Tennessee

Three Things to Know: Mizzou Faces Top Ranked Tennessee

Published

1 year ago

February 5, 2025

Three Things to Know: Mizzou Faces Top Ranked Tennessee

The No. 15 Missouri Tigers have another challenge in the SEC in front of them, this time against the No. 4 Tennessee Volunteers in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Tennessee, despite its four SEC losses, plays basketball like one of the best teams in the country, hence the ranking. They held the top spot in the AP Poll for five weeks until a blowout loss to the Florida Gators, one that took many by surprise. They added three more SEC losses after that, but despite the defeats, are still playing at a high level.

Beating anyone in Knoxville will not be easy. They have only one loss at home to the Kentucky Wildcats by a narrow 78-73 margin. Outside of that game, Tennessee has done as good a job as anyone, including the Missouri Tigers, at protecting home court.

That being said, here are three things to know about the fourth-ranked Volunteers ahead of Missouri’s road test against them:

Simply put, the Volunteers are one of the best defensive teams in the country. In fact, KenPom lists them as the top defensive team in the nation with the best defensive efficiency ranking of 85.4 with a three-score advantage over the second-place team.

The Volunteers are also allowing the lowest points per game of any team in the SEC at 58.6. They force 13.4 turnovers per game as well. Tennessee’s defensive intensity and desire to play hard-nosed defense is impressive and legitimately better than everyone in the country. There’s a catch to that intense defense, however.

That catch is on the offensive side of the ball. The Volunteers are not as talented when it comes to scoring the ball as others in the SEC, scoring the second-lowest points per game in the conference. KenPom also lists them as the No. 40 best defense in the country.

The vast difference between the levels of play on both sides of the ball for Tennessee is puzzling and is probably what is holding them back from turning those wins into losses. They have talented scorers in the likes of Chaz Lanier, Jordan Gainey and Igor Milicic Jr. but still struggle to put the ball in the hoop.

In a conference where scoring is so important, it’s impressive that Tennessee has hung around and dominated like they have nationally and in the SEC. Not doing that at a high level will hold them back late in SEC play and in March Madness, two areas Tennessee would presumably like to find success in.

As of now, with a lone injury and a surprising mid-season transfer, the Volunteers have eight players who consistently earn minutes each game. The core starting five of Zakai Zeigler, Gainey, Lanier, Milicic and big man Felix Okpara are a solid group of five to lean on with Darlinstone Dubar, Cade Phillips and Jahmai Mashack to fall back on.

Milicic and Zeigler were both injured in a 20-point blowout against and were both kept off the initial injury report for the game. A group of eight players isn’t bad for the SEC, but when injuries plague them, life gets harder.

The Missouri Tigers are the exact opposite. At certain points, each scholarship player on the roster was playing in a given game. That number has narrowed out to 10 or 11 players now but head coach Dennis Gates is absolutely not afraid to dig into his bench.

The Volunteers were undefeated and deemed the top team in the country for a five-week stretch before a shocking blowout loss against Florida. They dropped another 11 days later in Nashville against the Vanderbilt Commodores, then lost two more back-to-back against Auburn and Kentucky.

Vanderbilt was the only unranked team they’ve lost to so far. They played arguably the best they have all season and Tennessee simply wasn’t ready for it. The win also thrust Vanderbilt into the top 25 for a week.

The point being, Tennessee has shown vulnerabilities in conference play. It will take a Mississippi State-tier offensive performance for the Tigers to leave Knoxville with a victory, something they’ve proven they can do. Another road win for the Tigers would certainly legitimize its season and would send a scare to the Volunteers,

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Tennessee

2026 Tennessee football preview: Grady Dangerfield

Published

3 hours 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

13 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

23 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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