Tennessee

No. 1 Tennessee vs. No. 23 Arkansas: Game information, lineups, notes

Published

1 year ago

January 4, 2025

Press Room

No. 1 Tennessee vs. No. 23 Arkansas: Game information, lineups, notes

Tennessee emerged from its non-conference slate unbeaten and has topped the major polls for four-straight weeks.

Now, the No. 1 Vols (13-0) begin their biggest challenge: SEC play.

TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM

Tennessee opens league action against No. 23 Arkansas (11-2) at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center on Saturday (1 p.m. ET, ESPN) in the first of back-to-back games against ranked teams and one with a number of intriguing storylines.

The Razorbacks, winners of four-straight, are led by a familiar face in John Calipari, who is in his first season after leaving Kentucky where he went up against the Vols in several notable games in the previous 15 years. Saturday also marks the return of former Vols forward Jonas Aidoo, now on the visitors side.

Aidoo will be facing a few of his former teammates, but Tennessee’s impressive start has been helped by the addition of two transfers of their own in starting guard Chaz Lanier and forward Igor Milicic Jr.

Lanier leads the Vols in scoring with 19.6 points per game and has scored 20-plus in six of 13 games, while Milicic is the team’s top rebounder, pulling down 8.2 per game.

The staples of Tennessee’s roster that were key in winning the league one year ago will again be key in its success in an SEC that has 10 teams ranked in the polls and 13 projected to reach the NCAA Tournament.

That includes the league’s assists leader in Zakai Zeigler and one of its most stingy defenders in Jahmai Mashack. And the bench, tested after the loss of JP Estrella to a season-ending injury and the abrupt exit for Cam Carr, has at least two proven options in Jordan Gainey and Cade Phillips.

How all of their contributions translate to what has proven to be the best conference in college basketball after a month and a half will soon be determined.

Here is everything you need to know about Tennessee’s SEC opener.

GAME INFORMATION

Who: No. 23 Arkansas (11-2) at No. 1 Tennessee (13-0)

When: Saturday, Jan. 4 | 1 p.m. ET

Where: Food City Center | Knoxville

TV: ESPN (Karl Ravech, play-by-play; Jimmy Dykes, analyst)

Radio: Vol Network (Bob Kesling, play-by-play; Bert Bertelkamp, analyst)

Series: 49th meeting all-time (Tennessee leads, 26-22)

KenPom: Tennessee 76, Arkansas 64

PROJECTED LINEUPS

NUMBERS EDGE

POINTS PER GAME

Arkansas 82.5

Tennessee 80.1

FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE

Arkansas 51.5%

Tennessee 48.9%

THREE-POINT PERCENTAGE

Arkansas 36.8%

Tennessee 35.5%

MORE FROM VOLREPORT: Three thoughts ahead of Tennessee basketball’s SEC opener vs. Arkansas

ASSISTS

Tennessee 16.8

Arkansas 16.8

REBOUNDS

Tennessee 38.9

Arkansas 36.2

BLOCKS

Arkansas 5.7

Tennessee 5.5

PREGAME NOTES

— Rick Barnes and John Calipari are meeting again as two of the winningest active head coaches in college basketball. Calipari is No. 1 among Division I coaches with 824 victories while Barnes is second with 819. Barnes is 13-12 vs. Calipari in head-to-head match ups.

— Tennessee will look to continue its success as the No. 1 team in the Associated Press Top 25 poll. The Vols are 13-2 all-time as the top-ranked team in the poll, and 12-1 under Rick Barnes, including a five-game win streak since jumping to No. 1 four weeks ago.

MORE FROM VOLREPORT: Rick Barnes assesses Tennessee basketball ahead of SEC play

— Tennessee and Arkansas’ non-conference schedule included three common opponents. The Vols went 3-0 vs. Baylor, Illinois and Miami, winning by an average margin of victory 10.0 points while the Razorbacks went 1-2 against those teams, beating Miami and losing to Baylor and Illinois at neutral sites.

— Arkansas guard Johnell Davis was listed as “probable” on the initial SEC availability report on Friday night. Davis hasn’t played since Dec. 14, sidelined by a wrist injury. Davis began his career at Florida Atlantic. He scored 15 points against Tennessee in the Sweet 16 in 2023. He is averaging 9.2 points with the Razorbacks.

Source link

Tennessee

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

Published

6 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.

Source link

Tennessee

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

Published

18 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.

Source link

Tennessee

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.