Tennessee

Inside Igor Milicic Jr’s 18-rebound game for No. 1 Tennessee basketball vs Arkansas

Published

2 days ago

January 4, 2025

Inside Igor Milicic Jr’s 18-rebound game for No. 1 Tennessee basketball vs Arkansas

John Calipari’s first observation about this Tennessee basketball team compared to last year’s is the Vols are a year older.

The second was about “the transfer in.”

The Arkansas coach was talking about Igor Milicic Jr., which was readily apparent as Calipari detailed what that unnamed transfer did Saturday. He stretches the floor for Tennessee. He helps the Vols.

He had double-digit rebounds, the key facet of Calipari’s description as Milicic had the best rebounding performance by a player in coach Rick Barnes’ decade at Tennessee.

“Igor was spectacular,” Barnes said.

Milicic grabbed 18 rebounds with six offensive boards and 13 points as No. 1 Tennessee (14-0, 1-0 SEC) pounded Arkansas (11-3, 0-1) on Saturday at Food City Center. It was his career best and the best by a Vol under Barnes.

Igor Milicic explains his 18 rebounds for Tennessee vs Arkansas

Milicic provided a simplified explanation for his rebounding success. His teammates block out and clear the way for him.

“I just need to go jump and get it,” Milicic said. “It’s not that hard, honestly.”

Milicic made it look that easy against Arkansas. The 6-foot-10 forward had nine rebounds before halftime, notched his 10th rebound 33 seconds into the second half, and kept going.

The Charlotte transfer is the fourth Vol in the past 20 years to have at least 18 rebounds in a game.

Milicic preached consistency as a key to being a good rebounder. You have to keep crashing the boards even when you are tired. You have to accept contact.

Barnes credited Milicic for his anticipation skills, quickness and good hands. He added more credit to his effort. He got that overall against Arkansas as Tennessee outrebounded Arkansas 51-29 with 24 offensive rebounds.

Milicic was the tone-setter because he makes it a priority, guard Zakai Zeigler said.

“Even if he is not shooting the ball well, I can count on him to go get 10 rebounds or go get five O-boards,” Zeigler said. “It is just really impressive he does it day in and day out.”

Why rebounding is fun to Igor Milicic Jr.

Tennessee knew Milicic was a good rebounder coming from Charlotte, where he averaged 8.5 rebounds last season.

His offensive rebounding has impressed. The Vols play faster than Charlotte, which means more rebounding opportunities. They also put more of an emphasis on offensive rebounding than Charlotte, which Milicic has enjoyed.

“It just another opportunity to score,” Milicic said. “It is all of us. We get extra opportunities to score and it shows with the shooting that we have here. It is really fun — and of course sometimes you get a putback, right?”

Milicic is averaging 8.9 rebounds after his 18-rebound game. The only other Vol to average that many in a season in the past 20 years is Jarnell Stokes, who had 9.6 per game in 2012-13 and 10.6 in 2013-14.

The Croatian has three straight games with at least 10 rebounds. He has double-digit rebounds in four of the past five games and six of the past eight. He had nine in one of those games.

He rocketed past those impressive games with his best one yet Saturday. That prompted Calipari’s attention and an understatement when he stated Milicic is “pretty good.”

A more fitting description is the compliment that followed: Milicic is doing what Calipari wishes his players would do. He’s an all-out rebounder and he’s one of the best at it.

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.

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Tennessee

Full list of Tennessee Titans’ 2025 opponents

Published

4 hours ago

January 6, 2025

Press Room

Full list of Tennessee Titans’ 2025 opponents

The Tennessee Titans finished their 2024 campaign by losing to the Houston Texans and earning the No. 1 overall selection in the 2025 NFL Draft. With the regular season now officially over, the final piece of the puzzle for the Titans’ 2025 opponents list has been finalized.

As a result of the NFL’s annually revolving schedule, the Titans will play nine home games and eight on the road. Exact dates and times will be determined later this offseason, including the team’s preseason opponents.

Home

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Seattle Seahawks

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

Considering the Titans are playing a fourth-place schedule, this projects as a difficult home slate. The Chiefs, Rams, and Chargers qualified for the postseason. The Seahawks were the league’s lone 10-win team to miss the playoffs. The Patriots should be improved under Drake Maye and Mike Vrabel (kidding?) next season.

Away

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Denver Broncos

Las Vegas Raiders

Arizona Cardinals

San Francisco 49ers

Cleveland Browns

Tennessee’s road schedule features a ton of long road trips. Denver, Vegas, Arizona, and San Francisco will require the Titans to make some lengthy in-season flights. That’s somewhat concerning after players showed some cracks in difficult environments this season, with Jarvis Brownlee Jr. complaining about the cold in Washington, and Jeffery Simmons saying the team was “suffering from success” after improving to 3-8.

However, you should never assume the league is so static that the teams that were good or bad throughout 2024 will remain that way the following campaign. The NFL regular season schedule will be released at some point in May.

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Tennessee

Meet the 2024 Tennessee high school football all-state teams in Class 1A, 2A, 3A from TSWA

Published

12 hours ago

January 6, 2025

Press Room

Meet the 2024 Tennessee high school football all-state teams in Class 1A, 2A, 3A from TSWA

The Tennessee Sports Writers Association has released Division I all-state football teams for the 2024 TSSAA season.

Below are the all-state teams for Division I, Classes 1A, 2A and 3A.

Class 1A

Offense

Quarterbacks: Tate Surber, McKenzie, Sr.; Nate Adams, Clay County, Sr.; Brody Whittaker, MASE, Sr.

Running backs: Grayson Kreis, Harriman, Sr.; JaMychal Buckner, South Pittsburg, Jr.; Marquis Gardner, Chattanooga Prep, Jr.

Wide receivers: Cole Brown, McKenzie, So.; Nolan Adams, Clay County, Jr.; Ja’Quan Benton, Oliver Springs, Jr.

Offensive linemen: Jamarkus Pittman, MASE, Sr.; Kelan Roberson, Union City, Sr.; Noah Young, Cloudland, Sr.; Aydan Blair, Moore County, Sr.; Xavier Reviere, South Pittsburg, Jr.

Athlete: Amari Cotton, Jo Byrns, Sr.

Kicker: Skyler Fornera, McKenzie, Sr.

Defense

Defensive linemen: Caden Jackson, Oliver Springs, Sr.; Caleb Carroll, Wartburg, Sr.; J.R. Hardrick, South Pittsburg, Jr.; Peyton Martin, Moore County, Sr.

Linebackers: Eli Justice, Coalfield, Sr.; Zac Mahoney, Harriman, Sr.; Stanley Burrow, MASE, Sr.; Akeem Hunt, MASE, So.

Defensive backs: Dayon Cooper, South Pittsburg, So.; Bennett McDougal, Whitwell, Sr.; Devonte Wigfall, Cosby, Sr.; Kaidence Nelson, MASE, So.

Punter: Khari Escobar, Sale Creek, Sr.

Class 2A

Offense

Quarterbacks: Andrew Johnson, Fairley, Jr.; Kason William Young, East Robertson, So.; Tilton Pickett, Marion County, Sr.

Running backs: Jaydon Peete, Milan, Jr.; Cooper White, Westmoreland, Sr.; Dominique Burleson, Hampton, Sr.

Wide receivers: Troyce Grimsley, Fairley, Jr.; Corben Reynolds, Loretto, Jr.; Sam Pickett, Marion County, Sr.

Offensive linemen: Zach Bruggner, Bledsoe County, Sr.; David Lands, Polk County, Sr.; Ben Parr, Milan, Sr.; Bra’Kyrin Cole, Jackson Central-Merry, Sr.; Caleb Woodley, Fairley, Sr.; Hunter Gray, Westmoreland, Sr.

Athlete: Gray Eubanks, Huntingdon, Sr.

Defense

Defensive linemen: Delandis Dandridge, Fairley, Sr.; Kenderrius Robertson, Mitchell, Sr.; Myles Mays, Marion County, Sr.; Zach Groves, East Robertson, Jr.

Linebackers: Taylor Scharber, Marion County, Sr.; Evan Plunkett, Mt. Pleasant, Sr.; Ryan Shaffer, Tellico Plains, Sr.; Quint Smith, Summertown, Sr.

Defensive backs: Austin Franklin, West Greene, Sr.; Lake Drake, York Institute, Sr.; Levi James, Oneida, Sr.; Braden Reed, Tellico Plains, Sr.

Punter: Braydon Case, Mt. Pleasant, Jr.

Class 3A

Offense

Quarterbacks: Graham Simpson, Westview, Fr.; Eli Graf, Alcoa, Sr.; Xavier Murray, White House Heritage, So.

Running backs: Skylan Smith, Covington, Sr.; Lorenz Wright, Memphis East, Jr.; Hicks Hunter, Sycamore, Jr.

Wide receivers: Dontez Joy, Westview, Jr.; Jamir Dean, Alcoa, So.; Radarious Jackson, Sheffield, Sr.

Offensive linemen: Jayden Jackson, East Nashville, Sr.; Josh Phelps, Sequatchie County, Sr.; Lucas Hughes, Meigs County, Jr. ; Jacob Crow, Alcoa, Jr.; Evan Allen, Gatlinburg-Pittman, Sr.; Marlee Watts, Alcoa, So.

Athlete: Ronye Watson, Chattanooga Central, Sr.Kicker: Kyrin Tyson, Alcoa, Jr.

Defense

Defensive linemen: Jaeden Isbell, Tyner, Sr.; Jamir Turner, Alcoa, Sr.; Deangelo Franklin, Sheffield, Jr.; Jaxon Cupples, Westview, Jr.

Linebackers: Kason Hicks, Sequatchie County, Jr.; Sam Cretsinger, Johnson County, Sr.; Eli Owens, Alcoa, Sr.; Craig Huskey, Gatlinburg-Pittman, Jr.

Defensive backs: Condis Cherry, Alcoa, So.; Dason Springer, White House Heritage, Sr.; Antoni Morton, East Nashville, Sr.; Hunter Minton, Sequatchie County, So.

Punter: Grant Garner, Liberty Creek, So.

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Tennessee

Tennessee Titans 2025 opponents set with fourth-place AFC South schedule

Published

19 hours ago

January 5, 2025

Press Room

Tennessee Titans 2025 opponents set with fourth-place AFC South schedule

The Tennessee Titans’ full list of 2025 opponents is set as the fourth-place team in the AFC South.

Tennessee will play six divisional games, plus games against teams from the AFC West and NFC West. The Titans also will also play the Browns, Saints and Patriots as fellow last-place teams from their respective divisions.

The Titans’ offseason became more interesting on Sunday when they earned the No. 1 overall pick in April’s NFL draft via the Week 18 loss to Houston and New England’s win over Buffalo.

Here’s the full list of the Titans regular-season opponents in 2025.