Tennessee

Late Game Coaching Decision Pays Dividends For Tennessee Basketball Against Auburn | Rocky Top Insider

Published

1 year ago

March 15, 2025

Late Game Coaching Decision Pays Dividends For Tennessee Basketball Against Auburn | Rocky Top Insider

Photo By Andrew Ferguson/Tennessee Athletics

NASHVILLE, Tn. — Auburn’s Johni Broome was giving Tennessee fits. The Vols’ were playing strong defense and cutting off the tap for every Tiger besides the SEC Player of the Year.

That’s when Tennessee made a significant coaching move, sending a double team at Johni Broome while getting critical stops late in a 70-65 win.

“It worked out,” Tennessee associate head coach Justin Gainey said. “It ended up working out for us and forced them to shoot some jumpers. It was an adjustment that we made that worked.”

With just under four minutes left in the game, Broome had scored 23 points on nine-of-11 shooting from the field. Tennessee was playing good defense but Broome was delivering big buckets when Auburn was pulling away from the Vols.

After a few mistakes early in the game, Felix Okpara was doing a good job defending Broome but the SEC Player of the Year was still scoring.

“He had a lot of points at that time,” senior guard Jordan Gainey said. “We were making sure someone else scored and not him

“We wanted to be there on the catch that he couldn’t just pick you apart with the pass as you’re coming,” Justin Gainey said. “I thought we did a good job of that but it is tough. He had it going. He was in a flow. It felt like the other guys hadn’t really had touches and weren’t in rhythm so they’re going to be taking shots out of rhythm.”

Double teaming Broome is a risky proposition with how good of a passer the big man is. But with Auburn’s guards struggling, Tennessee was going to force anyone other than Broome beat them.

More From RTI: Johni Broome Compliments Tennessee After Being Eliminated by the Volunteers

Tennessee first doubled Broome with 3:12 left and Auburn ended up getting to the free throw line and making one of two attempts. Doubling Broome on the catch was a focal point for Tennessee because of his ability to “pick you apart” if he watches the double team coming.

The next possession, the Vols were a bit late and had just showed a double team when Broome whipped a pass to the corner and Miles Kelly missed a three-pointer.

On the next possession, Cade Phillips was there to double team Broome on the catch and the 6-foot-10 big mean threw a high pass to Kelly in the corner. That high pass slowed things down just enough. When Kelly swung the ball to Denver Jones, Phillips was there to contest and Jones’ shot missed.

“He’s a really good passer but we kind of kept his vision away,” senior guard Jahmai Mashack said. “Made it tough for him so I think being able to get to shooters when he passed it out, I think it was great executing on our part.”

“Getting into those scramble drills and getting out and running around is nothing new to us,” Phillips said. “We love that. We love the chaos of it. So getting the ball out of his hands where they’re swinging the ball around trying to find an advantage, we’ve got guys everywhere that can move and love to defend.”

On three possessions where Tennessee double teamed or showed a double team on Broome, the Tigers scored just one-point. Broome did not score in the final four minutes after Tennessee adjusted its defensive strategy.

With key stops down the stretch and a couple of big buckets, Tennessee held on to defeat Auburn and advance to the SEC Tournament Championship.

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Tennessee

Memphis voters file federal lawsuit against new congressional map, claiming discrimination: ‘White control over Tennessee politics’

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5 hours ago

May 12, 2026

Press Room

Memphis voters file federal lawsuit against new congressional map, claiming discrimination: ‘White control over Tennessee politics’

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WSMV) – Three Memphis voters, through the American Civil Liberties Union, have filed a federal lawsuit against Tennessee leaders, claiming the state’s new congressional maps are discriminating against Black voters.

The ACLU announced the lawsuit on Monday, saying that three organizations — the Black Clergy Collaborative of Memphis, the Memphis A. Philip Randolph Institute and the Equity Alliance, are also part of the lawsuit that was filed against Sec. of State Tre Hargett, Coordinator of Elections Mark Goins and several others.

“In May 2026, over the course of mere days, a White-dominated supermajority of the Tennessee General Assembly redrew Tennessee’s congressional map to crack the predominantly Black city of Memphis into three pieces and destroy the only district in which Black voters are able to elect representatives of their choice, shutting Black voters completely out of power in federal elections in Tennessee,” the filing states.

The ACLU and the other plaintiffs echo arguments made by Democrats while the maps were being debated during last week’s special session: “The cracking of Memphis unlawfully targeted Black voters.”

“The new plan carves through the center of Tennessee’s second largest city, dividing neighborhoods that have voted together for decades, splitting numerous counties and precincts, and cutting the Black population into thirds with suspect precision,” the lawsuit says. “The districts then run hundreds of miles east towards the Nashville suburbs, snaking through predominantly White and rural counties to dilute the voting power of now-divided Black Memphians.”

Gov. Bill Lee signed the new congressional map into law last week. The new map splits Shelby County, home of Memphis, into three districts.

Republicans have said the map modernizes the districting process and removes “racial data from the mapmaking process entirely.” Democrats, on the other hand, say that the move is meant to dismantle the Black-majority district.

Tennessee Speaker of the House Cameron Sexton (R) told WSMV that Republicans “have been very clear” on their intention to secure a ninth Republican seat in the state. He has said the map would help “ensure the state’s representation in Washington reflects its conservative values.”

The lawsuit draws significant attention to the racial makeup of Tennessee lawmakers, describing, “White control over Tennessee politics.” Plaintiffs allege that a white majority “faction” of state leaders “gave bizarre, robotic answers to the most basic questions about the map they were sponsoring.”

“None of the sponsors of the plan would admit who actually drew it, and the lead Senate sponsor—a White legislator with over a decade of service in the Tennessee General Assembly who had attended law school in Memphis — would not say whether Memphis was predominantly Black and claimed not to know that Congressional District 9 was a majority- Black district,” the filing says.

They seem to be referencing Sen. John Stevens (R-Huntingdon), who was asked during the special session if he was aware that the majority of the residents in the ninth district are Black.

“I’m not aware,” he responded. “I know how the map is divided, but I don’t know the racial makeup of the map.”

Stevens got his juris doctorate from the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law.

The three Memphis residents who took part in the lawsuit are Amber Sherman, a lifelong resident of Memphis and the lead Tennessee regional organizer for Black Voters Matter Fund, Rachael Spriggs, a Memphis resident for more than 20 years who is the director of Power Building for the Equity Alliance, and Kermit Moore, a nearly lifelong resident of Memphis who is the president of the Memphis A. Philip Randolph Institute.

The lawsuit claims intentional discrimination in violation of the 14th and 15th Amendments, as well as retaliation for protected expression and association in violation of the First Amendment.

Plaintiffs are asking the court to declare that the newly drawn map is unconstitutional and restore district lines before primary elections proceed.

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Tennessee

New Tennessee law allows K9 officers to be transported by helicopter, ambulance to vet

Published

17 hours ago

May 11, 2026

Press Room

New Tennessee law allows K9 officers to be transported by helicopter, ambulance to vet

Tennessee State Senators Michele Reneau of Signal Mountain and Bo Watson of Hixson spoke today about the new law supporting police K-9’s.

The act allows injured dogs to get stabilization services on-site and then be transported via ambulance or helicopter to a vet hospital.

“In the past, officers were basically putting the k9 in their car and transporting them in their in their own vehicle, they didn’t have an ambulance or an air ambulance,” said Senator Watson. “This allows for an air ambulance. It also allows for a educational program for those in EMS, who will be taught how to manage canines emergency medical condition, which is different than a human’s.”

In April, Erlanger flew a K9 officer from Clay County, to North Carolina.

It was the first time the program was used for a live transport after several training runs.

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What You Need to Know About Tennessee Softball’s Path to Another WCWS | Rocky Top Insider

Published

1 day ago

May 11, 2026

Press Room

What You Need to Know About Tennessee Softball’s Path to Another WCWS | Rocky Top Insider

Tennessee softball’s path back to the Women’s College World Series is set. On Sunday night, the Lady Vols were named the No. 7 overall seed in the 2026 NCAA Tournament and will host the regional stage in Knoxville as it looks to return to the WCWS in back-to-back seasons.

The Lady Vols are matched up with Virginia, Indiana and Northern Kentucky in the regionals. It would play Georgia, Clemson, UNC Greensboro or Charleston in the super regionals.

Ahead of the tournament, here’s a look at each team in the Knoxville Regional and potential matchups for the ensuing best-of-three super regional if Tennessee advances.