Tennessee basketball heads back to Rocky Top to take on the Montana Grizzlies.
After seeing a one-spot increase in the AP Poll after 2 successful wins this past week, No. 11 Tennessee basketball will travel back to Knoxville to take on the Montana Grizzlies in the Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center. This is only the fourth matchup between the pair of all time, with the last matchup dating back to the 1983-84 season.
General Information:
Teams: Tennessee (2-0) and Montana (2-1)
Tip-Off:Â 7 p.m. EST
Watch:Â SEC Network+
What to know about Montana:
The Montana Grizzlies lead the Big Sky Conference with a record of 2-1. Both of Montana’s wins have come against NAIA opponents. The Grizzlies have dominated those wins, defeating Hawaii Hilo by 31 (92-61) and Northwest Indian College by 50 (94-44).
Standout senior, 6’4 guard Kai Johnson is the team’s leading scorer who averages 16.3 points on almost 60% shooting from the field while adding 2 steals a game for the season.
Other standouts are senior guard Joe Pridgen and senior forward Te’Jon Sawyer. Pridgen averages 12 points on a striking 82.4% from the field and 46.7% behind the arc while adding almost 9 rebounds per contest. Sawyer averages 11.7 points on 64% shooting while adding 5 rebounds a game.
Latest on Tennessee basketball:
Through two games this season, Tennessee basketball has not fallen behind for a single second and has led 78 of the 80 minutes.
The Volunteers have found no trouble putting the ball in the basket at an efficient rate. As a team, they shoot 53.7% from the field and 42.9% from behind the arc. There is still room for improvement from the free throw line as the team only shoots 71.9% from the stripe. Tennessee has also not shied away from the hustle side of basketball as they command the boards at 34.5 a game and force 15 turnovers in each contest.
Fifth-year guard Chaz Lanier is dialed into his elite scoring ability averaging 18.5 points on 51.9% shooting from the field and 58.3% from the three-point line. In addition, senior guard Zakai Zeigler adds 16.0 a game with 8.0 assists while senior guard Jordan Gainey also adds 12.5 a game on 71.4% shooting and 42.9% from behind the arc.
Coach Barnes and the Volunteers will look to continue to build upon this recent success and take care of business as they face Montana at home in a game they are 24.5-point favorites.
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