Tennessee was 25-6 this basketball season they finished in 4th place in the competitive Southeastern Conference but are ranked number five in the KenPom rankings and No. 8 in the AP poll. If they win the SEC Tournament, Tennessee could be a number one seed in the NCAA Tournament. They are a guard-led team, which can be both a blessing and a curse.
Like Florida, their three leading scorers this season are senior guards. The Volunteers were ranked first in the associated press poll from weeks 6 until 10. Do you think Tennessee can recapture its top-ranked magic and go on a run and win the NCAA Tournament?
Tennessee Volunteers Men’s Basketball Roster
Chaz Lanier is a senior guard who is the leading scorer for the Tennessee Volunteers. He is averaging 17.9 points a game. He is a versatile scorer. He is 6-foot-4 and from Nashville, Tennessee. The second scorer for the Tennessee Volunteers is Zakai Zeigler another senior guard from Long Island, New York. He averages 13.1 points per game. He is only 5-foot-9.
The third leading scorer from the Volunteers is senior Guard Jordan Gainey. He is from Tuscon, Arizona, and is 6-foot-3. He averages scoring 10.9 points per game for the Volunteers. Forward Igor Milicic Jr. is the fourth-leading scorer for the Volunteers. He is from Croatia. He averages 10.2 points per game and 7.2 rebounds. He is 6-foot-10. The final starter for the Volunteers is former Ohio State Buckeye Felix Okpara. He averages 7.7 points per game and is 6-foot 11 inches tall and a junior.
Jahmai Mashack is a senior guard and often first off the bench for the Volunteers. He is a 6-foot-4 from California. Mashack averages 6.0 points per game. Cade Phillips is a 6-foot-9-inch sophomore forward who averages 4.9 points and 3.5 rebounds for Tennessee. The bench for the Tennessee Volunteers is J. P. Estrella, Darlinstone Dubar, Grant Hurst, Campbell Duncan, Bishop Boswell, and Gavin Paul.
Main Storylines
The top story on the ESPN website for Tennessee is about an SEC documentary. The documentary is called “Volunteer for Life.” It is about former Tennessee Guard Chris Lofton. He is 38 years old and played for the Volunteers from 2004 until 2008. He was the “2003 Mr. Basketball” in Kentucky. In the 2006–07 season, Lofton led the conference in scoring with 20.8 points per game. He was also named the conference Player of the Year. He bounced around as a professional, never playing in the National Basketball Association.
There is much to do about Tennessee being a top seed in the NCAA Tournament, which should be the case assuming they do not lose in the first round of the SEC Tournament. The next two stories on the Volunteer website are about the documentary. The next article is the same bracketology article appearing on other websites. There are then stories about the AP poll and Duke being the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament for the first time since 2021.
One has to go down eight stories to find one about how the Volunteers beat South Carolina on March 8. In that Volunteer victory, Lanier scored 23 points and led his team to victory. Lanier is the Volunteers leading scorer. He averages 17.9 points per game. In the victory, Phillips came off the bench to score 15 points. Milicic added 13 and Jordan Gainey had 10 points.
Conclusion
The Tennessee Volunteers had a very good year at 25-6. They were the top-ranked team for a while and then stumbled a bit. However, they remain dangerous and if they can win their conference tournament they should get a top seed in the NCAA Tournament. Like the Florida Gators, their fellow SEC club, they are led by three senior guards. Teams with experienced backcourts like that tend to do well in the NCAA Tournament.
