#13 Tennessee (6-1) vs. Alcorn State (3-5)
Sunday, December 4, 2022 | 5:00 p.m. CT/6:00 p.m. ET
Knoxville, TN | Thompson-Boling Arena
Knoxville, TN –The 13th-ranked Tennessee men’s basketball team returns to Thompson-Boling Arena this weekend to play back-to-back home games for the first time this season, taking on Alcorn State on Sunday at 5:00 p.m.
Fans can watch Sunday’s game on SEC Network+ and online or on any mobile device through WatchESPN. WatchESPN can be accessed through the ESPN app or online at espn.com/watch. Andy Brock (play-by-play) and VFL Steve Hamer (analyst) will have the call.
Fans can also tune in live on their local Vol Network affiliate to hear Bob Kesling and Bert Bertelkamp describe the action.
Tennessee (6-1) followed up last week’s Battle 4 Atlantis Championship in the Bahamas with a 76-40 victory over McNeese State on Wednesday. Reigning SEC Player of the Week Santiago Vescovi led the way with 16 points for the Vols, while Julian Phillips had 12 points, five rebounds and four assists.
For the second straight game and third time this season, Tennessee is set to face a team for the first time in program history — the Vols and Alcorn State (3-5) have never met before. This is the seventh time Tennessee has faced a member of SWAC.
Tickets and parking
Tickets and parking passes for all Tennessee Athletics events, including men’s basketball, are now digital and accessible via mobile device to improve security and reduce the risk of ticket fraud, as well as to make the process more convenient for fans.
Fans will be admitted to the Thompson-Boling Arena via a unique QR code that will be scanned directly from a mobile device. For quick and easy access to Tennessee Athletics sites, 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 game day. All valid digital tickets will display a mobile barcode or hold icon near the reader (tap-and-go). PLEASE NOTE: SCREEN SHOTS OF TICKETS WILL NOT BE SCANNED AT THE DOOR AND DO NOT ALLOW ENTRY!
Printed PDF tickets will no longer be issued or accepted for entry to any Tennessee Athletics venue.
The only authorized sources for tickets to Tennessee Athletics events are the Tennessee Athletics ticket office, AllVols.com, the ticket office at the venue of the sporting event, and Ticketmaster.
A comprehensive step-by-step guide on how best to access and use your digital tickets and passes, including diagrams and FAQs, is available here.
Tennessee Athletics App
Fans are encouraged to download the Tennessee Athletics app, which is now home to the Coca-Cola GBO zone. Search “Tennessee Athletics” in Apple or Google Play Store or use this link to download: utsports.com/app.
The series
Tennessee has never faced Alcorn State on the hardwood, and Sunday’s clash is only the seventh time in program history the Vols will meet a current member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference.
Tennessee is undefeated against opponents SWAC, with all six games taking place at Thompson-Boling Arena.
A Vols win on Sunday would extend UT’s home winning streak to 21 games overall and 18 games against non-conference foes (dating to a loss to Wisconsin on Dec. 28, 2019).
Pulitzer-winning author Alex Haley attended Alcorn State. Knoxville’s Alex Haley Heritage Square is home to a 13-foot bronze statue of Haley. Additionally, UT maintains a collection of Haley’s personal works in the Special Collections Department of its libraries. Haley died in 1992 and is buried near his childhood home in Henning, Tennessee.
Screening report
The Volunteers are in the middle of a three-game homestand, their longest of the season.
Reigning SEC Player of the Week Santiago Vescovi is 12 points away from becoming the 54th steal to reach the 1,000-point milestone.
Preseason All-SEC selection Josiah-Jordan James has missed Tennessee’s last four games with left knee pain. There is no timetable for his return.
The Volunteers possess the best adjusted defensive efficiency in the nation, allowing just 83.0 points per 100 possessions. For more on defending UT, see page 3.
Five times this season, the Vols have limited their opponents to 50 points or less. Tennessee held foes to 50 or less five times all last season and has now done so 25 times during the Barnes era.
Tennessee have yet to trail at halftime this season and lead their opponents by 32.3 ppg to 23.4 ppg (+8.9 ppg) in the first half.
Draping lines
Sunday’s game caps off a men’s and women’s doubleheader, as the Lady Vols host Virginia Tech at 12:00 p.m. CT.
The Vols wear their orange uniforms on Sunday. In six known cases of the Vols wearing orange at home, they are 3-3. The last two home games in orange were losses to Memphis in 2013 and South Carolina in 2015.
Guards Santiago Vescovi and Zakai Zeigler each rank in the SEC’s top 10 in assists and steals per game.
The Flights have an average home attendance of 16,803 this season. This average ranks fourth nationally behind only Kentucky (19,301), Arkansas (19,200) and North Carolina (18,695).
About the Alcorn State Braves
Alcorn State (3-5) enters Sunday’s game with Tennessee following back-to-back road losses in the West — at Arizona State last Sunday, 76-54, and at the Grand Canyon on Tuesday, 80-72.
In other notable results so far this season, the Braves have faced an SEC team – falling to Ole Miss in the season opener, 73-58 – and defeated a Power Conference opponent. , knocking out Wichita State last month, 66-57.
Aside from an exhibition game on Oct. 27, the Braves have yet to play a home game this season. Alcorn has played six real road games and two neutral-site competition so far, and isn’t ready to play a regular-season home game until SWAC play begins Jan. 2.
In the preseason, Alcorn State was chosen to finish second in the 12-team SWAC by league coaches. Sophomore guard Dominic Brewton and redshirt sophomore forward Keondre Montgomery were each named to the All-SWAC preseason second team.
Alcorn State’s current leading scorers are Brewton and Byron Joshua, who is coming off a career-high 30 points at the Grand Canyon on Tuesday. Joshua is averaging 11.6 points per game and also leads the team in assists with 2.6 per game.
Brewton is also averaging 11.6 points per game and has scored in double figures in six of Alcorn’s eight games.
Located in Claiborne County, Mississippi, Alcorn State University has just over 3,000 students and is the oldest historically black public land-grant institution in the United States. Former Titans and Ravens quarterback Steve McNair notably attended Alcorn State.
Tennessee opponents face 40-for-50 fight
Only two of Tennessee’s seven opponents this season have managed to score more than 50 points.
Tennessee leads all Division I teams with five games in which they held their opponent to 50 or less.
Even defending national champion Kansas reached 50 points when the Vols defeated the third-seeded Jayhawks in the Battle 4 Atlantis title game.
UT Flights ranks second nationally in attendance rate
Tennessee has helped on 70.8% of its baskets made so far. That assist rate is the second-best of any Division I team and barely trails national leader Liberty (70.9).
Zakai Zeigler and Santiago Vescovi lead the way with 24 assists each (3.4 apg).
Volunteers on a 20-game home winning streak
Since their last home game of the 2020-21 campaign, the Vols are on an active 20-game winning streak at home (the sixth-longest active streak in the nation).
Last season’s perfect home record included five wins against the top 15 teams, including three top 10 wins. 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 home record last season, joining Arizona, Auburn, Kentucky and Texas Tech.
Only five times in program history have Tennessee chained 20+ straight home wins, the most recent coming in 2018-19 (31 straight).
Next Up For UT Men’s Basketball
Following Sunday’s game, the Tennessee Vols basketball team wraps up its three home games Wednesday against Eastern Kentucky at 6:00 p.m. CT on SEC Network. Tickets remain available on AllVols.com.