Tennessee Volunteers kick off their 2024-25 regular season against Gardner-Webb Runnin’ Bulldogs.
Reigning Southeastern Conference (SEC) champions Tennessee Volunteers kick off their season Monday night against Gardner-Webb at Thompson-Boling Arena. Tennessee and Gardner-Webb are meeting for the third time ever. The two teams last played in Rick Barnes’ first season with the Vols in 2015, winning in a landslide victory of 89-64.
General Information:
Teams: Tennessee (0-0) and Gardner-Webb (0-0)
Tip-Off Time: 7 p.m. EST
Watch: SEC Network+
What to know about Gardner-Webb:
Gardner-Webb went 17-16 overall and 11-5 in the Big South Conference last season. The Runnin’ Bulldogs gave up 73.2 points per game while only scoring 0.3 more at 73.5 points per game.
The Runnin’ Bulldogs lost both their top scorers and defenders to the transfer portal, so they look to fill that void this upcoming season. They also lack in size, with only two of their players averaging 6’10” and approximately 220 pounds.
As far as newcomers, Gardner-Webb has three incoming freshmen guards and a few veteran frontcourt players.
Latest on Tennessee Volunteers:
Tennessee, last season, was a top team in the country with a 27-9 record that led to an Elite Eight appearance which resulted in a 72-66 loss against Purdue.
Losing who most people considered the best player in the country, superstar Dalton Knecht to the NBA draft, along with Jonas Aidoo and Tobe Awaka to the transfer portal, and seniors Santiago Vescovi and Josiah Jordan James to years of eligibility, Rick Barnes has a new team to figure out.
Reigning SEC Defensive Player of the Year Zakai Zeigler is returning to Rocky Top for his senior year to continue as Barnes’ floor general with other returning players Jahmai Mashack, Jordan Gainey, and J.P. Estrella.
Barnes and the Volunteers took advantage of the transfer portal this offseason. They added depth and size in the frontcourt with the addition of Ohio State transfer Felix Okpara who averaged 2.4 blocks last season. They also added scoring from the wings with the additions of Chaz Lanier, who averaged 19.7 points on 51.0% from the field, 44.0% from 3, and 88.0% from the free throw line, and Darlinstone Dubar, a 6’8 forward who averaged almost 18 points and 7 rebounds shooting 54.0% from the field and 39.9% from behind the arc.
The Volunteers just had an exhibition game against the Indiana Hoosiers, which resulted in a 66-62 loss. Tennessee basketball did not shoot well, only making 18 of their 59 attempts and 8 of their 35 three-point attempts. They also committed 15 turnovers that resulted in 14 points.
The loss should show coach Barnes what rotations he should go within the season opener and how to figure out the identity of this team promptly.
How Barnes will use this new squad will have Volunteer fans tuned in all season.
Will they be successful and make another deep run in March, or will they struggle and not figure it out? It all begins at Thompson-Boling Arena on Monday night.
This is So Exciting! I am So Ready for This Year’s Season To kick off! I was wondering what everyone was thinking about since last season and what to expect about this season. I look forward to seeing more post like this one because this not only got Me more hype than I already was but also put into words the questions I had about the upcoming season with all the changes! Let’s Go Vols Basketball 🏀