Tennessee

Tennessee basketball is at its best when Jonas Aidoo is on. He was elite at Arkansas.

Published

1 year ago

February 15, 2024

Tennessee basketball is at its best when Jonas Aidoo is on. He was elite at Arkansas.

Josiah-Jordan James beamed as he approached Jonas Aidoo.

Aidoo steadied himself and clapped his hands as he spun back toward the court, where James was the first of his Tennessee basketball teammates eager to greet him.

The seconds that preceded James’ joy featured Zakai Zeigler rifling a post feed to Aidoo, who took a single hard dribble to set up a spin to his left. He got the Arkansas defender in the air. Then he dunked it through Razorbacks forward Makhi Mitchell, the first act of a three-point play.

“Jonas played a heck of a game for us tonight,” Vols coach Rick Barnes said.

File that quote as an understatement.

Aidoo played a phenomenal game throughout No. 9 Tennessee’s 92-63 thrashing of Arkansas (12-12, 3-8 SEC) at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The 23-point, 12-rebound showing was the type of game the junior forward gave the Vols (18-6, 8-3) routinely early in SEC play. It was the type of game that harkened the reality that the Vols are at their best when Aidoo is at his best — and their ceiling will be tied in large part to their tallest player.

Jonas Aidoo elevates Tennessee basketball’s ceiling

Dalton Knecht is Tennessee’s best player. Zakai Zeigler is the heart and soul. Santiago Vescovi and Josiah-Jordan James are the backbone.

But it is Aidoo who might matter most for these Vols to reach their potential because, as Barnes believes, he can be as good as any big in the nation. They have to have him be that player on a game-by-game basis. Simply, Tennessee is a guard-heavy team with a lot of scoring threats on the perimeter. Aidoo is their unique post weapon, a 6-foot-11 forward who spent his first two seasons known for his defense. His offensive game and potent scoring ability took him to an All-SEC level.

“I think he is one of the most improved players that our league has,” Arkansas coach Eric Musselman said. “He is a big who rebounds the ball and plays really, really hard.”

Aidoo emphatically showed that during a five-game tear to start SEC play that featured three double-doubles. He averaged 16.2 points and 8.8 rebounds in that five-game spurt. He tailed off in the past five games before Wednesday. He had the same stat line in UT’s losses to South Carolina and Texas A&M: six points and five rebounds.

Barnes couldn’t explain Aidoo’s issues against USC. He knew UT needed more from Aidoo against the Aggies. Why? Because Tennessee cannot be at its best without Aidoo being his best.

How Jonas Aidoo dominated Arkansas

Aidoo got going with a dunk Wednesday. He had a putback dunk. He made a midrange jumper. He made a left-handed layup running to the rim and bouncing off contact. He got another putback dunk.

He terrorized Arkansas from start to finish as Tennessee had its way at the rim — and Aidoo had his way everywhere.

“I thought he looked relaxed shooting his little 15-footers,” Barnes said. “What he did at the rim and his rebounding in the second half was really big. He came up with a lot of plays in there. His length affects things around the rim when he gets himself in position.”

Aidoo had five rebounds in each of UT’s past two games as it was beaten on the glass by LSU and Texas A&M. He owned it at Arkansas, doing everything well.

Barnes spent the month of November preaching to Aidoo that he can be as good as any post player in the nation. Those affirmations came after UT faced three of the best in Purdue’s Zach Edey, Kansas’ Hunter Dickinson and North Carolina’s Armando Bacot.

Aidoo’s name should be alongside those three, Barnes believed then and still does. He also needs it to be true.

Tennessee was the best version of itself Wednesday. Aidoo was, too. Those facts have been paired before and will be paired again. They have to be for the Vols to have their best season.

Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.com and follow him on Twitter @ByMikeWilson. If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it.

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Tennessee

Tennessee vs Kentucky – Volunteers Looking for Payback Against Wildcats

Published

4 hours ago

March 23, 2025

Press Room

Tennessee vs Kentucky – Volunteers Looking for Payback Against Wildcats

The Tennessee Volunteers are set to play the Kentucky Wildcats in the sweet sixteen.

After Tennessee defeated UCLA on Saturday and Kentucky defeated Illinois on Sunday, the two SEC programs will face off against one another in the sweet sixteen round.

The two teams faced off against one another twice during the regular season. The first go around, Kentucky won on the road 78-73. A couple of weeks later, the Wildcats defeated the Volunteers again, this time at home, by a final score of 75-64. Needless to say, not the best feeling for Tennessee going into this matchup, but the Volunteers have certainly proven they are one of the best teams in the country.

Kentucky defeated both Troy and Illinois en route to playing Tennessee. The Volunteers went up against Wofford and UCLA. This is the first time in matchup history that both programs will have played in the NCAA tournament.

A date and time has not yet been announced for the matchup.

As the sweet sixteen round approaches, here are the most updated national title odds.

All odds presented by FanDuel.

– Duke +260
– Florida +400
– Auburn +490
– Houston +550
– Tennessee +1600
– Texas Tech +2000
– Alabama +2000
– Iowa State +2700
– Michigan State +3000

The Vols will face the winner of Illinois and Kentucky in the Sweet 16. They have already played both opponents on the year. They are (1-0) vs Illinois with a 2-point win and they went winless against Kentcuy in their two matchups this season. Though with the way Chaz Lanier is scoring at the moment, they are capable of beating anyone.

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Who Will Tennessee Play in Sweet 16 – Previewing Illinois vs Kentucky

Published

15 hours ago

March 23, 2025

Press Room

Who Will Tennessee Play in Sweet 16 – Previewing Illinois vs Kentucky

The Tennessee Volunteers have already secured their trip to the Sweet 16 with their win over UCLA on Saturday night. We take a look at who they might play next round.

The Tennessee Vols are headed to the Sweet 16 after their nine-point win over the UCLA Bruins in the round of 32. The Vols are set to make their third straight Sweet 16 and with experienced guard play from Zakai Zeigler and elite scoring prowess from Chaz Lanier, on top of an elite team defensive effort, the Vols are looking strong entering the next round.

Now, who will they play? Well, let’s take a look at it.

The No. 3 seeded Kentucky Wildcats are set to take on the No. 6 seeded Illinois Fighting Illini on Sunday evening. According to FanDuel, Illinois is actually a 1.5 point favorite in the contest despite being the lower-seeded team. Either way, it’s projected to be a tightly contest basketball game, per the FanDuel odds.

The Vols have played both Illinois and Kentucky this season. They beat Illinois 66-64 back in December. And they were (0-2) against the Wildcats in conference play this season.

The Vols currently have the fifth-best odds to win the NCAA Championship per FanDuel. The current favorites are Duke, Florida, Auburn, Houston, and then Tennessee. The good news for Tennessee, the will avoid everyone but Houston until the Elite 11.

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Chaz Lanier Is On The Verge Of Tennessee Volunteers History

Published

1 day ago

March 23, 2025

Press Room

Chaz Lanier Is On The Verge Of Tennessee Volunteers History

Chaz Lanier is on the verge of history ahead of Tennessee vs UCLA in March Madness

Another Tennessee star is chasing history on Saturday night against the UCLA Bruins. Chaz Lanier is playing in front of Chris Lofton in hopes of breaking the single-season record of threes made in a Vols uniform. Lanier is in his first year with the Vols after transferring in this off-season.

Lofton has made enough history in Knoxville as he has his number retired and Tennessee will never have a No. 5 again.

Lanier is only 3 three-pointers away from breaking the record. Lanier is likely to break the record tonight, but if he doesn’t and the Vols fall short so will his hopes of breaking the record as he is out of eligibility.