Tennessee

How Cameron Carr made ‘one of the best plays’ of the year for Tennessee basketball

Published

1 year ago

December 6, 2023

How Cameron Carr made ‘one of the best plays’ of the year for Tennessee basketball

Rick Barnes would have been fine if Cameron Carr chose to shoot.

The Tennessee basketball freshman was open drifting toward the corner after all. But he didn’t shoot the 3-pointer and instead got the coach’s attention.

“I thought he made one of the best plays we’ve had all year,” Barnes said.

Carr played 2 minutes and 13 seconds in as No. 13 Tennessee (5-3) rolled to an 87-66 win against George Mason (7-2) on Tuesday at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center. It was all he needed: Carr had one rebound and one assist, the latter drawing the large declaration from Barnes.

How Cameron Carr impressed Rick Barnes against George Mason

Carr dribbled toward the baseline instead of shooting a 3-pointer with 25 seconds to play. He took another dribble, pulling George Mason’s Woody Newton away from the paint while Patriots guard Tre Wood trailed the play chasing Carr.

The 6-foot-5 Carr reached the baseline. He bounced a pass to forward J.P. Estrella, who was open thanks to Carr getting Newton to leave the paint. Estrella dunked the ball.

Barnes leaned back in his chair on the Tennessee bench, aware of the moment from Carr.

“I’m telling you, a week ago he would have jacked that shot up and you know what? I would’ve been OK with it because he was open and he had worked a little bit,” Barnes said. “He just didn’t come off the bench. But then he made a great play and just showed his ability. That was a unbelievable pick find because he can pass the ball.”

Cameron Carr has played sparingly for the Vols

Part of Barnes’ adoration for Carr’s pass stemmed from what happened at North Carolina on Nov. 29. Carr played for 10 seconds and shot a 3-pointer in the first half.

“He had no idea what he was doing,” Barnes said.

Carr had played 14 minutes entering Tuesday. He was 2-for-5 shooting, all on 3-pointers. He made one against Tennessee Tech in the season opener and had three assists. He also hit a 3-pointer against Wofford on Nov. 14.

BIG MAN: Tennessee basketball was lost in its loss at North Carolina. It found something in Jonas Aidoo.

The lengthy guard is part of UT’s deep guard group, but is near the bottom of the group behind a bounty of veterans. UT has fifth-year seniors Dalton Knecht, Josiah-Jordan James and Santiago Vescovi, as well as juniors Zakai Zeigler, Joran Gainey and Jahmai Mashack. Redshirt freshman Freddie Dilione V returned Tuesday after missing four games and had three points, two rebounds and an assist in nine minutes.

Carr was the No. 56 recruit in the 247Sports Composite in the 2023 recruiting class. He also had offers from Kansas State, Louisville, Northwestern and Virginia among others.

Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.com and follow him on Twitter @ByMikeWilson. If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it

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Tennessee

Tennessee vs Kentucky – Volunteers Looking for Payback Against Wildcats

Published

3 hours ago

March 23, 2025

Press Room

Tennessee vs Kentucky – Volunteers Looking for Payback Against Wildcats

The Tennessee Volunteers are set to play the Kentucky Wildcats in the sweet sixteen.

After Tennessee defeated UCLA on Saturday and Kentucky defeated Illinois on Sunday, the two SEC programs will face off against one another in the sweet sixteen round.

The two teams faced off against one another twice during the regular season. The first go around, Kentucky won on the road 78-73. A couple of weeks later, the Wildcats defeated the Volunteers again, this time at home, by a final score of 75-64. Needless to say, not the best feeling for Tennessee going into this matchup, but the Volunteers have certainly proven they are one of the best teams in the country.

Kentucky defeated both Troy and Illinois en route to playing Tennessee. The Volunteers went up against Wofford and UCLA. This is the first time in matchup history that both programs will have played in the NCAA tournament.

A date and time has not yet been announced for the matchup.

As the sweet sixteen round approaches, here are the most updated national title odds.

All odds presented by FanDuel.

– Duke +260
– Florida +400
– Auburn +490
– Houston +550
– Tennessee +1600
– Texas Tech +2000
– Alabama +2000
– Iowa State +2700
– Michigan State +3000

The Vols will face the winner of Illinois and Kentucky in the Sweet 16. They have already played both opponents on the year. They are (1-0) vs Illinois with a 2-point win and they went winless against Kentcuy in their two matchups this season. Though with the way Chaz Lanier is scoring at the moment, they are capable of beating anyone.

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Tennessee

Who Will Tennessee Play in Sweet 16 – Previewing Illinois vs Kentucky

Published

14 hours ago

March 23, 2025

Press Room

Who Will Tennessee Play in Sweet 16 – Previewing Illinois vs Kentucky

The Tennessee Volunteers have already secured their trip to the Sweet 16 with their win over UCLA on Saturday night. We take a look at who they might play next round.

The Tennessee Vols are headed to the Sweet 16 after their nine-point win over the UCLA Bruins in the round of 32. The Vols are set to make their third straight Sweet 16 and with experienced guard play from Zakai Zeigler and elite scoring prowess from Chaz Lanier, on top of an elite team defensive effort, the Vols are looking strong entering the next round.

Now, who will they play? Well, let’s take a look at it.

The No. 3 seeded Kentucky Wildcats are set to take on the No. 6 seeded Illinois Fighting Illini on Sunday evening. According to FanDuel, Illinois is actually a 1.5 point favorite in the contest despite being the lower-seeded team. Either way, it’s projected to be a tightly contest basketball game, per the FanDuel odds.

The Vols have played both Illinois and Kentucky this season. They beat Illinois 66-64 back in December. And they were (0-2) against the Wildcats in conference play this season.

The Vols currently have the fifth-best odds to win the NCAA Championship per FanDuel. The current favorites are Duke, Florida, Auburn, Houston, and then Tennessee. The good news for Tennessee, the will avoid everyone but Houston until the Elite 11.

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Chaz Lanier Is On The Verge Of Tennessee Volunteers History

Published

1 day ago

March 23, 2025

Press Room

Chaz Lanier Is On The Verge Of Tennessee Volunteers History

Chaz Lanier is on the verge of history ahead of Tennessee vs UCLA in March Madness

Another Tennessee star is chasing history on Saturday night against the UCLA Bruins. Chaz Lanier is playing in front of Chris Lofton in hopes of breaking the single-season record of threes made in a Vols uniform. Lanier is in his first year with the Vols after transferring in this off-season.

Lofton has made enough history in Knoxville as he has his number retired and Tennessee will never have a No. 5 again.

Lanier is only 3 three-pointers away from breaking the record. Lanier is likely to break the record tonight, but if he doesn’t and the Vols fall short so will his hopes of breaking the record as he is out of eligibility.