2024–25 Tennessee Volunteers basketball team

2024–25 Tennessee Volunteers basketball
2024–25 Tennessee Volunteers basketball
Bahamas Championship champions
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 1
AP	No. 1
Record	11–0 (0–0 SEC)
Head coach	Rick Barnes (10th season);
Associate head coach	Justin Gainey
Assistant coaches	Rod Clark; Gregg Polinsky; Bryan Lentz; Lucas Campbell;
Home arena	Thompson–Boling Arena
	Seasons ← 2023–24 2025–26 →

The 2024–25 Tennessee Volunteers basketball team represents the University of Tennessee during the 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team is led by tenth-year head coach Rick Barnes and play their home games at Thompson–Boling Arena located in Knoxville, Tennessee as a member of the Southeastern Conference.

2024–25 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 7 Florida	0	–	0	–	12	–	0	1.000
No. 14 Oklahoma	0	–	0	–	11	–	0	1.000
No. 1 Tennessee	0	–	0	–	11	–	0	1.000
No. 2 Auburn	0	–	0	–	11	–	1	.917
Mississippi State	0	–	0	–	11	–	1	.917
No. 17 Ole Miss	0	–	0	–	11	–	1	.917
Vanderbilt	0	–	0	–	11	–	1	.917
Georgia	0	–	0	–	10	–	1	.909
Missouri	0	–	0	–	10	–	1	.909
Arkansas	0	–	0	–	10	–	2	.833
No. 4 Kentucky	0	–	0	–	10	–	2	.833
Texas	0	–	0	–	10	–	2	.833
No. 12 Texas A&M	0	–	0	–	10	–	2	.833
No. 6 Alabama	0	–	0	–	9	–	2	.818
LSU	0	–	0	–	9	–	2	.818
South Carolina	0	–	0	–	8	–	3	.727

† 2025 SEC tournament winner As of December 21, 2024 Rankings from AP poll

Previous season

The Volunteers finished the 2023–24 season 27–9, 14–4 in SEC play to finish win the SEC. As the No. 1 seed in the SEC tournament, they were upset by Mississippi State in the quarterfinals. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 2 seed in the Mid-West Region, where they defeated Saint Peter's in the First Round, Texas in the Second Round, and Creighton in the Sweet Sixteen. There, they were defeated by the No. 1 seed Purdue.^[1]^[2]

Offseason

Departures

Departures
Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Reason for departure
Jonas Aidoo	0	F	6'11"	240	Junior	Durham, North Carolina	Transferred to Arkansas
Freddie Dilione V	1	G	6'5"	195	RS Freshman	Fayetteville, North Carolina	Transferred to Penn State
Dalton Knecht	3	G	6'6"	213	Fifth year	Thornton, Colorado	Drafted 17th overall in the 2024 NBA draft by the Los Angeles Lakers
Tobe Awaka	11	F	6'8"	250	Sophomore	Hyde Park, New York	Transferred to Arizona
Santiago Véscovi	25	G	6'3"	196	Fifth year	Montevideo, Uruguay	Exhausted eligiblilty; signed with Baxi Manresa
Josiah-Jordan James	30	G	6'7"	220	Fifth year	Charleston, South Carolina	Delcared for the 2024 NBA draft; signed by the Indiana Mad Ants
Colin Coyne	35	F	6'9"	238	Senior	Fredericksburg, Virginia	Graduated; became student assistant coach
D.J. Jefferson	44	G	6'5"	209	RS Freshman	Richardson, Texas	Transferred to Longwood

Incoming transfers

Incoming transfers
Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous school
Chaz Lanier	2	G	6'5"	207	Fifth year	Nashville, Tennessee	North Florida
Igor Miličić Jr.	7	F	6'10"	225	Senior	Rovinj, Croatia	Charlotte
Darlinstone Dubar	8	G	6'6"	220	Fifth year	Charlotte, North Carolina	Hofstra
Felix Okpara	34	F	6'11"	235	Junior	Lagos, Nigeria	Ohio State

Recruiting class

College recruiting information
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Bishop Boswell F	Charlotte, North Carolina	Myers Park High School	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	203 lb (92 kg)	Sep 28, 2023
Bishop Boswell F	Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 86
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2024 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

Preseason

On October 14, 2024 the SEC released their preseason media poll. Tennessee was picked to finish third in the SEC regular season.^[3] Senior guard Zakai Zeigler was named to the First Team All-SEC.^[3]

SEC media poll

Predicted finish	Team
SEC media poll
1	Alabama
2	Auburn
3	Tennessee
4	Arkansas
5	Texas A&M
6	Florida
7	Texas
8	Kentucky
9	Ole Miss
10	Mississippi State
11	South Carolina
12	Georgia
13	Missouri
14	LSU
15	Oklahoma
16	Vanderbilt

Source^[3]

Roster

2024–25 Tennessee Volunteers men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
G	2	Chaz Lanier (5Y)	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	207 lb (94 kg)	Sr	North Florida	Nashville, Tennessee
G	3	Bishop Boswell	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	203 lb (92 kg)	Fr	Myers Park High School	Charlotte, North Carolina
G	5	Zakai Zeigler	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)	172 lb (78 kg)	Sr	Our Saviour Lutheran School	Long Island, New York
F	7	Igor Miličić Jr.	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	Sr	Charlotte	Rovinj, Croatia
G	8	Darlinstone Dubar (5Y)	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Sr	Hofstra	Charlotte, North Carolina
G	11	Jordan Gainey	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Sr	USC Upstate	Tucson, Arizona
F	12	Cade Phillips	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	216 lb (98 kg)	So	Link Academy	Jacksonville, Alabama
F	13	J.P. Estrella	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	250 lb (113 kg)	So	Brewster Academy	Scarborough, Maine
G	15	Jahmai Mashack	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	202 lb (92 kg)	Sr	Etiwanda High School	Fontana, California
G	21	Campbell Duncan (W)	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Fr	Anderson High School	Austin, Texas
G	23	Grant Hurst	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	208 lb (94 kg)	RS Jr	UT Martin	Cleveland, Tennessee
G	24	Gavin Paull (W)	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	158 lb (72 kg)	Fr	Westlake High School	Austin, Texas
F	34	Felix Okpara	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	Jr	Ohio State	Lagos, Nigeria
G	35	Ben Linnemeyer (W)	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Fr	Link Academy	Columbia, Missouri
G	43	Cameron Carr	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	189 lb (86 kg)	So	Link Academy	Eden Prairie, Minnesota

Head coach

Rick Barnes (Lenoir–Rhyne)

Assistant coach(es)

Justin Gainey (NC State)
Rod Clark (Lindsey Wilson)
Gregg Polinsky (Northern Arizona)
Bryan Lentz (Lenoir–Rhyne)
Lucas Campbell (Tennessee)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on
(5Y) Fifth-year senior
Injured
Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: December 5, 2024

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
October 27, 2024* 3:00 p.m., SECN	No. 12	No. 17 Indiana	L 62–66	–	13 – Zeigler	8 – Miličić Jr.	8 – Zeigler	Thompson–Boling Arena (13,351) Knoxville, TN
Non-conference regular season
November 4, 2024* 7:00 p.m., SECN /ESPN	No. 12	Gardner–Webb	W 80–64	1–0	18 – Lanier	9 – Okpara	9 – Zeigler	Thompson–Boling Arena (17,813) Knoxville, TN
November 9, 2024* 12:00 p.m., ACCN	No. 12	at Louisville	W 77–55	2–0	19 – Tied	7 – Mashack	7 – Zeigler	KFC Yum! Center (16,976) Louisville, KY
November 13, 2024* 7:00 p.m., SECN /ESPN	No. 11	Montana	W 92–57	3–0	18 – Miličić Jr.	10 – Miličić Jr.	7 – Zeigler	Thompson–Boling Arena (16,916) Knoxville, TN
November 17, 2024* 3:00 p.m., SECN /ESPN	No. 11	Austin Peay	W 103–68	4–0	23 – Miličić Jr.	9 – Tied	8 – Zeigler	Thompson–Boling Arena (17,232) Knoxville, TN
November 21, 2024* 9:30 p.m., CBSSN	No. 11	vs. Virginia Bahamas Championship semifinal	W 64–42	5–0	26 – Lanier	8 – Miličić Jr.	6 – Zeigler	Baha Mar Convention Center (2,077) Nassau, Bahamas
November 22, 2024* 9:30 p.m., CBSSN	No. 11	vs. No. 13 Baylor Bahamas Championship final	W 77–62	6–0	25 – Lanier	6 – Mashack	9 – Zeigler	Baha Mar Convention Center (2,119) Nassau, Bahamas
November 27, 2024* 4:00 p.m., SECN /ESPN	No. 7	UT Martin	W 78–35	7–0	18 – Lanier	13 – Miličić Jr.	9 – Zeigler	Thompson–Boling Arena (17,314) Knoxville, TN
December 3, 2024* 7:30 p.m., ESPN	No. 3	Syracuse ACC–SEC Challenge	W 96–70	8–0	26 – Lanier	10 – Miličić Jr.	8 – Zeigler	Thompson–Boling Arena (21,678) Knoxville, TN
December 10, 2024* 6:30 p.m., ESPN	No. 1	vs. Miami (FL) Jimmy V Classic	W 75–62	9–0	22 – Lanier	9 – Miličić Jr.	9 – Zeigler	Madison Square Garden New York, NY
December 14, 2024* 5:30 p.m., FOX	No. 1	at Illinois	W 66–64	10–0	23 – Gainey	14 – Miličić Jr.	2 – Tied	State Farm Center (15,544) Champaign, IL
December 17, 2024* 7:00 p.m., SECN /ESPN	No. 1	Western Carolina	W 84–36	11–0	19 – Lanier	10 – Zeigler	9 – Zeigler	Thompson–Boling Arena (16,866) Knoxville, TN
December 23, 2024* 7:00 p.m., SECN		Middle Tennessee						Thompson–Boling Arena Knoxville, TN
December 31, 2024* 3:00 p.m., SECN /ESPN		Norfolk State						Thompson–Boling Arena Knoxville, TN
SEC regular season
January 4, 2025 1:00 p.m., ESPN		Arkansas						Thompson–Boling Arena Knoxville, TN
January 7, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN2/ESPNU		at Florida						Exactech Arena Gainesville, FL
January 11, 2025 6:00 p.m., ESPN/ESPN2		at Texas						Moody Center Austin, TX
January 15, 2025 8:00 p.m., SECN		Georgia						Thompson–Boling Arena Knoxville, TN
January 18, 2025 3:30 p.m., SECN		at Vanderbilt Rivalry						Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, TN
January 21, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN2/ESPNU		Mississippi State						Thompson–Boling Arena Knoxville, TN
January 25, 2025 8:30 p.m., ESPN/ESPN2		at Auburn						Neville Arena Auburn, AL
January 28, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN		Kentucky Rivalry						Thompson–Boling Arena Knoxville, TN
February 1, 2025 12:00 p.m., ESPN/ESPN2		Florida						Thompson–Boling Arena Knoxville, TN
February 5, 2025 7:00 p.m., SECN		Missouri						Thompson–Boling Arena Knoxville, TN
February 8, 2025 12:00 p.m., ESPN/ESPN2		at Oklahoma						Lloyd Noble Center Norman, OK
February 11, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN		at Kentucky Rivalry						Rupp Arena Lexington, KY
February 15, 2025 1:00 p.m., SECN		Vanderbilt Rivalry						Thompson–Boling Arena Knoxville, TN
February 22, 2025 12:00 p.m., ESPN/ESPN2		at Texas A&M						Reed Arena College Station, TX
February 25, 2025 9:00 p.m., SECN		at LSU						Pete Maravich Assembly Center Baton Rouge, LA
March 1, 2025 1:00 p.m., ABC/ESPN		Alabama						Thompson–Boling Arena Knoxville, TN
March 5, 2025 9:00 p.m., ESPN2/ESPNU		at Ole Miss						SJB Pavilion Oxford, MS
March 8, 2025 2:00 p.m., SECN		South Carolina						Thompson–Boling Arena Knoxville, TN
SEC Tournament
March 12–16, 2025 TBD, ESPN/SECN		vs. TBD						Bridgestone Arena Nashville, TN
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time.

Rankings

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
( ) = First-place votes
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	Final
AP	12	11	11	7	3	1 (58)	1 (50)
Coaches	12	9	9	6	3	1 (25)	1 (22)

References

^ "2023-24 Tennessee Volunteers Men's Schedule and Results". Sports Reference. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
^ "Vols Earn No. 2 Seed in 2024 NCAA Tournament". University of Tennessee Athletics. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Media picks Alabama to win 2025 SEC men's basketball championship". Southeastern Conference. Retrieved December 5, 2024.

[1] "2023-24 Tennessee Volunteers Men's Schedule and Results". Sports Reference. Retrieved 3 August 2024.

[2] "Vols Earn No. 2 Seed in 2024 NCAA Tournament". University of Tennessee Athletics. Retrieved 3 August 2024.

[poll-3] "Media picks Alabama to win 2025 SEC men's basketball championship". Southeastern Conference. Retrieved December 5, 2024.

[1]

[2]

[3]