The Tennessee Basketball SEC Tournament Championship Rings have arrived.
The Vols received the rings after an afternoon practice at Pratt Pavilion on Thursday, documented by video and photos on social media.
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— Tennessee Basketball (@Vol_Hoops) September 23, 2022
At Amalie Arena in Tampa in March, Tennessee was the second seed in the SEC tournament and cruised through Mississippi State, Kentucky and Texas A&M en route to the title, the first conference tournament championship in the program since 1979.
The Vols beat Mississippi State 72-59 in the quarterfinals, then defeated Kentucky 69-62 in the semifinals. Texas A&M qualified for the championship on Sunday as the No. 8 seed, beating Florida, No. 1 seed Auburn and No. 4 seed Arkansas.
The Aggies appeared to be out of gas the moment they encountered the Burning Vols.
Santiago Vescovi scored 17 points, Kennedy Chandler added 14 to go with seven assists, and Josiah-Jordan James had a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds.
Chandler and Vescovi combined to shoot 8 for 16 from the 3-point line and had 12 assists between them to power the Vols. James went 3 for 7 from the 3-point line on the way to his 16 points, while John Fulkerson led the way on the boards, grabbing 11 rebounds to go with eight points.
The Vols started the game on a 14-0 streak, scoring all 14 points in the first four minutes and 44 seconds.
are these the details?? pic.twitter.com/DhMZQ38BLD
— Tennessee Basketball (@Vol_Hoops) September 23, 2022
It was Tennessee’s third appearance in an SEC title game in the past four tournaments, following losses to Kentucky in St. Louis in 2018 and Auburn in Nashville in 2019. Prior to the current run, the Vols have played three matches for the tournament title in the previous 38 years.
It was the 13th all-time SEC tournament title game for Tennessee, with seven appearances between 1936 and 1950. After winning the 1979 tournament, the Vols went to the championship game in 1991, losing to the Alabama in Nashville, and in 2009, losing 64-61 to Mississippi State in Tampa.
Tennessee beat Kentucky 75-69 in overtime at Birmingham in 1979 in what had been the Vols’ last SEC tournament championship. That title ended a 36-year streak dating back to a 33-30 win over Kentucky at Louisville in 1943. Tennessee beat Kentucky 36-33 in 1941 at Louisville for their second conference tournament title, after beating Alabama 29-25 at Knoxville in 1936.
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The season ended with an overall record of 27-8, as the Vols were upset as the No. 3 seed in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, losing to No. 11 seed Michigan. .
The 2022-23 season begins Nov. 7 against Tennessee Tech at Thompson-Boling Arena. Other non-conference games include Florida Gulf Coast, McNeese State, Alcorn State, Eastern Kentucky and Austin Peay, as well as the Big 12-SEC Challenge game against Texas. The Vols will play neutral-site games against Colorado (Nashville) and Maryland (Brooklyn, NY) and play three games over three days in Battle 4 Atlantis in Thanksgiving week in the Bahamas, starting with Butler.
The SEC roster includes home games against Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia and Missouri, road games at Florida, LSU, Ole Miss and Texas A&M and home and home dates with the Kentucky, Auburn, Vanderbilt, South Carolina and Mississippi State.