KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee men’s basketball team (17-7, 7-4) is set to continue the 2025-26 slate Saturday, as it returns to Knoxville to face the LSU Tigers (14-10, 2-9) at Food City Center. Tipoff is set for 6:00 p.m. ET.
The first 1,000 students in attendance will receive a “Dark Mode” shirt, courtesy of Food City and Cheetos.
Fans can watch Wednesday’s game on SEC Network and stream on the ESPN App. Mike Morgan (play-by-play) and Mark Wise (color) will have the call.
Fans state-wide can tune in to their local Vol Network radio affiliate to hear Voice of the Vols Mike Keith and analyst Chris Lofton depict the action.
THE MATCHUP
• With a Tennessee win, LSU would become the eighth school the Vols have defeated 70-plus times.
• UT has won its last four games against LSU, with three by at least 14 and two by 20-plus. Before that stretch, the Volunteers dropped four in a row, three by at least 12.
• Of last 19 series meetings, since 3/11/10, 15 have been determined by double figures, with 10 by 14- plus, six by 18-plus and four by 20-plus. The average margin of victory in that span is 13.6 ppg. UT is 12-7 in those 19 games, including 10-5 in the double-digit affairs.
• Only one of the past 21 matchups, dating to 1/28/09, has featured a final margin within four points.
• Felix Okpara had 15 points, now the fourth-most of his career, last year at LSU. He went 6-of-6 from the floor and 3-of-3 at the line.
• LSU head coach Matt McMahon hails from Oak Ridge, Tenn., just 26 miles west of Food City Center.
• Coming off a 14-18 (3-15) showing in 2024-25, the Tigers were picked No. 15 in the SEC preseason poll.
• Junior guard Dedan Thomas Jr. leads LSU at 15.3 ppg and 6.5 apg.
NEWS & NOTES
• Tennessee is 15-13 (12-12 SEC) all-time on Valentine’s Day, including 8-5 (7-4 SEC) on its home court.
• Rick Barnes‘ 853 wins co-lead all active DI coaches and rank co-ninth all-time (min. 10 years in DI).
• UT’s next victory will give Rick Barnes 250 with the Volunteers. He would be the ninth coach all-time (third active) with 250 wins at two DI schools. The others are Dana Altman, Fran Dunphy, Lou Henson, Bob Huggins, Jim Larrañaga, Kelvin Sampson, Eddie Sutton and Roy Williams.
• Nate Ament scored 16-plus points in each of UT’s last nine outings, with 22-plus in five of them and 28-plus in three. He is averaging a team-best 22.2 ppg in that span, while shooting 46.2% from the floor, 41.7% from deep and 81.8% at the stripe. He has 77 free-throw attempts over that stretch (8.6 per game), with nine-plus in five.
• Bishop Boswell, at 6-foot-4, has seven-plus boards in each of the last five games, after hitting that mark twice previously in his career. He is ninth in the league in SEC play at 6.7 rpg.
• UT’s 44.7 offensive rebounding percentage is on pace to be, per KenPom, the fourth-best mark this century. It trails only the 2000-01 Michigan State (47.0), 2000-01 Georgetown (45.3) and 2010-11 Old Dominion (44.9).
• The Volunteers have played just two games this year that did not include a lead of 10-plus either way, an overtime win at Georgia (1/28/26) and a loss at Syracuse (12/2/25). Of UT’s 24 contests, 18 have featured a lead of 14-plus, with 13 at 23-plus.
• 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 finished a program-best fifth in the AP Poll, Coaches Poll and KenPom in 2023-24 and 2024-25.
• The Volunteers’ 218 wins the last nine years (2017-26) rank eighth in DI. Only Houston (265), Gonzaga (263), Duke (242), Kansas (231), Purdue (226), Saint Mary’s (222) and Liberty (220) possess more. Arizona (217) and Auburn (216) round out the top 10.
WINNING WAYS
• Over the last nine seasons (2017-26), Tennessee (218- 81; .729) paces all SEC programs in total victories, overall winning percentage and postseason victories (23). In that span, UT has three SEC titles (2018 and 2024 regular seasons, 2022 tournament).
• In that same period, the Volunteers are one of two SEC teams with even 205-plus wins and/or a winning percentage above .695, alongside Auburn (216-81; .727).
• Over SEC play across the same period, Tennessee (105-49; .682) is tied with Kentucky (105-49; .682) for first in both league victories and league winning percentage and league victories. The only other school at even 95-plus wins and/or a .605 clip are Auburn (101-54; .652) and Alabama (98-57; .632).
• In just the last five seasons (2021-26), the Vols own a 126-43 (.746) overall record. That is good for the most total wins and the best winning percentage in the SEC, ahead of Auburn (.739; 122-43).
• In that time, Tennessee (58-25; .699) ties Alabama (58-25; .699) and Auburn (58-25; .699) for first in league victories and league winning percentage.
DISHING OUT DIMES
• In each of Tennessee’s first three games of the season—wins over Mercer (11/3/25), Northern Kentucky (11/8/25) and North Florida (11/12/25)— two different players had five-plus assists. The Volunteers had that happen just four total times during the 2024-25 season.
• The first four instances were recorded by four different players. Ja’Kobi Gillespie (six) and Ethan Burg (five) did it against Mercer, while it was Nate Ament (five) and Troy Henderson (five) versus Northern Kentucky. Gillespie (seven) and Ament (five) achieved the feat against North Florida.
• In 2024-25, only three different Volunteers had five-plus assists in a game at any point in the year.
• Against Northern Kentucky, Troy Henderson became the first UT freshman with five-plus assists and zero turnovers in a game since Kennedy Chandler (seven) on 3/13/22 in the SEC Tournament title game win over Texas A&M in Tampa, Fla.
• After notching 19 assists in the opener versus Mercer (11/3/25), Tennessee had 24 assists against Northern Kentucky (11/8/25), its most since 11/13/24 versus Montana (24). The Volunteers eclipsed that number with 26 against North Florida (11/12/25), their top tally since 2/17/24 against Vanderbilt (28). UT then posted 23 versus Rice (11/20/25), giving the team three straight games at 23-plus, and followed that with 20 against Tennessee State (11/20/25) for a fourth consecutive game at 20-plus.
• Bishop Boswell had five assists versus Rutgers (11/24/25) in Las Vegas, becoming the fifth different Vol to hit that mark in the first six games. Tennessee finished with 18 assists in the win, its sixth straight contest with at least that many to open the year.
• Tennessee had 30 assists on 39 made field goals against South Carolina State (12/30/25). It marked UT’s largest total under Rick Barnes, its top count versus a Division I foe since 11/17/2009 (34 against UNC Asheville) and the co-fourth-most in any game in program history.
• In that victory over the Bulldogs to cap 2025, three Volunteers had six-plus assists. Ja’Kobi Gillespie logged eight, while Bishop Boswell and Troy Henderson each had six to set career highs. It marked the first time in the last 20 seasons (2006- 26) three UT players had at least a half-dozen assists in the same game.
• Three Volunteers had five-plus assists in the road win at Mississippi State (2/11/26). Bishop Boswell (eight) set a career high, Nate Ament (five) tied his top tally and Ja’Kobi Gillespie (five) rounded out the group. It marked the sixth such instance for UT in SEC play over the last 20 years (2006-26).
• Through 24 games, Tennessee has registered 13-plus assists on 21 occasions, with 17-plus 15 times, 20-plus six times and 23-plus four times. Its highest figure in a game is 30.
BEASTS ON THE BOARDS
• Tennessee leads the nation, according to KenPom, with a 44.7 offensive rebounding percentage. That is 2.0 percent above second-ranked Florida (42.7) and 4.9 ahead of third-place Virginia (39.8).
• UT is on pace, per KenPom, to be the fourth-best offensive rebounding team this century. The Vols trail only 2000-01 Michigan State (47.0), 2000- 01 Georgetown (45.3) and 2010-11 Old Dominion (44.9).
• The Volunteers have logged double-digit offensive rebounds in 23 of 24 games, with 13-plus in 19, 15- plus in 15, 20-plus in five and 23-plus in three. Their top tally is 26.
• UT is second in Division I in rebounding margin (13.1), second in offensive rebounds per game (15.79) and fourth in total rebounds per game (43.21).
• The Vols have grabbed at least 35 total boards in 21 of 24 contests, with 40-plus in 15, 45-plus in 12 and 50-plus in six. Their highest mark is 60.
• Jaylen Carey (four times), J.P. Estrella (three), Felix Okpara (three), Bishop Boswell (two), DeWayne Brown II (two) and Nate Ament (one) have all amassed 10 total rebounds in a game this season.
• Per KenPom, Jaylen Carey is fifth in the country with his 18.3 offensive rebounding percentage.
• In his second start, versus Gardner-Webb (12/21/25), DeWayne Brown II had 14 rebounds. He tied Grant Williams (3/1/17), Jarnell Stokes (3/3/12) and Brian Williams (12/15/07) for the most by a UT freshman in the last 20 seasons (2006-26). He also tied the fifth-highest total by any Vol in the Rick Barnes era.
• The Volunteers pulled down 60 rebounds in the double-overtime victory against Texas A&M (1/13/26) and conceded just 35 (plus-25). It marked their first time with 55-plus rebounds since grabbing 58 on 11/18/08 versus UT Martin. UT had 24 offensive boards and allowed only 10 (plus-14). Jaylen Carey (10p, 9r) was one rebound away from giving Tennessee three players with double-digit boards and double-doubles, as Bishop Boswell (13p, 11r) and Felix Okpara (10p, 12r) both hit that mark.
• In the overtime win at Georgia (1/28/26), Tennessee grabbed 52 rebounds and allowed only 27 (plus25). It also pulled down an astounding 26 offensive boards while giving up just seven (plus-19). Two Vols, J.P. Estrella and Felix Okpara, had as many offensive boards individually as the Bulldogs did as a team. Bishop Boswell (13p, 10r) tallied a doubledouble, while Estrella (17p, 9r) and Okpara (6p, 11r) nearly did so.
• In the victory against Auburn (1/31/26), Tennessee had four players—Nate Ament, Bishop Boswell, Jaylen Carey and Amari Evans—grab eight rebounds. It marked the second such instance for the Volunteers in the last 20 seasons (2006-26), alongside a 12/23/13 game versus Morehead State. DeWayne Brown II gave UT five players with seven-plus boards, the first such occurrence for UT in the last two decades and just the fourth by any SEC team in league play.
• At Kentucky (2/7/26), DeWayne Brown II pulled down a game-best 12 rebounds. That tied for the third-most by a Tennessee freshman in an SEC game the last 20 seasons (2006-26). The only others to hit that mark are Grant Williams (14 on 3/1/17 at LSU), Jarnell Stokes (14 on 3/3/12 against Vanderbilt), Tobias Harris (12 on 1/29/11 at Ole Miss) and Wayne Chism (12 on 2/10/07 against Vanderbilt).
