Tennessee

No. 6 Tennessee vs. Vanderbilt: Game information, lineups, notes

Published

1 year ago

January 18, 2025

Press Room

No. 6 Tennessee vs. Vanderbilt: Game information, lineups, notes

Tennessee looked like its old self Wednesday. Now it has to try and do it on the road for the third time in four games.

The No. 6 Vols turned one of their worst halves of basketball this season into one of their most dominant over the last 20 minutes in an 18-point win over Georgia earlier this week, using a stellar takeover from Zakai Zeigler to get back to winning convincingly after losing on the road at Florida and coming from behind to beat Texas late.

TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM

Tennessee (16-1, 3-1 SEC) did it against an improved Georgia team vying for a spot in the NCAA Tournament, a similar kind of situation Vanderbilt will be in when it hosts the Vols at Memorial Gym in Nashville on Saturday (3:30 p.m. ET, SEC Network).

The Commodores (14-3, 2-2), like the rest of the league, offer up a challenge that Tennessee can’t afford to overlook and after using a shot in the final seconds to beat South Carolina a few days ago, beating the Vols on their home floor would double as a signature win in head coach Mark Byington’s first season and a major resume booster.

To avoid becoming either of those, Tennessee will need to match the way it played in the second half against Georgia, avoid turnovers against a Vanderbilt team that thrives on forcing a lot of them and for Chaz Lanier to get out of his shooting slump.

Here is everything you need to know about the match up.

GAME INFORMATION

Who: No. 6 Tennessee (16-1, 3-1 SEC) at Vanderbilt (14-3, 2-2)

When: Saturday, Jan. 18 | 3:30 p.m. ET

Where: Memorial Gymnasium | Nashville

TV: SEC Network (Roy Philpott, play-by-play; Dane Bradshaw, analyst)

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

Series: 208th meeting all-time (Tennessee leads, 131-76)

Line: Tennessee -7.5

KenPom Projection: Tennessee 74, Vanderbilt 67

PROJECTED LINEUPS

No. 6 Tennessee (16-1, 3-1 SEC)

Vanderbilt (14-3, 2-2 SEC)

NUMBERS EDGE

POINTS PER GAME

Vanderbilt 82.4

Tennessee 76.9

FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE

Vanderbilt 47.1%

Tennessee 46.0%

THREE-POINT PERCENTAGE

Tennessee 34.3%

Vanderbilt 32.3%

MORE FROM VOLREPORT: Why Jahmai Mashack was ‘spectacular’ for Vols in win over Georgia

ASSISTS

Tennessee 16.1

Vanderbilt 14.9

REBOUNDS

Tennessee 39.4

Vanderbilt 35.9

BLOCKS

Tennessee 5.2

Vanderbilt 4.5

PREGAME NOTES

— Tennessee has held the sizable edge in its long-standing series with Vanderbilt, both historically and recently. The Vols’ 131 all-time wins over the Commodores are the most against any opponent in program history and they have won 13 of the last 14 match ups.

— Tennessee is ranked coming into this game for the 13th time in the last 15 meetings and ranked inside the top 10 for the fifth-straight time. The Vols are 23-8 vs. Vanderbilt in games where they are ranked and the Commodores are not.

— Tennessee guard Zakai Zeigler is coming off of a record-breaking performance against Georgia. The senior guard sparked the Vols’ second half scoring burst, finishing with 16 points, including five-made 3-pointers while his career-high six steals put him in first place in career steals at 215, passing former teammate Santiago Vescovi (212).

MORE FROM VOLREPORT: Vols freshman Bishop Boswell is ‘what this program’s about’

— Tennessee ranks fourth nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency, according to KenPom. The Vols are allowing just 88.2 points per opponents 100 offensive possession, while their 57.8 points allowed per game rank first in the SEC and third in Division I college basketball.

— Vanderbilt has had a lot of success forcing turnovers in its first 17 games. The Commodores are forcing turnovers on more than 23% of their opponents possessions while their 179 total steals lead the SEC. Vanderbilt had 15 steals and forced 25 turnovers in its 66-63 win over South Carolina on Wednesday.

— Vanderbilt hired Mark Byington away from James Madison last offseason and the first-year Commodores coach filled the roster with transfers. Ten players are in their first season at Vanderbilt after beginning their careers elsewhere, including guard Jason Edwards (North Texas), who leads the team in scoring with 17.0 points per game.

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Tennessee

2026 Tennessee football preview: Grady Dangerfield

Published

20 minutes ago

June 4, 2026

Press Room

2026 Tennessee football preview: Grady Dangerfield

Redshirt freshman kicker Grady Dangerfield enters his second season at Tennessee in 2026.

The 6-foot, 215-pound kicker appeared in two games for the Vols in 2025. He recorded 257 yards and three touchbacks on four kickoff attempts against UAB and New Mexico State.

Against the Blazers on Sept. 20, 2025, Dangerfield had three kickoff attempts for 195 yards. He also totaled 62 kickoff yards on one attempt versus New Mexico State on Nov. 15, 2025.

Dangerfield committed to Tennessee in Oct. 2024 over Navy and Virginia Tech. He was a Kohl’s Kicking five-star prospect and the No. 41 ranked kicker in the nation.

Dangerfield went to the Vols from James Island Charter High School in Charleston, South Carolina.

Tennessee will kick off its 2026 football season Sept. 5 versus Furman at Neyland Stadium. The season opener is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. EDT (SEC Network+).

The Vols will also host Kennesaw State, Texas, Auburn, Alabama, Kentucky and LSU, while playing at Georgia Tech, Arkansas, South Carolina, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt during the 2026 campaign.

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Tennessee

Tennessee AMC theater worker, 85, receives $146K from strangers for retirement after viral video

Published

10 hours ago

June 4, 2026

Press Room

Tennessee AMC theater worker, 85, receives 6K from strangers for retirement after viral video

A viral Tennessee movie theater worker, 85, was surprised with $146K as strangers rallied together to help her “enjoy retirement.”

Mary Ellen Eron was seen hauling a heavy black garbage bag and pushing a cleaning cart during her shift at the theater in Maryville, Tenn., which has since been viewed more than 13 million times.

“Let’s secretly help retire this beautiful woman. No one deserves to work at this age,” movie customer Brooklyn Green, who filmed the video, captioned the post.

Green launched a fundraiser last weekend after watching Mary, who has been a movie theater staffer for 45 years, hard at work – even though she’s a stranger.

“I knew nothing about her. I didn’t even know her name when I went to the theater,” Green told WATE reported. “I just decided that she was working so hard, and I aspired to be like her one day.

“Her physical appearance didn’t look too comfortable, especially since the way she was working so hard.”

Green set a target of $200,000 – and she raised $146,317 before pausing donations. More than 7,500 people donated to the charitable cause.

On Wednesday, Green posted the moment that she presented Eron, who helps the homeless and her local church, with the total figures from the crowdfunding page.

“Oh my goodness. That’s a lot of money,” Eron said as she realized the number on the piece of paper.

“That’s a lot of money and you deserve every bit of it,” Green said.

The clip also featured a message from Eron, who addressed the people who had contributed.

“Thank you so very much to all the wonderful people that have donated money to the GoFundMe,” she said.

“I’m overwhelmed and certainly blessed by the Lord and you wonderful people. Thank you once more.”

The theater’s manager revealed it will be Eron’s decision when she retires.

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Tennessee

Tennessee Baseball Breakout Star Announces He Won’t Enter the Transfer Portal

Published

21 hours ago

June 3, 2026

Press Room

Tennessee Baseball Breakout Star Announces He Won’t Enter the Transfer Portal

The Tennessee Volunteers have had their fair share of bad news as of late when it comes to the college baseball transfer portal, but luckily, they have received some great news.

The great news that they have received is that they will be returning one of their breakout stars from this past college baseball season, as he has no intentions of entering the college baseball transfer portal.

Trent Grindlinger Will Return to Tennessee

Tennessee’s Trent Grindlinger (30) begins to celebrate what he thought was a home run but was eventually called foul during a college baseball game between Tennessee and LSU at Lindsey Nelson Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee., on April 3, 2026. | Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The player who is set to return to Tennessee is Trent Grindlinger, who was electric this season and is expected to be a future top 10 MLB draft pick. This is expected for the first draft that he is eligible for, which is the 2027 MLB Draft rather than this upcoming draft that will feature multiple Vols, including Tennessee ACE, Tegan Kuhns.

Grindlinger finished last season with a batting average of .345, while hitting eight home runs and only striking out 28 times. This would be an electric season for the talented Volunteers’ batter, and he is set for a season that could and should be even better than that, which would be good enough to consider for some major college baseball end-of-the-season awards. He is just one of the few players who opted to stay and return rather than enter their name into the college baseball transfer portal, but if they were going to return anyone, he is the player they would want to return in the field.

Had he entered the transfer portal, there wouldn’t be a single college in the nation that wouldn’t want to add him, as every college would want to add the elite prospect. Not only that, but he would become the nation’s No. 1 player on the portal more than likely.

Luckily for the Vols, though, they don’t have to worry about that.

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