The eighth-ranked Tennessee men’s basketball team hits the hardwood one final time before the start of conference play, taking on Austin Peay at 6 p.m. ET on Wednesday inside Thompson-Boling Arena.
Fans can also listen live on their local Vol Network affiliate to hear Bob Kesling and Bert Bertelkamp describing the action on 103.1 FM WIKQ.
Tennessee (9-2) is coming off just its second loss of the season, falling at No. 9 Arizona on Saturday, 75-70. Sophomore Zakai Zeigler led the Vols with a career-high 21 points on 8-for-11 shooting a career-high-tying six rebounds. Senior Olivier Nkamhoua was the other Vol in double figures, scoring 16 points while also notching five assists and four rebounds.
Wednesday marks the 10th all-time meeting between Tennessee and Austin Peay, but first since 2011. The Vols are 20-1 all-time against current members of the Atlantic Sun Conference.
Following Wednesday’s home contest, Tennessee begins SEC play at Ole Miss on Dec. 28. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m. ET on SEC Network.
TICKETS AND PARKING
Tickets and parking passes to all Tennessee Athletics events, including men’s basketball, are now digital and can be accessed through a mobile device to improve security and reduce the risk of ticket fraud as well as make the process more convenient for fans.
Fans will gain admission into Thompson-Boling Arena via a unique QR code which will be scanned directly from a mobile device. For quick and easy entry into Tennessee Athletics venues, fans are encouraged to download the Tennessee Athletics app from the App Store (iPhone) and Google Play (Android).
Your mobile device is the ticket on gameday. All valid digital tickets will display a moving barcode or a hold near reader (tap-and-go) icon. PLEASE NOTE: SCREENSHOTS OF TICKETS WILL NOT SCAN AT THE GATE AND WILL NOT ALLOW ENTRY!
Printed PDF tickets will no longer be issued or accepted for entry at any Tennessee Athletics venue.
The only authorized sources for tickets to Tennessee Athletics events are the Tennessee Athletics Ticket Office, AllVols.com, the venue box office where the athletic event is taking place and Ticketmaster.
A complete step-by-step guide on how to best access and use your digital tickets and parking passes, including diagrams and FAQ is available here.
TENNESSEE ATHLETICS APP
Fans are encouraged to download the Tennessee Athletics app, which now houses the Coca-Cola GBO Zone. Search “Tennessee Athletics” in the Apple or Google Play Store or use this link to download: utsports.com/app.
THE SERIES
• Tennessee leads its all-time series with Austin Peay, 8-1, dating to 1940.
• The Governors won the most recent meeting, 74-70, on Dec. 10, 2011, at Thompson-Boling Arena.
• All but one of the games in this series have taken place in Knoxville. The exception was a meeting at the 1989 Mid-South Classic in Memphis.
• The Volunteers are 20-1 all-time against current members of the Atlantic Sun Conference.
• Austin Peay AD Gerald Harrison was a member of Phillip Fulmer’s Tennessee football staff from 2001-07 and is a 2001 UT grad.
• Austin Peay served as the 35th governor of Tennessee (1923-27).
• During the 2022 calendar year, Tennessee’s ticketed men’s sports—football (7-0), men’s basketball (14-0) and baseball (38-5)—own a combined home record of 59-5. A men’s hoops win over Austin Peay Wednesday would make it 60-5 (.923).
SCOUTING REPORT
• Tennessee leads the nation in offensive rebounding, pulling down 15.0 offensive boards per game.
• Julian Phillips ranks third among all DI major-conference freshmen in offensive rebounding, with 2.8 per game.
• No freshmen throughout Division I have attempted more free throws than Julian Phillips (67). The next closest is Portland’s Alden Applewhite (63).
• Saturday at Arizona, senior guard Santiago Vescovi became the 54th Vol to reach the 1,000-point milestone. He reached the mark in his 90th career game.
• Zakai Zeigler has averaged a team-high 15.3 points over the last three games while shooting .429 from 3-point range.
• Olivier Nkamhoua has a team-high-tying nine assists over the last three games.
• UT’s bench is giving the Vols 24.5 points per game despite the squad being regularly shorthanded.
• During the Rick Barnes era (2015-present), Tennessee has now made 30 appearances in the top 10 of the AP Top 25.
• Tennessee has not lost consecutive games since the 2021 postseason. And the Vols haven’t suffered consecutive non-conference losses since dropping games vs. Wisconsin (Dec. 28, 2019) and at No. 3 Kansas (Jan. 25, 2020).
THE NATION’S BEST DEFENSE
• For the fourth straight week, the Volunteers own the best adjusted defensive efficiency in the country per KenPom, allowing only 80.9 points per 100 possessions.
• Tennessee owns the best 3-point defense in Division I (.202) and the second-best overall field-goal defense (.336).
• In 11 games, Tennessee’s opponents have only managed to make 49 3-pointers.
• Seven times this season, the Vols have held their opponents to 50 points or less. Tennessee has now done that 27 times during the Barnes era (2015-present).
• Tennessee has yet to trail at the break this season and is outscoring its opponents 34.2 ppg to 23.5 ppg (+10.7 ppg) in first-half action.
ABOUT AUSTIN PEAY
• Austin Peay (6-6) enters Wednesday’s game having won three of its last four, but the Govs lost in their most recent outing—falling, 68-60, at Murray State on Friday.
• The Governors have played three games against teams from major conferences this season. Austin Peay lost at NC State and at Purdue to open the season, but won at South Florida on Nov. 17, 62-60. The win at South Florida was the Governors’ lone road win of the season. Austin Peay currently ranks No. 266 in the NET rankings.
• This marks Austin Peay’s first season in the ASUN after previously having been a member of the Ohio Valley Conference.
• Austin Peay head coach Nate James is in his second season at the helm of the program. James came to APSU from Duke, where he spent 12 years under former head coach Mike Krzyzewski. James started out as an assistant strength and conditioning coach before working his way into an on-court role in 2009 and eventually ascending to an associate head coach role in 2017.
• Sophomore center Elijah Hutchins-Everett, the reigning OVC Freshman of the Year, is leading the Governors in scoring and rebounding—posting 13.8 points and 7.2 rebounds per game.
• Tennessee assistant coach Rod Clark held the same role at Austin Peay during the 2020-21 season. The ensuing offseason, Clark was hired by Barnes to join the Vols’ staff. The Governors finished 14-13 (10-10 OVC) during Clark’s lone season on staff.
• Only two players remain on Austin Peay’s roster that were on the team during Clark’s brief stint in Clarksville—senior guards Carlos Paez and Codey Bates.
VOLUNTEERS RIDING 22-GAME HOME WIN STREAK
• Dating to their final home game of the 2020-21 campaign, the Vols are riding an active 22-game home win streak (the sixth-longest active streak in the country).
• Last season’s perfect record at home included five wins over top-15 teams, including three top-10 opponents—No. 14 Arkansas, No. 13 LSU, No. 6 Arizona, No. 4 Kentucky and No. 3 Auburn. Tennessee was one of only five major-conference programs to post a perfect record at home last season, joining Arizona, Auburn, Kentucky and Texas Tech.
• Only five times in program history has Tennessee strung together more than 20 consecutive home wins, most recently from 2018-2019 (31 straight).
VOLS SUCCESSFUL ON THE IN-STATE CIRCUIT
• Tennessee has won its last 10 games against in-state opponents and is 26-5 vs. in-state foes under coach Rick Barnes.
• Those 26 wins have come against Vanderbilt (12x), Tennessee Tech (5x), ETSU (3x), Lipscomb (twice), Chattanooga, Memphis, Tennessee State and UT Martin.
• Wednesday marks the first time these programs will meet during Barnes’ Tennessee tenure.
STATISTICAL SAY-WHATS?
• The Tennessee backcourt trio of Santiago Vescovi (22), Tyreke Key (21) and Zakai Zeigler (19) have combined to make 62 3-pointers this season. Tennessee’s 11 opponents to date have made a total of only 49 3-pointers vs. the Vols.
• Tennessee opponents this season have attempted (196) only five more free throws than the Vols (191) have made.
COMPREHENSIVE EXCELLENCE
• Tennessee’s men’s hoops squad isn’t the only team enjoying routine success on Rocky Top.
• During the 2021-22 academic year, Tennessee won the SEC Men’s All-Sports Trophy and finished second in the SEC Women’s All-Sports standings. The Vols and Lady Vols captured five SEC team titles in 2021-22.
• Tennessee teams currently ranked in their respective national top 25 polls include football (No. 6), men’s swimming & diving (No. 6), men’s golf (No. 7), men’s basketball (No. 8), women’s swimming & diving (No. 14) and men’s cross country (No. 20).
• After spending most of last season ranked No. 1 nationally, the Tennessee baseball program is likely to debut in the top 10 of the upcoming preseason polls.
