .

. . . make it this from the SEC Network:

That’s some high-grade and particularly tasty rat poison right there.

Hoops

The thing is, the Vols are really in a nice sort of win-win situation this weekend. They could win the SEC Tournament, which would be cool, but if they lose, hey, they get more rest (and possibly some additional motivation) for the more important NCAA Tournament.

That, of course, does not mean that they aren’t working:

Mississippi State beat LSU last night 80-77, so Tennessee’s opponent at 7:00 p.m. tonight will be the Bulldogs. The game is on the SEC Network. Be sure to check out Will’s preview of the game. We’ll have the game thread posted later this afternoon.

Football

Jeremy Pruitt has added former Alabama nutritionist Rachel Pfister to Tennessee’s staff.

Over at Bleacher Report, Brad says that Tennessee could maybe nab former Clemson running back C.J. Fuller as a grad transfer.

VFL Al Wilson has been inducted into the Senior Bowl Hall of Fame.

Other fun stuff

With apologies for rivals colors on this beautiful orange site, you have to admit that this is pretty funny:

Not funny is this deplorable evidence of a culture problem at a company owned by a prominent Tennessee booster.

SiriusXM now has an SEC radio channel.

Gameday Today: Hoops, culture, and the audacity of Butch Jones

If you read only one thing about the Vols today . . .

. . . make it the VolQuest article on team-building and culture under Rick Barnes. It’s subscription-only, but it’s worth it. Runner-up this morning is a reheat from GoVolsXtra on Barnes’ family and faith.

Hoops

Tennessee is seeking that balance between staying sharp and making the most of the rest afforded by the double-bye they earned for the SEC Tournament.

Despite coming off a historic season, some ESPN dude says they can’t win the NCAA Tournament because they shot worse from 2-point range than their opponents in conference play. Odds are they won’t win it all, but that reasoning is kicking my skeptical face contortions into overdrive.

If you’re looking for an SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament hub, the SEC Network has a good one.

Alvin Kamara

Kamara might be Superman, but he can’t resist Girl Scout cookies, either:


No, really. He didn’t just stop by for a photo, and he didn’t buy just a box or two. He bought them all:


Of course, unlike you and me, Kamara can get away with eating every box of Girl Scout cookies in the French Quarter because he also does stuff like this:


Football

The Vols have added quarterback Jacob Cendoya as a preferred walk-on to the Class of 2018.

Wanya Morris, a 4-star tackle, has narrowed his choices down to Tennessee and Auburn.

Other Vols tidbits

Oh, horror of horrors, Butch Jones is wearing clothes and talking to people!


The Sporting News is reporting that ESPN and Fox are willing to pay Peyton Manning $10M a year to help save Thursday Night NFL football. Even Jon Gruden only got $6.5M to do what he did.

Tennessee baseball lost 21-2 (!) to James Madison yesterday.