Latest news with #RickBarnes'
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Where Tennessee is ranked in final college basketball polls after 2024-25 season
Tennessee basketball finished with its highest postseason ranking in program history for the second straight season. The Vols finished ranked No. 5 in the USA TODAY coaches poll, which marked its finish last season. Their prior top mark was seventh in 2007-08. Tennessee went to the Elite Eight for the third time in program history and the second straight season. It won 30 games for the third time. The Vols were ranked No. 12 in the preseason coaches poll. UT moved up to No. 9 after starting the season 2-0 with wins against Gardner-Webb and at Louisville. It stayed No. 9 after moving to 4-0. Tennessee rolled through the Baha Mar Championship with wins against Virginia and Baylor to reach 6-0 and rise to No. 6. It hopped to No. 3 after beating UT Martin before ascending to No. 1. NEXT: Where Tennessee basketball is ranked in early 2025-26 rankings under Rick Barnes The Vols spent a program-record five weeks as the No. 1 team. They fell to No. 6 from the top spot after their 30-point loss at Florida on Jan. 7. They fell to No. 7 after losing at Vanderbilt on Jan. 18 and to No. 8 after losing at Auburn on Jan. 25. They jumped to No. 4 after beating Florida 64-44 and held the spot the following week. They slipped to No. 6 after losing at Kentucky. UT jumped back into the top 5 after winning at Texas A&M and rose to No. 4 after beating Alabama. It dropped to No. 6 after losing at Ole Miss. It remained No. 6 entering the NCAA Tournament after a run to the SEC Tournament title game. TRACKER: Tennessee basketball transfer portal tracker: Who's in, who's out for Rick Barnes' roster Tennessee has been ranked for 80 consecutive weeks in the Associated Press poll, the second-longest active streak in the nation. It has been ranked nonstop since the start of the 2021-22 season. The previous program record for consecutive weeks ranked was 37. The Vols have been ranked in the top five of the AP poll 37 times (MIGHT NEED TO UPDATE) in the past seven seasons, including 10 times this season. They had been ranked in the top five 17 times in the previous 70 years of the poll. Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at and follow him on X @ByMikeWilson or Bluesky @ If you enjoy Mike's coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it. This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Where Tennessee is ranked in final 2024-25 college basketball polls
Yahoo
29-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Has Tennessee played Kentucky in March Madness? Sweet 16 matchup marks historic first
Tennessee and Kentucky share more than just a border. The men's basketball programs at the respective schools have a lengthy, storied and often heated history with one another. The Wildcats are royalty in the sport, with eight national titles and more all-time wins than any program at the Division I level. The Vols aren't slouches themselves, with more than 1,700 all-time victories and the somewhat regrettable status of being among the best programs to have never made a Final Four. REQUIRED READING: Tennessee basketball vs Kentucky prediction: Who has edge in 2025 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16? Their paths have often collided since their first meeting on Feb. 16, 1910, a 20-5 Kentucky victory, with 241 all-time matchups between the SEC foes. Their 242nd game comes on maybe the biggest stage the two rivals have ever shared. Coach Rick Barnes' Vols and coach Mark Pope's Wildcats will face off Friday night in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, with the winner getting one step closer to the Final Four and a national championship. Here's a look at the postseason history between the Tennessee and Kentucky men's basketball programs: Regardless of who advances to the Elite Eight, Tennessee and Kentucky will make history Friday night in Indianapolis. The Sweet 16 game between the Vols and Wildcats marks the first time the programs have ever met in the NCAA Tournament. In fact, it will be Tennessee's first game ever in the NCAA Tournament against an SEC opponent. Prior to 1975, the NCAA Tournament allowed only one team per conference before it expanded to a 32-team event. In the years since, the likelihood of playing an SEC team was low or at least not possible until the later rounds. With a record 14 SEC teams in the tournament this season, however, teams from the conference could only avoid each other for so long. Tennessee and Kentucky have nearly squared off in the NCAA Tournament before, most recently in 2014, when both teams advanced to the Sweet 16 (also in Indianapolis), but the No. 11 Vols fell to Michigan, denying them a chance to take on the Wildcats in the Elite Eight. REQUIRED READING: What time is Tennessee basketball vs Kentucky today? Time, TV schedule to watch March Madness game While Tennessee and Kentucky have never matched wits in the NCAA Tournament, at least until Friday, they've done so quite often in the SEC Tournament. The Vols and Wildcats have 18 all-time meetings in the SEC Tournament, with Kentucky holding a 12-6 advantage in those contests. Tennessee has won each of the past two SEC Tournament matchups against the Wildcats including, most recently, in 2022, when it knocked off Kentucky 69-62 in Tampa, Florida. Tennessee has lost each of its previous two meetings against Kentucky this season, falling 78-73 on Jan. 28 in Knoxville and 75-64 two weeks later in Lexington. The Wildcats were without a key player in each of those victories. Lamont Butler was out for the win in Knoxville while Jaxson Robinson, who's nursing a season-ending injury and won't play Friday, missed the victory in Lexington. Since its series with Kentucky began in 1910, Tennessee is 78-163 all-time against the Wildcats. The Vols have had slightly more success over the past decade, with an 11-12 record against Kentucky under Barnes. Recently, though, it's been a bit more lopsided, with the Wildcats winning seven of the past 10 matchups. This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: March Madness: Tennessee vs Kentucky NCAA Tournament, postseason history
Miami Herald
24-03-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Next up: The most consequential men's basketball game ever between Kentucky and Tennessee
A look ahead to the Kentucky Wildcats' next game in the men's NCAA Tournament Midwest Regional round of 16: The opponent No. 3 seed Kentucky (24-11) will face border rival and No. 2 seed Tennessee (29-7) on Friday, March 28, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Coach Rick Barnes' Volunteers got 20 points from Chaz Lanier, 15 from Zakai Zeigler and 13 from Jordan Gainey in a 67-58 victory Saturday over UCLA in the round of 32 at Rupp Arena. Series history Kentucky has played no opponent more often than the 241 times it has faced Tennessee. The Wildcats lead the all-time series 163-78. As UK head man, Mark Pope is 2-0 vs. Tennessee. Volunteers coach Rick Barnes is 12-14 overall against Kentucky, 11-12 as Tennessee coach. Most recent meetings Kentucky scored a regular-season sweep over Tennessee in 2024-25. Playing without a true point guard due to injures, the No. 12 Wildcats upset the No. 8 Volunteers 78-73 on Jan. 28 in Knoxville. UK rode balance to the victory, as all five Cats starters — Koby Brea (18 points), Jaxson Robinson (17), Otega Oweh (14) Ansley Almonor (12) and Amari Williams (10) — scored in double figures. Tennessee took a whopping 45 3-point shots in the game, making only 11. No. 15 UK also took the rematch over No. 5 UT, winning 75-64 at Rupp Arena even though the Wildcats lost starting point guard Lamont Butler to injury during the game. Homegrown Kentucky freshmen Trent Noah (11 points) and Travis Perry (eight) were huge for UK off the bench. Power ranking In the Pomeroy ratings, Tennessee is No. 5 and Kentucky is No. 17. Know your foe 1. Since losing to Kentucky at Rupp Arena on Feb. 11, Tennessee has subsequently gone 9-2 with wins over then-No. 7 Texas A&M, then-No. 6 Alabama and then-No. 3 Auburn. The Volunteers' only losses since falling to UK came on the road at Mississippi by two points and to then-No. 4 Florida in the SEC Tournament finals. 2. Kentucky has previously only played three NCAA Tournament games against fellow Southeastern Conference members. The Wildcats are 1-2 in those games. In the 1986 NCAA Tournament, UK beat Alabama 68-63 in the Sweet 16. Eddie Sutton's Wildcats faced LSU in the following contest in the Elite Eight and were beaten 59-57. John Calipari's 2018-19 Cats were also beaten by a SEC foe in the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight, falling to Auburn 77-71 in overtime. (Kentucky played and beat current SEC member Arkansas 64-59 in the 1978 Final Four, but the Razorbacks were not then a member of the SEC.) 3. In defeating Wofford (77-62) and UCLA in its first two NCAA Tournament games, Tennessee shot the ball well. That is significant because the Volunteers have, at times in the Rick Barnes coaching era, been a bit offensively challenged. So far in this year's NCAA Tournament, the Vols have hit a combined 42% from 3-point range (21-for-50) and made 76.3% of their free throws (29 of 38). Interestingly, given that Kentucky has played in 17 men's NCAA Tournament Final Fours in its history and Tennessee has played in none, the Volunteers program will have more recent March Madness success to call upon in Friday night's meeting. The Volunteers are in the Sweet 16 for the third straight year. Kentucky has not advanced to a regional semifinal in an NCAA Tournament since 2019.
Yahoo
15-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Can Tennessee be No. 1 seed in NCAA Tournament? Vols' chances after win vs Auburn
Tennessee has a proud men's basketball history, with more than two dozen NCAA Tournament appearances to its name. This year, though, the Vols could accomplish something they've never done before. With a 70-65 victory Saturday against Auburn in the semifinals of the men's SEC tournament in Nashville, Tennessee advanced to Sunday's conference championship game, where it will face off against either Florida or Alabama. REQUIRED READING: NCAA Tournament bubble gets major shakeup in Bracketology days before March Madness The win improved the Vols' record to 27-6 and, perhaps more than that, kept it in the conversation for what would be a historic feat for the program: earning a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, something that Tennessee has never done before. Where does coach Rick Barnes' team stand in that effort? Here's a closer look at the Vols' candidacy for a No. 1 seed: With the victory against Auburn, Tennessee kept its hopes of earning a spot on the top line of the NCAA Tournament bracket alive. Entering the day, the Vols were widely projected as a No. 2 seed, including by ESPN, CBS Sports and Fox Sports. USA TODAY Sports' latest bracketology also has them as a No. 2 seed, facing off against Robert Morris in the first round. Bracket Matrix, a website that compiles and averages the seeding of dozens of mock brackets, had Tennessee as the second No. 2 seed, behind Alabama. Saturday's triumph could change that. Tennessee now has 11 Quadrant One wins, tied for the fourth-most of any Division I team. It also doesn't have any bad losses that could thwart its hopes for a No. 1 seed, with no defeats outside of that first quadrant. The Vols came into the weekend as the No. 6 team in the NCAA's NET rankings. Auburn, at 28-5 and No. 2 in the latest NCAA NET rankings, is unlikely to fall from the No. 1 seed line after spending the majority of the season as the No. 1 team in the major national polls. Nor is Duke, which is 30-3 heading into Saturday's ACC championship game against Louisville. Even if the Blue Devils lose, the NCAA Tournament selection would likely take into account that they played without injured star Cooper Flagg, which would probably be enough to keep them as a No. 1 seed. If Houston, at 29-4 and No. 3 in the NET, beats Arizona in Saturday's Big 12 championship game, it will lock up a No. 1 seed, as well. If the Cougars lose, it could open up an opportunity for the Vols or another SEC team. Tennessee's main competition for a No. 1 seed can be found in its own conference, with Alabama and Florida also vying for that fourth and final available top seed (presuming favorites win elsewhere in other major conference tournaments). The other SEC semifinal between the Crimson Tide and Gators could serve as an elimination game for a No. 1 seed, with the loser ending up as a No. 2 seed. That same logic would likely apply to the SEC championship game, with the victor earning a No. 1 seed and the loser being a No. 2 seed. REQUIRED READING: Tennessee basketball won't be a No. 1 seed in March Madness bracket, Joe Lunardi predicts Here's a look at where the Vols rank in the major metrics used by the NCAA Tournament selection committee when picking and seeding squads for the 68-team field. Some of these metrics, like the NET, haven't yet taken the win against Auburn into consideration. NET ranking: 6 KenPom ranking: 5 Torvik ranking: 6 KPI ranking: 5 Wins above bubble ranking: 5 Strength of record ranking: 7 BPI ranking: 6 Quad One record: 11-6 This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee case for No. 1 seed: What to know after Vols' win vs Auburn
Fox Sports
03-03-2025
- Sport
- Fox Sports
College basketball rankings: Auburn, Duke hold steady at 1-2; Tennessee into top 5
Ahhhhh, March! The glorious month arrived on Saturday with a loaded slate. As if the Southeastern Conference has not flexed its collective muscles enough throughout the season, the league sent a reminder to the nation that it has posted a historic campaign by giving us three top-20 matchups on the first day of college basketball's best month of the year. And in Knoxville, we got an instant taste of madness when Tennessee's Jahmai Mashack hit a 40-footer at the buzzer to give the Volunteers a 79-76 win over Alabama. Rick Barnes' team rallied from down 76-72 with 36 seconds left to score the game's final seven points in wild fashion: Elsewhere in college basketball on Saturday, we saw Auburn and Duke show why they're the nation's top two teams. The Tigers held Kentucky without a field goal for close to 11 minutes, rolling to a 94-78 win in Lexington. Bruce Pearl's team claimed the outright SEC regular-season title with the victory and went to 27-2 overall, showing you must play an A+ game to have a chance at beating them. Why? Because Miles Kelly drilled nine triples and had 30 points, while Chad Baker-Mazara scored 22. Johni Broome? He shot 3-for-9 while a double-figure scorer in Denver Jones attempted just two shots — and it didn't remotely matter. This team defends at a terrific level and is a total nightmare for opponents to guard because the Tigers can answer every question. I'm actually a bit perplexed as to why we're not talking more about Auburn being a generationally great college team. The Tigers lost just one league game and have run away with a title in the SEC, which is tracking to send 13 teams to the NCAA Tournament. [Related: Mike DeCourcy's latest NCAA Tournament projections] When we're talking about dominance, how about Duke? The Blue Devils have won six straight games, each of them coming by at least 18 points. After Cooper Flagg exited in the first half with an eye injury, there were some nerves at Cameron Indoor Stadium about the future No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft being OK. But the superstar freshman did return for the second half and finished with 16 points, six rebounds and four assists in a 100-65 rout of Florida State. For Jon Scheyer's team to be without Tyrese Proctor — who was out due to a knee injury but should be back in the near future — and still win by that margin, even amid a Flagg scare, is proof of how much of a wagon this team is. Duke is No. 1 in KenPom for a reason. While we've led with Auburn and Duke throughout the season, I think it bears noting that Florida has every bit of a shot to cut down the nets in San Antonio this April. The Gators are an offensive juggernaut, shredding a top-10 Texas A&M defense on Saturday night and beating the Aggies 89-70 on 14 made triples. I think the biggest testament to how good Todd Golden's team is at scoring is the fact that All-American guard Walter Clayton shot 3-for-13 from the floor and 2-for-8 from downtown, and it didn't make a difference. That's because senior guard Will Richard was a flamethrower on Saturday night, shooting 9-for-13 from the floor and delivering 25 points, while big man Thomas Haugh was a major matchup problem for the Aggies, going for 17 on 7-of-10 from the floor. How about 21 assists on the night? And on the other side, the Gators shut down Wade Taylor IV to the tune of 3-of-11 as the Aggies dropped their fourth in a row. Three other weekend takeaways: The St. John's Red Storm are more than just back — they're champions. For the first time since 1985, the Johnnies are outright Big East regular-season champions after RJ Luis led the way with 21 points in a title-clinching 71-61 win over Seton Hall in front of a third straight capacity weekend crowd at Madison Square Garden. Rick Pitino's Hall of Fame career has written one of its best chapters ever, as the 72-year-old has elevated St. John's University to a level it hasn't seen in four decades. He's the first college coach to win a regular-season conference title at five different schools and, with his 880th career win on Sunday, he passed Dean Smith for seventh all-time. What a story brewing in Manhattan. Iowa State and Texas Tech made statements on Saturday. For the Red Raiders to win at Allen Fieldhouse and drill 15 triples in the process showed why they can be a dangerous team on the Big Dance floor. Grant McCasland's acquisition of JT Toppin from the transfer portal was a slam dunk. In Ames, the Cyclones got revenge on Arizona and also displayed why they are still a dark horse to reach the Final Four. When they get offensive balance like they did Saturday, with five scoring in double-figures and Milan Momcilovic causing matchup problems with his 3s, they're special because the defense does not waver. Life on the bubble continues to intensify, and we had bubble winners and losers over the weekend. The biggest eyebrow-raising result was John Calipari and Arkansas taking a 19-point loss to a weak South Carolina team. That should push the Razorbacks out of projected fields for now. Georgia totally changed its hopes this week, following a Q1 win over Florida with a dominant road victory at Texas. The Longhorns should be out of projected fields and Rodney Terry's seat is heating up. In the Big Ten, Indiana rolled past Washington behind Malik Reneau, who is such a talent, and Luke Goode, who's showing why Mike Woodson wanted him out of the portal. If the Hoosiers win at Oregon on Tuesday night, they belong in. Either way, their home game against Ohio State on Saturday is a mammoth showdown. Nebraska should be very bubbly after taking a bad loss to Minnesota. And in the Big East, Xavier really helped itself with a 22-point win over Creighton. Zach Freemantle and Ryan Conwell combined for 43. They're underappreciated as a terrific duo in the sport. The Musketeers have won five in a row. If Xavier wins at Butler and then beats Providence this week, it should be on the right side of the bubble. Now here's my top 25: 1. Auburn (27-2) 2. Duke (26-3) 3. Houston (25-4) 4. Florida (25-4) 5. Tennessee (24-5) 6. St. John's (26-4) 7. Alabama (23-6) 8. Michigan State (24-5) 9. Texas Tech (22-7) 10. Clemson (24-5) 11. Iowa State (22-7) 12. Wisconsin (22-7) 13. Louisville (23-6) 14. Maryland (22-7) 15. Memphis (24-5) 16. Saint Mary's (27-4) 17. Missouri (21-8) 18. Purdue (20-9) 19. BYU (21-8) 20. Marquette (22-7) 21. Michigan (22-7) 22. Kentucky (19-10) 23. VCU (24-5) 24. Vanderbilt (20-9) 25. UC San Diego (26-4) John Fanta is a national college basketball broadcaster and writer for FOX Sports. He covers the sport in a variety of capacities, from calling games on FS1 to serving as lead host on the BIG EAST Digital Network to providing commentary on The Field of 68 Media Network. Follow him at @John_Fanta . Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily ! FOLLOW Follow your favorites to personalize your FOX Sports experience College Basketball recommended Get more from College Basketball Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
