Tennessee
Cade Phillips is a star role player for Tennessee basketball. How he’s affecting the Vols
Cade Phillips was 40 feet away from the rim when he pointed at it Tuesday.
The Tennessee basketball forward saw what was going to happen when he was still a long ways off. Guard Zakai Zeigler had the ball on the opposite wing when Phillips pointed. He held his left arm high as Zeigler then tossed a lob from the elbow.
Phillips sailed, snared it with two hands and slammed it. The sophomore played it perfectly — just as he has been doing often this season in his increasingly essential role.
“When Cade checks in, it is just like a boost of energy,” senior guard Chaz Lanier said. “He is super athletic — probably one of the most athletic people I have played with. Just a boost of energy and intensity.”
Phillips is a star as a role player for Tennessee, which was on full display again for No. 3 Tennessee (8-0) as it smashed Syracuse (4-3) by a score of 96-70 on Tuesday at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center.
How Cade Phillips is starring in his role for Tennessee
Phillips can define the core of his role well.
“I think is is to be as versatile on both ends of the floor as possible,” Phillips said.
There is something to be said for a player who knows his role. There is even more to be said for a player who does it well. Phillips deserves recognition for both during Tennessee’s torrid eight-game start to the season.
“The more and more he is out there … he is feeling more and more at ease doing some things,” Vols coach Rick Barnes said.
Offensively, Phillips maximizes who he is as a 6-foot-9 forward. He runs and cuts hard. He is strong enough now to bump defenders with a hard dribble and score through contact — he did both in his 10-point first half Tuesday. He’s a solid floor-spacer.
On the other end, the Alabama native is a potentially diabolical defender. Barnes has voiced the Vols view Phillips as a Jahmai Mashack-caliber player. In other words, Phillips can guard all five positions on the court but as a forward. That ability comes from athleticism and length.
He rebounds ferociously on both ends and it is an innate skill for him.
But it all comes back to versatility.
“As the season is progressing, I am getting more and more comfortable I feel like,” Phillips said.
What is next for Cade Phillips?
Phillips wasn’t supposed to play last season. He was going to redshirt then the senior pair of Santiago Vescovi and Josiah-Jordan James insisted Phillips would help the Vols. He did early as a freshman then his role diminished later in the season.
Vescovi’s reasoning was Phillips was so active he could play immediately. That is what earned Phillips trust. That remains part of the process.
“It gets down to the more consistency you get doing certain things, you earn trust,” Barnes said. “Not only I think with your coaches and your teammates, but most importantly with yourself. You realize I have this down now and I can take another step.
“We have watched Cade do that.”
Phillips is averaging 7.4 points and 4.8 rebounds in 18.3 minutes per game, a stellar stat line as he splits time between UT’s two forward positions. He is tied for the team lead with 20 offensive rebounds, which is more than his 18 defensive rebounds. He has nine blocks and only nine fouls, a great ratio to possess.
Barnes expects that an expanded offensive game is out there for Phillips. That’ll be a process. The immediate focus is handling success well as it keeps coming.
“Cade is going to do everything he can,” Barnes said. “He has got a little bit of a stubborn streak where when he messes up, he wants to come back and fix it right away.”
On second thought, it’s something else — and something central to Phillips perfecting his role as he develops.
“It is probably more of a competitive spirit,” Barnes.
Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.com and follow him on X @ByMikeWilson or Bluesky @bymikewilson.bsky.social. If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it.
Tennessee
What channel is Vanderbilt baseball vs Tennessee on today? Time, TV schedule to watch game
Vanderbilt baseball is back home in SEC play against Tennessee, beginning on March 27 at Hawkins Field.
The Commodores (14-12, 2-4 SEC) were swept at Mississippi State last weekend to fall below .500 early in league play.
Tennessee (18-7, 3-3) lost the Friday opener to Missouri last weekend, then rebounded with two wins to take the series.
Here’s how you can watch Vanderbilt baseball vs Tennessee:
Vanderbilt baseball vs Tennessee on March 27 will be televised on SEC Network.
- Game 1 start time: 7 p.m on March 27, ESPNU
- Game 2 start time: 1 p.m. on March 28, SEC Network
- Game 3 start time: 11 a.m on March 29, ESPN2
- Feb. 13: vs. TCU in Arlington, Texas, L 5-4
- Feb. 14: vs. Texas Tech in Arlington, Texas, W 13-3 (8 innings)
- Feb. 15: vs. Oklahoma State in Arlington, Texas, L 11-1 (8 innings)
- Feb. 17: Eastern Michigan, W 13-2 (7 innings)
- Feb. 18: Eastern Michigan, W 16-2 (8 innings)
- Feb. 20: Marist, W 16-5 (8 innings)
- Feb. 21: Marist, W 12-1 (7 innings)
- Feb. 22: Marist, W 8-1
- Feb. 24: Evansville, W 15-3 (7 innings)
- Feb. 27: vs. UC Irvine in Las Vegas, L 9-4
- Feb. 28: vs. Arizona State in Las Vegas, L 5-1
- March 1: vs. Oregon in Las Vegas, L 6-4
- March 3: Central Arkansas, L 5-4
- March 4: Troy, W 4-1
- March 6: North Dakota State, W 14-2 (7 innings)
- March 7: North Dakota State, W 10-0 (8 innings)
- March 8: North Dakota State, L 5-2
- March 10: Indiana State, W 14-6
- March 13: LSU, W 13-12
- March 14: LSU, W 11-3
- March 15: LSU, L 16-9
- March 17: Indiana, L 5-1
- March 20: at Mississippi State, L 4-2
- March 21: at Mississippi State, L 7-2
- March 22: at Mississippi State, L 17-7 (7)
- March 24: Tennessee Tech, W 15-5 (8)
- March 27: Tennessee, 7 p.m on ESPNU
- March 28: Tennessee, 1 p.m on SEC Network
- March 29: Tennessee, 11 a.m on ESPN2
- March 31: Belmont
- April 2-4: at Texas A&M
- April 7: EKU
- April 9-11: Oklahoma
- April 14: Lipscomb
- April 17-19: Kentucky
- April 21: Xavier
- April 24-26: Texas
- April 28: MTSU
- April 30-May 2: at Alabama
- May 5: Louisville
- May 8-10: at Missouri
- May 14-16: South Carolina
CHICAGO – As Tennessee basketball’s newest Sweet 16 team was on the court at the United Center, prepping for Iowa State, the best pure shooter in the building sat on the side in a hoodie.
Chris Lofton, as always, was looking for his shot.
“I’m ready to shoot now, you know?” he said with a laugh. “When they start stretching, I’ll get a shot up or two for sure. I tell Mike (Keith) all the time, ‘If we go to the gym and there’s a basketball, I have to shoot it.’ That’s just a rule. I’ve got to shoot at least once.”
Though his last professional basketball game was in 2019, Lofton still gets on the court occasionally, and when he does, he can still shoot it.
Tennessee star freshman Nate Ament can confirm. He’s seen it.
“Really good,” Ament said of Lofton. “Even now.”
He’s a radio guy now, though.
Lofton is finishing a season back in Knoxville as part of the newly built Vol Network crew for men’s basketball games. He has been working with new play-by-play man Mike Keith, the former voice of the Tennessee Titans, among those tasked with replacing longtime Vols duo of Bob Kesling and Bert Bertelkamp.
“Mike has been great,” Lofton said, “teaching me a lot. I’m learning so much. It’s been fun just to be back around Tennessee basketball as much as I’ve been this year. I’m VFL. I bleed orange. It doesn’t get any better than this.”
In a game of horse, I’d still take Lofton against anyone. Vols fans old enough to remember watching him play for Tennessee (2004-08), I’d imagine many of y’all would, too.
This guy is a myth, a Tennessee legend. Unforgettable because of magical moments during games as “the best bad-shot-maker I’ve ever coached,” said former Vols coach Bruce Pearl, and because of his inspirational personal story. The circumstances of Lofton’s final UT season, during which he played through a secret cancer diagnosis, comprised a recent ESPN documentary.
The old heads know. And I’ve got something to make those old heads feel a bit older:
Lofton is about to turn 40.
The last day of his 30s, in fact, was practice day at the United Center on the eve of 2026 Men’s NCAA Tournament regional games there. He’ll celebrate while working. Lofton’s 40th birthday will be March 27, same day that Tennessee faces Iowa State in the Sweet 16.
“I’m telling you,” Lofton said, “it goes by fast.”
The opportunity “came out of nowhere,” said Lofton. He’d been through the NBA’s coaching program a couple of years ago, and he was close to landing a scouting job with the Boston Celtics last year.
Lofton hadn’t envisioned a detour through media until he got the call in October – and he recoiled initially. “I’ll get back to you,” Lofton told them at the time, all the while thinking, “Talking on the radio? That’s not me.”
But Lofton thought more about it, figuring “Why not? What else do I have to do?” Since then, Lofton has thrown himself into the role.
“Just like he was as a basketball player,” Keith said, “he wants to be good at it.”
This season’s Vol Network hoops team included Keith, Lofton, former UT player Steve Hamer and John Wilkerson, the play-by-play man for Vols baseball.
Since baseball season started for Wilkerson, Lofton has consistently been a part of Tennessee’s broadcasts despite jumping in short-notice to a new career path with no previous experience.
“What Chris has done has been amazing,” Keith said. “Nothing short of amazing, considering his background in (radio) – which was non-existent – his sort of knowledge of how it works and his interest in it before he was contacted in October. …
“If you listen to him from a broadcast in November or December to now, it’s a totally different guy.”
Keith added that “it’s going to be off the charts” for Lofton in Year 2, given how much he has improved.
All Lofton has decided for his post-playing future is that wants to stay in basketball. He hasn’t ruled out a career in coaching or scouting.
But he does love what he’s doing now, he said.
“I open to whatever, honestly,” Lofton said. “I love what I do now. I would love to be more involved on the court, for sure, but it might just be here (on radio).”
Reach Tennessean sports columnist Gentry Estes at gestes@tennessean.com and hang out with him on Bluesky @gentryestes.bsky.social
Trump ‘I did that’ stickers on gas pumps, a callback to Biden
During record-high gas prices under Biden, stickers appeared on gas pumps with his picture saying ‘I did that.’ Now they have Trump’s face on them.
Gas prices remain a significant issue as the conflict with Iran persists, prompting the United States government and individual states to take action against the rising costs.
On Feb. 28, President Donald Trump ordered strikes on Iran, which the country then responded to by closing the Strait of Hormuz. This blocked about a fifth of the world’s oil from moving to global markets, including the United States.
Since the war began last month and the Strait was closed, gas prices across the country have risen by over $1, and in Tennessee, they have increased by $1.10. While these prices may seem exorbitant, it was only a few years ago that the entire nation saw its highest recorded gas prices.
Here’s the record for the highest gasoline price in Tennessee.
What is the highest price for gas in Tennessee?
According to the AAA gas price tracker, the highest recorded price for a gallon of regular gas was on June 12, 2022, at $4.64. Diesel hit its record high three days later at $5.64.
This is the recorded high for the state average; however, localities have different records, all established around the same time.
Here are the highest recorded prices for gas in Tennessee’s major cities:
- Chattanooga: $4.60 on June 10, 2022, for regular; $5.52 on June 14, 2022, for diesel.
- Clarksville: $4.71 on June 9, 2022, for regular; $5.71 on June 15, 2022, for diesel.
- Jackson: $4.69 on June 16, 2022, for regular; $5.70 on June 21, 2022, for diesel.
- Johnson City: $4.62 on June 10, 2022, for regular; $5.70 on June 11, 2022, for diesel.
- Kingsport: $4.60 on June 12, 2022, for regular; $5.66 on June 12, 2022, for diesel.
- Knoxville: $4.65 on Sept. 15, 2008, for regular; $5.66 on June 10, 2022, for diesel.
- Memphis: $4.65 on June 14, 2022, for regular; $5.60 on June 18, 2022, for diesel.
- Morristown: $4.63 on June 13, 2022, for regular; $5.67 on June 20, 2022, for diesel.
- Nashville: $4.68 on June 10, 2022, for regular; $5.68 on June 15, 2022, for diesel.
How high are gas prices in Tennessee now?
Here are the recently tracked dates for the prices of a gallon of gasoline in Tennessee:
- March 11: $3.20 for regular, $4.78 for diesel
- March 19: $3.59 for regular, $5 for diesel
- March 24: $3.65 for regular, $5.27 for diesel
A month ago, a few days before the United States and Israel initiated the war with Iran, regular gas was $2.55, and diesel was $3.40.
DeKalb County has the highest regular gasoline price at $3.86 on March 25. Hancock County has the lowest price at $3.50.
Of the state’s major metropolitan areas, Knoxville has the cheapest regular gas at $3.60. Chattanooga and Memphis follow at $3.62 and $3.64, respectively. Nashville has the highest price at $3.69.
What is the gas tax in Tennessee?
In the United States, there are two taxes added to gasoline when you go to fill up your vehicle. The first tax is the national tax, and the second is the state tax.
In the United States, the federal government collects a flat rate of 18.4 cents per gallon from residents in every state. This tax is included in the price seen at the pump.
According to the Tennessee Department of Transportation, the gasoline tax in Tennessee is 26 cents, effective July 1, 2019. For diesel fuel, the tax is 27 cents.
Tennessee House Democrats are urging a statewide gas and diesel tax holiday to lower pump prices. In a March 24 press release, State Representatives Bo Mitchell and John Ray Clemmons asked Governor Bill Lee and their Republican colleagues to set aside funding in the FY26-27 Budget Amendment currently being discussed for prompt tax relief for families.
Which states have the highest gas taxes?
All 50 states have a gas tax charged per gallon at the pump, but some states’ gas taxes are up to eight times those of others.
These are the states with the highest gas taxes as of September 2025:
- California: 70.92 cents per gallon
- Illinois: 66.4 cents per gallon
- Washington: 59.04 cents per gallon
- Pennsylvania: 58.7 cents per gallon
- Indiana: 54.5 cents per gallon
Conversely, these states have the lowest gas taxes in the United States:
- Alaska: 8.95 cents per gallon
- Hawaii: 18.5 cents per gallon
- New Mexico: 18.88 cents per gallon
- Arizona: 19 cents per gallon
- Oklahoma and Texas: 20 cents per gallon
USA TODAY contributed to this report.
Jordan Green covers trending news for The Commercial Appeal and Tennessee. She can be reached at jordan.green@commercialappeal.com.
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