NEWS & NOTES
• The Volunteers are 76-58 (.567) in SEC Tournament play, with five titles. They are 13-7 (.650), with one crown, in Rick Barnes' tenure.
• Tennessee owns a 5-8 record in SEC championship contests, including 1-2 under Rick Barnes. This is its fourth finals berth in the last seven tournaments.
• Tennessee is 1-4 all-time in its home state in SEC title games. It is 0-2 in Nashville and 1-2 in Knoxville. UT is looking to win an SEC Tournament crown in the Volunteer State for the first time since 1936 when it beat Alabama, 29-25, in Knoxville on 3/2/36.
• During its active 78-week streak in the AP Poll, dating to the 2021- 22 preseason release, Tennessee has played just 16 of its 140 games as a lower-ranked team, posting a 10-6 record. That includes a 9-4 mark since 1/22/22 and a 7-2 tally versus SEC foes.
• This is UT's seventh AP top-eight clash versus an SEC foe this year; it went 4-2 in the first six. The Volunteers played seven such prior games in program history before 2024-25, going 3-4.
• With 833 wins, Rick Barnes is tied with John Calipari for ninth all- time (min. 10 years in DI) and for the most among active coaches.
• Zakai Zeigler owns Tennessee's single-season assist record with 234, six away from the SEC top 10. His 706 career assists are seven shy of the UT record, while his his UT-best 242 steals are four away from a top-10 spot on the SEC's all-time list. More on Page 11.
• Chaz Lanier is 10 points away from the 25th 600-point season in UT history. He would be the 16th different Vol to hit that mark.
• UT now has 27 wins for the sixth time. Four are under Rick Barnes. • Tennessee's 198 victories over the last eight seasons (2017-25) rank co-eighth nationally, alongside Auburn and San Diego State. Only Gonzaga (238), Houston (238), Duke (216), Kansas (212), Purdue (204), Saint Mary's (199) and Liberty (199) own more.
• Over the last four years, UT leads or co-leads DI in wins over teams in the AP top 25 (29), top 20 (25), top 15 (22), top 10 (12), top five (seven) and top three (four).