KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The No.18/17 Tennessee men’s basketball team is set to continue the 2025-26 slate at Food City Center Saturday as it hosts the Northern Kentucky Norse. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. ET.
Fans can stream Monday’s game on SEC Network+ and the ESPN app. Zach Nelson (play-by-play) and Steve Hamer (color) will have the call.
Fans state-wide can tune in to their local Vol Network radio affiliate to hear New Voice of the Vols Mike Keith and analyst Chris Lofton depict the action.
Tennessee is coming off an exceptional 2024-25 campaign which included 30 victories, a fifth-place finish in the AP Poll, 10 AP top-25 wins–a program record—and a Trip to the Elite Eight. The Vols spent the entire season in the AP top-12, including Five weeks at No. 1 to match their prior all-time total.
Tennessee started its 2025-26 regular season campaign with a 76-61 win over Mercer. Freshman forward Nate Ament, in his collegiate debut, paced a balanced scoring attack with a game-best 19 points to push the Vols to 36-3 all-time in home openers
THE MATCHUP
• Northern Kentucky is the first of three teams on Tennessee’s schedule has never played before, along with North Florida and South Carolina State.
• The Norse are one of two teams on UT’s schedule that Rick Barnes has never coached against. The lone other such school is Rutgers.
• After going 17-16 (11-9) in 2024- 25, Northern Kentucky finished sixth in this year’s Horizon League preseason poll.
• Senior guard Dan Gherezgher, a Preseason Second Team AllHorizon League selection, is the Norse’s top returning scorer after averaging 7.5 ppg last season.
• The Volunteers have played only six all-time games versus the current Horizon League members, posting a 4-2 record.
• Rick Barnes has coached three prior games against the Horizon League membership, going 3-0. He defeated Wright State while at Tennessee, beat Oakland while at Texas and defeated Robert Morris while at Providence.
• Barnes and Darrin Horn have never met as head coaches
NEWS & NOTES
• The Volunteers’ 10 AP top-25 wins and seven AP top-15 victories last year both set school records. Their four AP top-10 triumphs—all were over top-seven foes—tied a program best.
• Tennessee, Alabama and Houston are the only schools to make the last three Sweet 16s. Tennessee, Alabama and Duke are the only three in the last two Elite Eights.
• UT is coming off its second fifthplace KenPom finish in a row. It was sixth in 2022-23 and ninth in 2021-22. Before these four years, the Vols’ best mark in the KenPom era (since 1996-97) was No. 10 in 2018-19 and 2013-14.
• The Vols also finished fifth in the AP Poll and Coaches Poll for the second consecutive season, tying the program best set/tied just one year prior. They were in the AP top 12 all year, with 18 straight top-eight nods to end the year. UT was in the top five 11 times and held the No. 1 spot for five weeks.
• Last season was the first time Tennessee won 30-plus games and made the Elite Eight in the same year.
• The Volunteers are currently on a 37-game non-conference home winning streak, dating to 12/8/20. Per Elias, that is one shy of the second-longest streak in program history. More info is on Page 5.
• Nate Ament is the fifth Tennessee freshman in the last 20 seasons (2006-26) to tally 18 points in a season opener, joining Kennedy Chandler, Jordan Bone, Tobias Harris and Cameron Tatum.
• Tennessee was picked third in the SEC media preseason poll. It marked the Volunteers’ fourth straight top-three selection—no other school has even a two-year streak—and eighth consecutive top-five pick.
• With 837 wins, Rick Barnes leads active DI coaches and ranks ninth all-time (min. 10 years in DI).
• Tennessee’s 202 victories over the last nine seasons (2017-26) rank seventh in DI. Only Houston (244), Gonzaga (240), Duke (221), Kansas (213), Purdue (207) and Auburn (203) own more. After the Vols, the rest of the top 10 is Saint Mary’s (201), Liberty (200), Drake (199) and San Diego State (199).
WINNING WAYS
• Over the last nine seasons (2017-26), Tennessee paces all SEC programs in postseason victories (23), plus sits a close second in total victories and overall winning percentage with a 202-74 (.732) mark. In that period, UT has three SEC titles (2018 and 2024 regular seasons, 2022 tournament).
• In that same span, the Vols are one of two SEC teams with 190-plus wins or an overall winning percentage above .700, alongside Auburn (203-71; .741).
• Over SEC play across the same period, Tennessee (98-45; .685) is first in league victories and league winning percentage. Only Kentucky (97-46; .678), Auburn (96-48; .667) and Alabama (91-53; .632) are also at 85-plus wins and/or a .600 clip.
• In just the last five seasons (2021-26), the Vols own a 110-36 (.753) overall record. That is good for the most wins and the second-best winning percentage in the SEC, ahead of Auburn (109-33; .768) in the former and closely behind it in the latter.
• In that same span, Tennessee (51-21; .708) is co-second, alongside Alabama (51-21; .708), in the SEC in both league victories and league winning percentage. It is behind only Auburn (53-19; .736).
TENNESSEE TABBED THIRD
• Tennessee placed third in the SEC preseason poll, as voted on by a select panel of league and national media members.
• Only Florida, the reigning NCAA champion, and Kentucky finished above Tennessee in the voting. • This was the fourth straight year the Volunteers took a top-three position in the media poll. UT was picked third in 2024-25, first in 2023-24 (it won the league) and third in 2022-23. No other school has a streak of even two years or greater than two total nods across those four campaigns.
• Tennessee has received a top-five position in the preseason media poll eight consecutive years, dating back to the 2018-19 edition. That is the longest streak in the league, with only Alabama (six) and Arkansas (five) also owning an active mark of even two.
POLL PRESENCE
• Tennessee has played 242 games as a ranked team in the AP Poll in Rick Barnes‘ tenure, posting a 182-60 (.752) record. A total of 70.8 percent of the Volunteers’ 342 games since Barnes arrived in 2015-16 have come with the team ranked in the AP Poll, all since 2017-18 (242 of 276, 87.7 percent).
• UT is 160-55 (.744) while in the AP top 20 under Barnes, 128-42 (.753) while top-15, 102-33 (.756) while top-10, 50-15 (.769) while top-five, 25-3 (.893) while top-three and 14-2 (.875) while No. 1.
• The Vols are 38-28 (.576) in AP top-25 matchups under Barnes, including 30-21 (.588) with both teams in the top 20, 20-15 (.571) with both in the top 15 and 11-10 (.524) with both in the top 10.
PRESEASON PLAUDITS
• Nate Amentand Ja’Kobi Gillespie were both named Preseason Second Team All-SEC selections by the media, alongside Florida’s Boogie Fland, Florida’s Thomas Haugh and Missouri’s Mark Mitchell. They were also tabbed second-team choices by the league’s coaches, joining Fland, Mitchell and Ole Miss’ Malik Dia. The Volunteers and Gators were the only teams with multiple first- or second-team designees on either list.
• Ament was one of eight individuals to earn votes for the media’s SEC Preseason Player of the Year, joining Kentucky’s Otega Oweh (honoree), Florida’s Alex Condon, Ole Miss’ Malik Dia, Florida’s Boogie Fland, Florida’s Thomas Haugh, Mississippi State’s Josh Hubbard and Auburn’s Tahaad Pettiford.
• Ament garnered Preseason Third Team All-America recognition from the Blue Ribbon Yearbook. He was also one of just four freshmen named to the 20-man NABC Player of the Year Preseason Watch List, alongside Duke’s Cameron Boozer, BYU’s A.J. Dybantsa and Kansas’ Darryn Peterson. Ament was also selected for the USBWA Wayman Tisdale Award Preseason Watch List.
• Both Ament and Gillespie were tabbed to the Naismith Trophy Preseason Watch List and to the USBWA Oscar Robertson Trophy Preseason Watch List.
• Ja’Kobi Gillespie (Bob Cousy Award), Nate Ament (Julius Erving Award) and Felix Okpara (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award) were all tabbed to the Naismith Starting 5 Top 20 Preseason Watch List at their respective positions.
• UT was one of 16 schools with three-plus Naismith Starting 5 Watch List picks. Only five—Tennessee, Arkansas, Connecticut, Houston and Purdue—had a point guard, shooting guard and small forward
