Outgoing freshman Julian Phillips saw his decision to enter the NBA Draft pay off as an early second round pick last night, #35 to your Chicago Bulls. The headline for Tennessee, of course, is Phillips makes seven Vols drafted in the last five years: 2023: Julian Phillips, Round 2 #35 […]
Basketball
Your source for Tennessee Volunteers basketball news, information, commentary, and analysis. Gameday on Rocky Top is a community of reasonable fanatics all sharing a passion for Tennessee athletics. Scores, game recaps, and more, all often with a touch of humor.
A look at the Vols’ recent history with transfers
The transfer portal is all the rage nowadays in college sports, especially in basketball. I think fans follow transfers more closely than they do recruiting now, at least based off the interactions and discussion I’ve seen online. In this era of player freedom, the impact of transfers is under even […]
How good do you have to be on the other side of the ball?
In basketball, Tennessee just finished as the number one defense in KenPom, their third consecutive Top 5 finish there. Outside of how the 2023 Vols looked night-to-night due to injuries, the real question there was about the gap between offensive and defensive efficiency. How good do these teams need to […]
Tennessee’s Modern Era Continues in the NBA Playoffs
Last year, we looked at the rise of the modern era for Tennessee basketball in the NBA. In particular, the Vols aren’t just getting more players into the league, but more opportunities for the spotlight in the playoffs. And that continues this week: Josh Richardson and New Orleans are in […]
What does it take to make it to the Final Four?
Another NCAA Tournament has come and gone, and it gives us another opportunity to try and figure out why in the world the Vols just can’t seem to make it to the Final Four. That, of course, has been a question on the minds of Tennessee fans for decades now, […]
Adding Context to Yet Another March Exit
Hello there. It’s been a while since I’ve done this, so I hope I’m not too rusty. It’s been a little over two and a half years since I’ve written an article about Tennessee athletics. For those of you who know me, welcome back! I don’t think this will be […]
What was Tennessee’s “easiest” path to the Final Four?
In this chaos bracket, shout out to Miami: the Hurricanes went through the hardest possible path as a five seed, knocking off a 12, 4, 1, and 2 to reach the Final Four. That’s a seed score of 19, far stronger than UConn (29), Florida Atlantic (31), or San Diego […]
FAU 62 Tennessee 55 – The One Leads to the Other
I’ve been doing this a long time, which means I’ve been wrong a lot. Tennessee’s continual lineup fluctuations this season made them harder to predict in some ways, but we felt like their rebounding had moved to the forefront in playing taller lineups since Zakai Zeigler went down. The Vols […]
What’s been most different without Zakai?
In basically six full games without Zakai Zeigler, the Vols still rate among the nation’s best teams. Bart Torvik has Tennessee ranked 13th since February 28; down from their full-season rank of fifth, but still plenty good enough to win. You’ll note that Duke is/was the fourth-best team in the […]
Alive, Kickin’, and Doors
These are the days you enjoy the most, because later this week it’s gonna get stressful again. That’s the beauty of the beast, especially in a world where 16 seeds can win and 15 seeds are in the Sweet 16 again. The tournament only allows enough time to celebrate the […]