KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Two University of Tennessee men’s basketball players are among the choices for the Oscar Robertson Trophy Midseason Watch List.
Fifth-year guard Chaz Lanier and senior guard Zakai Zeigler are both on the 50-name list, as revealed Monday afternoon by the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA). The complete list of selections can be found HERE on the USBWA website.
Members of the association’s board of directors chose the players that will be considered as contenders for the National Player of the Year. All Division I players remain eligible for the award.
Tennessee is one of seven schools with multiple designees on the midseason list, alongside Duke, Gonzaga, Iowa State, Kentucky, Purdue and Rutgers. It was one of two, joining Rutgers, with two nominees on the John R. Wooden Midseason Top 25 Watch List, released Jan. 7.
Lanier, a fifth-year guard, is averaging a team-best 17.9 points, 3.2 rebounds, 1.0 assist and 1.1 steals for the Volunteers. He is the fifth-leading scorer in the SEC, while pacing the league in total made 3-pointers (79) and 3-point makes per game (3.59), the latter of which are both top-five nationally.
Zeigler, a senior guard, is posting 12.3 points, 3.5 rebounds, an SEC-high 7.4 assists and a team-best 2.1 steals per game, the latter of which is fifth in the conference. He ranks fifth in the country in assists average, as well as top-40 in steals average, plus sixth in the SEC in free-throw percentage with an 86.7 clip.
The Oscar Robertson Trophy winner is to be announced at the NCAA Men’s Final Four in San Antonio, from April 5-7. The formal presentation of the trophy will follow at the annual USBWA Awards Luncheon hosted by the Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis. A final watch list will be released in early March and those chosen will be included on the USBWA’s annual awards ballot.
Lanier, Zeigler and fourth-ranked Tennessee (18-4, 5-4 SEC) take the court Wednesday at 7 p.m. for their next game, a matchup with No. 15/16 Missouri, live on SEC Network from Food City Center.
To keep up with the University of Tennessee men’s basketball team on social media, follow @Vol_Hoops on Instagram and X/Twitter, as well as /tennesseebasketball on Facebook.
Knoxville, TN (WOKI) A new bill introduced in the Tennessee Senate would require sexual offenders to report to authorities their membership in a church or another religious organization.
Sen. Becky Duncan-Massey of Knoxville, is pushing for sex offenders to have to report to authorities if they’re registered members of a Tennessee religious organization. In turn, the bill (SB0451) would also require the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to provide all public information about an offender to any church, temple, or other religious group or organization in Tennessee where the offender is a member.
So far, Sen. Massey has sponsored nearly 30 bills in the 114th General Assembly.
Sen. Becky Duncan-Massey’s (R – Knoxville) bill would require sex offenders to report if they are part of a church, temple or religious group. (Tennessee State Capitol / Credit: State of Tennessee)
Anderson County, TN (WOKI) The Tennessee Highway Patrol reports a man died in a head-on crash Sunday afternoon in Anderson County.
THP officials say a Ford Escape being driven by 60-year-old Salvatore Varsalona was traveling South on Brushy Valley Road just before 6:00 p.m. on Sunday when it crossed the double yellow line and hit a Ford F-250 that was traveling North near Pumpkin Hollow Road and came to a stop in the middle of Brushy Valley Road.
THP says Varsalona, who was not wearing a seat belt, was killed in the crash. The driver of the Ford F-250 was not injured in the incident.
Additional information was not released.
The crash happened just before 6 p.m. Sunday on Brushy Valley Road. (Courtesy: THP)
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – University of Tennessee men’s basketball standout Zakai Zeigler is among the selections for the Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Midseason Top 10 Watch List, as revealed Monday afternoon by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
The annual Bob Cousy Award, named after the Class of 1971 Hall of Famer and former Boston Celtic and Holy Cross guard, celebrates its 22nd year by highlighting the top point guard in Division I men’s college basketball.
A senior guard from Long Island, N.Y., Zeigler is among the 10 midseason selections for the second consecutive year. He is the only player who made the list in both 2023-24 and 2024-25.
Zeigler is averaging 12.3 points, 3.5 rebounds, an SEC-best 7.4 assists and a team-leading 2.1 steals per game this season for fourth-ranked Tennessee (18-4, 5-4 SEC). A John R. Wooden Award Midseason Top 25 Watch List selection, Zeigler owns 15 outings with seven-plus assists on the year, fourth-most in Division I.
The 5-foot-9, 172-pounder ranks fifth nationally in assists average, as well as top-40 in steals average. Zeigler, the reigning SEC Defensive Player of the Year, is one of two players in history, alongside Arkansas’ Kareem Reid (1995-99), to record 1,300 points, 600 assists and 200 steals at an SEC school.
Fan Voting for the Cousy Award will begin Feb. 7 on hoophallawards.com. The Fan Vote will count as one committee vote during the finalist selection process.
In March, the top 10 will be narrowed to just five finalists. Then, in late March, those five will be presented to Cousy and the Hall of Fame’s selection committee, at which time winners will be selected. The Selection Committee for the Bob Cousy Awards is composed of top men’s college basketball personnel, including media members, head coaches, sports information directors and Hall of Famers.
The winner of the 2025 Bob Cousy Award will be presented on a to-be-determined date, along with the four other members of the Men’s Starting Five. Additional awards being presented include the Jerry West Award (Shooting Guard), Julius Erving Award (Small Forward), Karl Malone Award (Power Forward) and the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award (Center), in addition to the Women’s Starting Five.
Last year, for the first time, a Volunteer took home one of the Starting Five honors, as Dalton Knecht claimed the Julius Erving Award.
For more information on the 2025 Bob Cousy Award and the latest updates, visit hoophallawards.com, as well as follow @hoophallu and #CousyAward on X/Twitter and Instagram.
Zeigler and the Volunteers are back in action Wednesday at 7 p.m. when they wrap up a three-game home stand versus No. 15/16 Missouri, live on SEC Network from Food City Center.
To keep up with the University of Tennessee men’s basketball team on social media, follow @Vol_Hoops on Instagram and X/Twitter, as well as /tennesseebasketball on Facebook.
Bob Cousy Award Midseason Top 10 Watch List Ace Baldwin Jr., Penn State Walter Clayton Jr., Florida Keshon Gilbert, Iowa State Dylan Harper, Rutgers Kam Jones, Marquette Ryan Nembhard, Gonzaga Mark Sears, Alabama Javon Small, West Virginia Braden Smith, Purdue Zakai Zeigler, Tennessee
Knoxville, TN (WOKI) A man is facing an attempted murder charge after Knoxville police say he fired shots at a woman on Hawthorne Avenue.
KPD says officers responded around 9:40 Saturday night to the 200 block of the roadway on a report of shots fired.
An investigation revealed that multiple suspects had fled the scene in a dark-colored Cadillac sedan which responding officers quickly spotted and stopped, arresting the driver 47-year-old Benjamin Shuttlesworth after a search uncovered multiple loaded firearms, including a handgun stolen out of Pennsylvania.
According to police, Shuttlesworth fired at the 41-year-old woman because he was angry with her.
Shuttlesworth is facing multiple charges in the incident, including attempted first-degree murder, felony reckless endangerment and felony vandalism. In addition, KPD says further investigation revealed that Shuttlesworth also had an outstanding warrant out of Knox County for aggravated domestic assault.
Police said the officers found four loaded handguns, including one reported stolen out of Pennsylvania, and a loaded shotgun in the middle of the road. (Courtesy: KPD)
Gatlinburg, TN (WOKI) Sad news over the weekend from officials with the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
GSMNP officials say missing hiker, 73-year-old Ann Houghton, was found dead inside the park Sunday afternoon around 2:00 p.m.
Houghton was last seen on Tuesday; her car was found at the Smokemont Campground on Saturday.
Officials say Houghton planned to hike the Bradley Fork, Chasteen Creek, Hughes Ridge and Enloe Creek trails and that her body was found about a quarter mile off of the Enloe Creek Trail.
“Ann was an enduring and beloved member of our Smokies Community. She was a dedicated volunteer and avid hiker who shared her passion for the park with many visitors,” said Charles Sellars, Acting Superintendent of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. “Great Smoky Mountains National Park offers condolences to her family and friends.”
Officials say Houghton was an avid hiker and volunteered with the park for more than 20 years; she was nominated for a National Park Service George and Helen Hartzog Award for Outstanding Volunteer Service in 2022.
Several agencies assisted the park with search operations, investigations, and emergency services, including Cherokee Fire and Rescue, BUSAR, Macon Volunteer Fire Department, Cowee Volunteer Fire Department, Appalachian Mountain Rescue Team and the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office.
Park officials said she was a dedicated volunteer and avid hiker who shared her passion with many visitors. (Courtesy: GSMNP)
Knoxville, TN (WOKI) The Knoxville Fire Department explained the difficulty of maneuvering fire trucks when drivers park in illegal spaces, notably in the Fort Sanders area.
KFD is reminding drivers that they must always park in official parking spots, even when parking is tight while school is in session.
The department shared photos via social media from the Fort Sanders area of vehicles parked inside the yellow lines, which are designated as No Parking Zones.
“This makes it next to impossible for our firetrucks to make these turns in a timely and efficient manner,” KFD said on social media.
City code says illegal parking can result in a monetary fine.
Knoxville, TN (WOKI) DNA evidence leads to the conviction of a carjacking defendant in Knox County.
Officials with the Knox County District Attorney’s Office say 26-year-old Tyshawn Cook is now convicted of carjacking, aggravated kidnapping, robbery and sexual battery.
Prosecutors say Cook carjacked a woman who was sitting in her car at a Fort Sanders apartment complex back in 2022.
He then drove to several ATMs, forced the victim to withdraw money and then physically and sexually assaulted her before stealing her car.
A DNA match eventually connected Cook to evidence inside the car; he is due to be sentenced on March 20th and is facing between 8 and 12 years behind bars.
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Redshirt sophomore guard Talaysia Cooper fired in 27 points, as No. 18/19 Tennessee held off Missouri on Sunday afternoon at Mizzou Arena, 76-71.
Cooper scored 14 in the first quarter and 10 in the third frame to help the Lady Vols overcome a slow start and 12-point first quarter deficit to improve to 16-5 overall and 4-5 in SEC play. The 6-foot guard also joined senior forward Sara Puckett with a team-leading seven rebounds and had a squad-best six steals, four assists and three blocks. Cooper received scoring help from junior forward Zee Spearman, who contributed 13.
The Tigers (12-12, 1-8 SEC) were led by 18 points from De’Myla Brown, while Grace Slaughter added 16, Ashton Judd 13 and Laniah Randle a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Missouri grabbed a 7-0 lead in the early going, hitting its first three shots and a free throw to force a Lady Vol timeout with 7:33 to go in the opening stanza. UT finally got on the scoreboard with a pair of Spearman free throws at the 7:10 mark, but the Tigers built a 15-3 lead by the 4:50 mark while UT began the game on an 0-for-9 drought from the field. Ruby Whitehorn finally broke the ice from the floor with a layup with 4:40 to go and then Cooper took over, scoring 13 of her 14 first-frame points over the rest of the period to reel MU in. A pair of Jillian Hollingshead free throws with 15 seconds left drew the Big Orange within two, 22-20, by the end of the period.
The teams exchanged buckets in the early stages of the second stanza with a Whitehorn trey evening things at 25 before the Tigers responded with four points by the 4:49 media break to make it 29-25. Tennessee used a 5-0 burst via a Hollingshead put-back, a pair of Spearman charity tosses and another from Hollingshead to grab its first lead, 30-29, with 2:56 remaining. It then went up two on a Tess Darby three with 2:03 to go before the home team knotted things up at 33 before the teams headed into the intermission.
The Tigers used a 4-0 push to move ahead, 37-33, with 9:11 to go in third, but Tennessee stormed back on a 9-2 run, capped by a Spearman layup and Cooper steal and score, to seize a 42-39 lead and force a Missouri timeout with 6:26 to go. An Alyssa Latham baseline jumper gave UT its biggest lead, 44-39, at the 5:31 mark, but Mizzou responded with a Randle second-chance bucket before the teams headed to the 4:41 media timeout. The Tigers would deadlock things at 50 with 2:12 to go on a Judd layup, but a Samara Spencer layup, Cooper three and put-back, and a Kaniya Boyd layup handed the Lady Vols their largest lead, 59-50, with 1:07 on the clock. Slaughter, though, was able to hit a layup with 19 seconds left, cutting UT’s lead to seven, 59-52, after three.
Tennessee punched its way to a 65-59 lead with 6:24 remaining in the game on consecutive threes by Jewel Spear, and it then got an old-fashioned three-point play from Cooper and another charity toss from Spencer to carve out a 10-point advantage with 5:57 on the lock. Missouri, though, clawed its way to within five, 69-64, by the 5:25 media timeout. The Lady Vols moved ahead by nine, 74-65, with 2:36 to go on a pair of Spearman free throws and another from Spencer, but whittled the deficit to three, 74-71, after Slaughter scored on a layup with 56 ticks on the clock. The Tigers, however, got no closer, as Jewel Spear’s free throws with 16 seconds left accounted for the final score.
UP NEXT: Tennessee returns home and welcomes No. 6/6 UConn to Food City Center for a nationally-televised game on Thursday night. The Lady Vols and Huskies will meet at 6:30 p.m. ET in a contest carried by ESPN. The game also will be available on Lady Vol Network radio stations statewide and via audio stream on UTSports.com.
40-TREY TRIO: Tennessee produced its first trio of players to hit 40 or more three-pointers in a season since 2010-11. Jewel Spear (50) and Samara Spencer (45) already had surpassed 40, while Tess Darby drained her 40th trey on Sunday afternoon. The last time UT had three or more with 40+ deep balls, Angie Bjorklund (73), Meighan Simmons (63) and Shekinna Stricklen (42) accomplished that feat during the 2010-11 campaign en route to a 34-3 record.
FOURTEEN DIFFERENT STARTING FIVES: The Lady Vols have showcased 14 different starting lineups with 10 different players appearing in the first five thus far. Ruby Whitehorn, Samara Spencer, Zee Spearman, Talaysia Cooper and Kaniya Boyd opened Sunday’s contest against the Tigers as quintet No 14. Spencer leads the team with 20 starts. Whitehorn and Cooper tallied their 17th, while Spearman added her 15th and Boyd added her third.
CAN’T CONTAIN COOP:Talaysia Cooper tallied two double-digit quarters, carding her highest-scoring SEC contest with 27 in the victory against the Tigers. The guard secured 14 points in the first quarter alone before adding 10 in the third stanza, marking the ninth and 10th frames this season where she has scored 10 or more. The redshirt sophomore has landed in double figures during the past seven of eight games, racking up her 10th 20-point performance of the season. Cooper knocked down 10 field goals and finished with a career-high-tying five treys.
TURNING UP THE PRESSURE: The Big Orange defense forced Mizzou to turn the ball over a total of 24 times. Fourteen of Tennessee’s foes thus far have committed at least 20 miscues. The Lady Vol press resulted in four 10-second violations and its overall defense caused four five-second inbound violations by the Tigers. The Lady Vols have totaled 21 10-second violations by opponents thus far. The Big Orange forced four pivotal 10-second calls in the second quarter, spanning from the 5:36 mark through the 3:03 stamp. UT forced a season-most five violations against Western Carolina on Nov. 26.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Down two starters and playing with just seven scholarship competitors, the University of Tennessee men’s basketball team turned in a dominant performance Saturday afternoon, toppling No. 5/6 Florida, 64-44.
Senior guard Zakai Zeigler (right knee) and senior forward Igor Miličić Jr. (illness) both missed the contest for eighth-ranked Tennessee (18-4, 5-4 SEC), but their teammates excelled in front of a sold-out Food City Center. Fifth-year guard Chaz Lanier scored a game-high 19 points for the Volunteers, who improved to 7-1 all-time in AP top-10 home matchups, including 4-0 under head coach Rick Barnes, who also moved to 6-0 at home against AP top-five foes in Knoxville.
Tennessee is now, per ESPN, the first program in SEC history to win six consecutive home games against AP top-five foes. The decision, the Volunteers’ largest ever versus an AP top-five team, snapped Florida 1,167-game streak of scoring 45-plus points.
Both sides got off to slow starts on the offensive end, with Tennessee missing its first four field goals before a make at the 17:15 mark and Florida (18-3, 5-3 SEC) missing its initial five attempts before a make at the 16:23 mark, at which point it took a 6-2 lead.
The Volunteers took their first lead, 14-13, on a 3-pointer by Lanier with 8:10 on the timer. The go-ahead basket came during a stretch of 5:45 during which they held the Gators scoreless and forced six straight field-goal misses. However, the home team then missed its next six shots at the other end, going scoreless for 4:06, as Florida went back up by three.
A transition 3-pointer by Lanier, after a possession on which Tennessee blocked two shots, put the Volunteers back in front, 21-19, with 1:32 left in the stanza. They stretched the lead to a game-high three, 24-21, at the break. Both sides shot under 30.0 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes, with each logging a 2-of-13 (15.4 percent) long-range clip.
The Volunteers scored the first six points of the second frame, making it a 14-2 extended run over 4:25, to go ahead by nine, 30-21, with 18:08 left.
Buoyed by four consecutive points from junior forward Felix Okpara, they extended the lead up to a dozen, 40-28, with 14:41 on the clock and then pushed it to 13, 43-30, on a 3-pointer by senior guard Jordan Gainey with 12:59 remaining. The surge came during a span of 6:07 without allowing a made field goal, forcing five straight misses.
After a basket by the Gators, Tennessee went on a 9-0 run in just 4:07, growing the advantage to 19, 52-33, with 6:46 to play. It held Florida scoreless without a point for 4:29, as the visitors missed six straight shots until the 6:32 mark. However, even after the make, Lanier drilled back-to-back 3-pointers—sandwiched around a pair of free throws—to push the cushion all the way to 21, 58-37, with just 5:39 on the timer.
Florida got the margin down to 16 with 2:54 left, but Tennessee scored the last four points, capping the scoring with an emphatic alley-oop dunk by Okpara to claim the 20-point triumph.
Lanier’s game-best point total featured a 5-of-9 mark from 3-point range, adding with five rebounds, one shy of his season best. Gainey scored 16 points and led all players in both assists (five) and minutes (37), setting season highs—and new top marks as a Volunteer—in both categories.
Okpara totaled 10 points and a co-team-leading eight rebounds, finishing 4-of-5 from the floor and making both of his free throws. Senior guard Jahmai Mashack had eight points and matched Okpara with a co-career-high eight boards, plus recorded a season-high-tying four assists. Sophomore forward Cade Phillips added seven points on 3-of-5 shooting to go along with a game-best three blocks in a career-high 28 minutes.
Senior guard Walter Clayton Jr., finished as the lone Gator with double digits in the scoring column, pacing the team with 10 points on a 3-of-13 clip. The Volunteers held him without a point in the second stanza. Junior guard Denzel Aberdeen had eight points, shooting 6-of-8 at the line, and sophomore forward Thomas Haugh registered six to go along with a game-high 10 rebounds.
Tennessee held Florida to just 24.5 percent (13-of-53) shooting, including 14.8 percent (4-of-27) beyond the arc. The former is the first time the Gators finished below 25.0 percent in the last 20 seasons (2005-25), with the only other time they were under even 26.0 percent in that stretch on Dec. 15, 2007. The latter figure was the program’s lowest since March 17, 2024.
Meanwhile, Florida’s 44 points marked its fewest in any game in nearly 35 years, dating to a 40-point showing on Feb. 10, 1990.
The Volunteers conclude a three-game homestand Wednesday at 7 p.m. when they take on No. 20/21 Missouri at Food City Center, live on SEC Network.
To keep up with the University of Tennessee men’s basketball team on social media, follow @Vol_Hoops on Instagram and X/Twitter, as well as /tennesseebasketball on Facebook.
TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS POSTGAME NOTES • The Volunteers, who posted their 18th sellout in the last three seasons (2022-25) and fifth this year, improved to 35-15 all-time in Food City Center sellouts, including 34-13 since the 2007-08 capacity reduction and 24-7 in Barnes’ 10-year tenure. • Tennessee is now 92-34 all-time when playing in front of 20,000-plus fans at Food City Center, including 33-10 under Barnes, with 28 of the latter 43 over the past four years (2021-25). • Saturday’s crowd of 21,678 marked the eighth time in 2024-25, all in Tennessee’s last nine outings, over 19,000 fans have been in attendance at Food City Center. • Tennessee improved to 82-60 all-time against Florida, with the 82 victories surpassing its tally against Auburn for sole possession of its fourth-most versus any team. • The Volunteers are now 9-3 in their last 12 matchups with the Gators, dating to Feb. 21, 2018, after going 1-5 in the prior six. • Tennessee improved to 4-3 all-time in AP top-25 showdowns with Florida, with this the second time in 2024-25 the teams met as top-10 foes after it never previously happened. • Barnes is now 27-8 (.771) in the second leg of regular season home-and-home series over the past eight seasons (2017-25) with the Volunteers. • Tennessee has now played four consecutive games versus AP top-15 foes, its first such stretch ever, as well as five straight home games against AP top-25 teams. • The Volunteers improved to 7-1 (.875) all-time in AP top-10 home showdowns, including 4-1 (.800) as the lower-ranked side and a perfect 4-0 (all under Barnes) at Food City Center. • Across its active 72-week streak in the AP Poll, which extends across the entirety of the last four seasons, Tennessee has now played just 15 of 119 games as a lower-ranked team, moving to 9-6 overall, including 8-4 since Jan. 22, 2022, as well as 6-2 versus SEC foes and a perfect 6-0 at home. • The Volunteers improved to 33-25 (.569) in AP top-25 clashes under Barnes, including 18-5 (.783) at home and 5-3 (.625) in 2024-25. • The above mark in AP top-25 matchups in the Barnes era features a 21-12 (.636) mark since Feb. 26, 2022, and a 12-5 (.706) figure since Dec. 9, 2023. • The Volunteers are now 8-8 (.500) in AP top-10 showdowns under Barnes, including a perfect 4-0 at Food City Center. • Tennessee moved to 21-8 (.724) at home against AP top-25 teams in Barnes’ tenure, including 16-2 (.889) since Jan. 30, 2021. • Tennessee is now a perfect 6-0 at home versus AP top-five foes in the Barnes era, all since Jan. 24, 2017. • According to ESPN research, Tennessee is the first team ever to win six straight home games against AP top-five opponents, breaking the record of five previously held by Kentucky from both 1978-84 and 1956-59. • The Volunteers upped their record to 39-40 (.494) versus AP top-25 opponents under Barnes, including 23-13 (.639) since Jan. 22, 2022. • Tennessee is now 10-9 (.526) against AP top-five teams in Barnes’ tenure, including 6-4 (.600) since Feb. 15, 2022. • The Volunteers improved to 8-2 (.800) against AP top-five SEC programs under Barnes, including 7-1 (.875) since March 2, 2019. • As announced before tip-off, Zeigler missed Saturday’s contest due to a right knee injury sustained Tuesday against No. 12 Kentucky and Miličić missed the game due to flu-like symptoms, giving the Volunteers seven available scholarship players. • Zeigler’s absence snapped a 51-game starting streak that dated to Nov. 29, 2023, at North Carolina and led to the first starting lineup change this season for Tennessee. • Prior to Saturday, the only six games Zeigler has missed in his career were the final six contests of the 2022-23 season after tearing his left ACL. • Miličić previously started each of the first 21 games of the 2024-25 season, his first as a Volunteer. • Saturday marked the first time in 2024-25 the Volunteers changed their starting lineup, as the same five were on the floor for opening tip in each of the first 21 contests. • The only other time in 58 outings over the last two seasons a Tennessee starter missed a game was March 29, 2023, when Santiago Vescovi did not play in the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 versus Creighton in Detroit. • The last time Tennessee played without frequent two starters was Feb. 25, 2023, when Tyreke Key and Julian Phillips missed the outing versus South Carolina. • In addition to playing with just seven available scholarship competitors, Okpara picked up his second foul after just 3:08 of action. • Tennessee has conceded 35 or fewer first-half points in 20 of its 22 contests thus far, including 29 or fewer on 13 occasions and 22 or fewer seven times. • The Volunteers have held a halftime advantage in 17 of their 22 outings this season, including a margin of seven-plus points 12 times, double digits 10 times, 12-plus eight times, 14-plus seven times and 23-plus thrice. • The Volunteers have held a lead of 18-plus points in 16 of their 22 contests this season, including a margin of 26 in 10 of them. • Sixteen of Tennessee’s 17 wins are by 12-plus points, with nine by at least 20, four by at least 35 and two by 40-plus. • Tennessee now has 15 wins by 20-plus points over AP top-25 foes, including nine versus top-20 teams, six against top-15 foes and four against top-10 squads, with this its first against a top-five opponent. • The Volunteers’ prior largest win over an AP top-five team was 19 when it defeated fourth-ranked Kentucky, 71-52, on March 2, 2019. • The last time Florida scored fewer than 45 points in a game was Feb. 10, 1990, when it logged 40 at Georgetown, with its next outing (Feb. 12, 1990, against Kentucky) beginning a 1,167-game streak with 45-plus points. • The Gators previously scored below 45 points just four times in the last 58 seasons (1967-25): 40 at Georgetown (Feb. 10, 1990), 44 at Alabama (Jan. 30, 1990), 42 versus Auburn (March 8, 1985, in Birmingham, Ala.), and at Alabama (Feb. 21, 1981). • Of Florida’s last seven outings with 45 or fewer points, three are against Tennessee, as the two prior to the aforementioned four games were Jan. 21, 1967, at Tennessee (42) and Feb. 1, 1965, at Tennessee (43). • The Gators shot below 25.0 percent for the first time in at least the last 20 seasons (2005-25) and below 26.0 for just the second, joining a 25.5 percent (13-of-51) showing versus Georgia Southern on Dec. 15, 2007. • Saturday marked just the seventh time in the last seven seasons (2018-25) the Gators shot under 15.0 percent from 3-point range, including the first since a 7.7 percent (1-of-13) performance March 17, 2024, in the SEC Tournament title game versus Auburn in Nashville, Tenn. • Florida is the first team to shoot under 30.0 percent in both halves against the Volunteers since Louisville on Nov. 9, 2024. • Gainey, who made 61 starts in his two years at USC Upstate, earned his first such nod as a Volunteer. • The 36:42 of action for Gainey eclipsed his prior season high if 34:18 at Illinois, while his five assists surpassed his previous top tally of four Nov. 9, 2024, at Louisville. • Fifth-year guard Darlinstone Dubar, who made 106 starts across his four seasons at Iowa State (seven) and Hofstra (99), registered his first start at Tennessee. • Dubar had multiple assists for the first time as a Volunteer, notching three, plus played a season-high 25:49, eclipsing his prior mark of 17:26 set both Jan. 11 at Texas and Jan. 28 against Kentucky. • Freshman guard Bishop Boswell played 10:53, 19 seconds shy of his career high, and tied a career best with three assists. • For Phillips, who played 28:06, his previous career high in minutes came Dec. 3, 2024, versus Syracuse when he earned 26:10 of court time. • Lanier has now connected on at least three 3-pointers in 16 of 22 outings at Tennessee, with four-plus in 12 and five-plus in seven. • The eight rebounds for Mashack equaled the eight he tallied both March 29, 2024, versus Creighton in the NCAA Sweet 16 in Detroit and Feb. 18, 2024, at Kentucky. • The prior outing this season in which Mashack had four assists—the mark is one shy of his career best—was Nov. 27, 2024, against UT Martin.
