Tennessee
Tennessee baseball rolls past Indiana State in midweek bout
Gavin Kilen homered twice, including a three-run shot in the fourth inning and No. 15 Tennessee run-ruled Indiana State, 12-1 in seven innings at Lindsey Nelson Stadium Tuesday.
The Vols (38-11), who were coming off of their third-straight series loss to Auburn last weekend, were productive and aggressive at the plate, taking early swings and totaling 11 hits.
TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM
The lineup accounted for five home runs, two from Kilen and one each from right fielder Reese Chapman, first baseman Andrew Fischer and center fielder Colby Backus in the sixth inning.
Kilen was 3-of-4 at the plate with four RBIs, while Fischer finished 2-of-4.
Tennessee got the most out of its arms, too. Michael Sharman set the tone with strong start, allowing five hits, one run and striking out three in 3.2 innings of work.
Relievers Austin Breedlove, Brandon Arvidson, Brayden Krenzel and Thomas Crabtree combined to give up just one hit and five strikeouts.
Sycamores (22-26) left fielder Jorge Cartagena had Indiana State’s lone RBI in the second.
Backed by a strong start from Michael Sharman, who tossed a couple of strikeouts in the top half of the first inning, the top of Tennessee’s order made quick work of Indiana State starter Jacob Spencer.
Gavin Kilen, Andrew Fischer and Hunter Ensley all singled, with Ensley’s knock going up the middle to score Kilen and give the Vols an early 1-0 lead.
Dean Curley, batting fifth in the order, was recorded the fourth hit with a single to short that allowed Fischer to score and extend the Tennessee lead to 2-0.
The Sycamores got out of the inning with the damage limited there, but Kilen came through again in the second with a two-run shot to right field to open up a 4-0 lead through two innings.
Sharman, who stranded base-runners in the first and second, ran into trouble again in the third with two on and two outs after Indiana State had gotten on the board on Carter Beck‘s RBI ground out. But Jeremy Martinez harmlessly flew out to left to prevent the Sycamores from adding more.
After the Vols went down in order in the bottom third, Sharman gave up a walk and back-to-back bunts moved Jorge Cartagena over to third with two outs. That ended Sharman’s night and Austin Breedlove took over out of the bullpen to try and leave the Sycamores empty-handed in the inning.
Breedlove delivered, striking out Mason Roell looking to end the frame.
Reese Chapman led off the bottom fourth with a solo no-doubter to right-center to swell the Tennessee lead to 5-1. Stone Lawless and Jay Abernathy each wore a pitches in consecutive at-bats to give the Vols a couple of one-out base-runners.
Kilen paid them both off, mashing a three-run home run over the wall in right to stretch the lead to 8-1.
Breelove issued a walk to lead off the fifth before Brandon Arvidson entered with two outs, but he gave up a walk against the first batter he faced and stolen base put two in scoring position for Indiana State.
Arvidson escaped the jam with a strikeout.
Back at the plate, Tennessee was quickly back in position to add to its lead after Curley advanced to second on a fielding error at third, and Ariel Antigua moved into third with no outs in the bottom fifth.
Chapman scored Antigua on a fly-out to left and the Vols were up 9-1, two runs away from the run-rule with at least two more frames left to play.
With two outs, Abernathy extended the inning with a chopper to second that Jackson Taylor was unable to field in time and the Vols had the bases loaded, but Kilen grounded out at first to end the frame.
Fischer got off to an emphatic start in the bottom sixth, though. He mashed a home run to right–Tennessee’s third of the night–to up the lead to 10-1, and Colby Backus followed it up with a single to left.
Curley brought the Vols into run-rule territory with a ground out to first that scored Backus, but just for good measure, Chris Newstrom made the most of insertion into the lineup in the inning with a solo shot that stayed fair down the third base line and exited the stadium left.
Tennessee continues its final stretch with another top 15 series against No. 11 Vanderbilt this weekend.
The Vols, who have won four-straight series against the Commodores, are looking to end a skid after losing three-straight series for the first time under Tony Vitello.
Vanderbilt (34-14, 14-10) is coming off of series win over Alabama.
First pitch between Tennessee and the Commodores is slated for Friday at 5:30 p.m. ET (SEC Network) at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
Left-handed pitcher Liam Doyle (8-2, 2.39 ERA) will start for the Vols.
Tennessee
Rocky Top Insider’s Ryan Schumpert Previews Vanderbilt vs. Tennessee
Vanderbilt football heads to Knoxville this weekend as 2.5-point underdogs as it looks to take down Tennessee on the way to its first 10-win season in program history. Taking down Josh Heupel’s 8-3 team will be a tall task of sorts, though.
Vandy on SI caught up with Rocky Top Insider’s Ryan Schumpert to discuss the matchup and what the Commodores are up against over the weekend. Here’s what Schumpert says in regard to this weekend’s matchup.
1. How much does Tennessee still have to play for?
As far as this season and its postseason implications, very little. A nine-win regular season with a chance to earn a 10-win season in a bowl game is certainly nice but hard to believe that is much of a motivating factor for players. We wondered what Tennessee’s interest level and motivation would look like last week at Florida and the Vols came out and played inspired football and turned in their best performance of the season. The rivalry aspect and chance to end Vanderbilt’s College Football Playoff hopes should be enough to motivate this team. If not, Diego Pavia’s offseason comments should help.
2. Tennessee has yet to win against a ranked opponent, is that indicative of its talent level? What else do you attribute that to?
I don’t think I’d attribute it to the talent level. Tennessee’s schedule has played a part. The Vols have only played three ranked teams and they’re all ranked in the top 10 and projected to make the playoffs if they take care of business this weekend. But Tennessee had chances to win all three of those games, especially home matchups against Georgia and Oklahoma. The Vols have struggled to play complimentary football this season. The Vols failed to put the Georgia game away with a touchdown off of a fourth quarter fumble that set them up in plus-territory. The defense didn’t get the stop to seal the game and Max Gilbert misfired on the potential game-winning kick. Against Oklahoma, Tennessee turned it over three times in the first half and trailed 16-10 at halftime despite allowing only 99 yards of offense. This Tennessee team certainly isn’t extremely talented but they’ve also hurt themselves consistently in their three losses.
3. Has Joey Aguilar met expectations, exceeded them or fallen short?
Overall, Aguilar has exceeded expectations. Most didn’t know what to expect from the Appalachian State transfer after a rocky 2024 season in Boone and his summer arrival in Knoxville. But he looked comfortable in Josh Heupel’s offense from the jump. Aguilar has thrown the ball well down the field and in the intermediate. He also possesses a much better internal clock than Tennessee’s last two starting quarterbacks. Where Aguilar has met expectations and struggled is with turnovers. He came to Tennessee with the reputation as a turnover prone quarterback and that has reared its ugly head at times. Aguilar’s thrown 10 interceptions this season which doubles the previous Heupel-era season-high. He’s also fumbled it a handful of times.
4. What are the strengths and weaknesses of Tennessee’s defense?
The most obvious area is in the secondary where Tennessee’s top two returning corners have played just 19 snaps this season due to injury. Colorado transfer Colton Hood and true freshman Ty Redmond have done a solid job stepping it but it’s definitely been a step back. Tennessee’s safety play has often been woeful this season. Tennessee’s run defense struggled badly early in the season and gap integrity was a key deficiency, something Vanderbilt will be able to exploit. But the run defense has been much better the last month. The Commodores will test it more than most have the back half of the season though. Over the course of the season, Tennessee’s pass rush has probably been its biggest strength. They’ve had a knack for making big plays in big moments.
5. What do you view as the main keys for Tennessee in this game?
Winning on early downs on defense is a big one because of the success of the pass rush and the way Vanderbilt seems to excel in third-and-intermediate and third-and-short. Another big one is for the offense to just play clean football. I think they’re going to be able to move the ball on Vanderbilt’s defense. Can they avoid turnovers, drive killing penalties and finish drives with touchdowns?
6. Score prediction?
Tennessee 31, Vanderbilt 27
Tennessee
Black Friday hours: List of major retailers open in Middle Tennessee
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WZTV) — Black Friday is right around the corner, and FOX 17 News is breaking down retailers open across the Midstate and their hours for shoppers who celebrate.
See our list of stores open and hours for Black Friday below (Listed in alphabetical order):
Bass Pro Shops
Open from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Best Buy
Locations will open at 6 a.m. and close at 10 p.m.
CoolSprings Galleria
Open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Costco
Locations will open at 10 a.m. and close at 8:30 p.m.
Dick’s Sporting Goods
Locations will open at 6 a.m. and close at 10 p.m.
Home Depot
Most locations to open at 6 a.m. and close at 10 p.m.
Home Goods
Locations to open at 7 a.m. and close at 10 p.m.
Kohl’s
Locations to open at 5 a.m. and close at 12 a.m.
Lowe’s
Locations will open at 6 a.m. and close at 9 p.m.
Opry Mills
Open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Publix
Locations to open at 7 a.m. and close at 10 p.m.
Rivergate Mall
The mall opens at 11 a.m. and closes at 8 p.m.
Sam’s Club
Locations will open at 9 a.m. and close at 8 p.m.
Tanger Outlets
The outlets are open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Target
Nashville locations will open at 6 a.m. and close at 10 p.m.
The Mall at Green Hills
Open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Trader Joe’s
Locations to open at 8 a.m. and close at 9 p.m.
Tractor Supply
Locations will open at 6 a.m. and close at 9 p.m.
Walmart
Walmart locations in Nashville will open at 6 a.m. and close at 11 p.m.
Tennessee
What went wrong for Tennessee basketball in loss to Kansas in Las Vegas
LAS VEGAS – Tennessee basketball squandered a chance to finish 3-0 at the Players Era Festival and remain undefeated.
The No. 16 Vols (7-1) went away from what built their 12-point lead early in the second half, and Kansas (6-2) stormed back to win 81-76 in the third-place game at MGM Grand Garden Arena on Nov. 26.
Here’s what went wrong for Tennessee in its first loss of the season.
Tennessee settled for too many 3-pointers
Tennessee shot 28% on 25 attempts from 3-point range, and it settled for too many shots behind the arc in the second half.
The Vols shot 5-for-13 on 3-pointers in the first half, which wasn’t a bad mark considering Ja’Kobi Gillespie went an uncharacteristic 0-for-3 before halftime. But then they shot 2-for-12 in the second half, and they didn’t score at the rim enough.
“I told our post guys when they’re out there shooting jump shots, I’m sure (Kansas coach) Bill (Self) and his staff were sitting on the bench saying, good let them do it. Let him. We don’t want them in there,” Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said. “That goes back to where we didn’t follow the things we talked about and what we need guys to do.”
Barnes didn’t think all the 3-pointers were necessarily bad shots, but there were times they needed to drive the ball and get to the foul line when they were in the double bonus. Barnes believed the 22 free throw attempts would have been even with Kansas’ 30 if the Vols had tried to drive the ball more.
Vols let offensive struggles dictate defense in second half
Tennessee’s 12-point lead started to crumble when the Vols let their offensive struggles dictate their defense.
Kansas started chipping away when it grabbed two offensive rebounds on the same possession and hit a 3-pointer. Then Felix Okpara missed a jumper and Jaylen Carey sent Kansas to the free-throw line. Nate Ament then missed shots on two straight possessions and UT gave up a transition 3-pointer.
Then the Vols started fouling and gave up three and-one plays in an almost three-minute span. Tennessee missed another jumper shortly after and gave up three straight layups to Kansas for a 6-0 run to take a 68-64 lead.
“Second half, I thought they out-competed us when it counted,” Barnes said. “And that’s the hardest thing to take when they’re doing things that we could have done.”
Tennessee needs more from its starting frontcourt
Barnes wasn’t happy with the fact that Okpara and Cade Phillips didn’t have a single offensive rebound between them. The two starters in the frontcourt only combined for five rebounds total in a game that Tennessee got outrebounded 37-36.
The pair combined for 11 points on 4-for-8 shooting, and Okpara went 3-for-4 on free throws.
Barnes said the Vols can’t put everything on Gillespie, who shot 1-for-10 on 3-pointers. Gillespie had a heavy load over three days, averaging 34.3 minutes, and he had some great looks that just didn’t fall.
“You look at the stat sheet, too many guys that honestly didn’t do the things that they need to do to help us win,” Barnes said.
Carey was a bright spot in Tennessee’s frontcourt with 11 points, 10 rebounds and four assists. But Barnes believes he can be even better after shooting 3-for-6 on free throws.
“The guys that want to learn from this will do it,” Barnes said. “And they’ll get better and move forward, but it’s not going to get any easier, which is the way it should be.”
Cora Hall is the University of Tennessee women’s athletics reporter for Knox News. Email: cora.hall@knoxnews.com; X: @corahalll; Bluesky: @corahall.bsky.social. Support strong local journalism and unlock premium perks:knoxnews.com/subscribe
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