LAS VEGAS – The No. 20/17 Tennessee men’s basketball team (5-0) is set to continue the 2025-26 slate at MGM Grand Garden Arena Monday as they face the Rutgers Scarlet Knights in their first contest of the Players Era Tournament in Las Vegas, Nev.
Fans can watch Monday’s game on TNT and stream on HBO Max. Brandon Gaudin (play-by-play), LVFL Candace Parker (color) and Nabil Karim (reporter) will have the call.
Parker, a two-time National Player of the Year and two-time national champion at Tennessee, will be the color analyst for a UT men’s basketball game for the first time. The top pick in 2008, she won two WNBA MVP awards and three titles.
Fans state-wide can tune in to their local Vol Network radio affiliate to hear John Wilkerson and Steve Hamer depict the action.
THE MATCHUP
• Tennessee and Rutgers went 22 seasons between their first two meetings. This matchup is 33 years since the second one.
• UT’s first victory over Rutgers (3/14/69) was in New York City in the NIT. The last win (11/19/92) was on the road in the NIT Season Tip-Off.
• The Volunteers are 36-44 against the current Big Ten schools. They went 2-0 last year, with both victories away from home.
• Rick Barnes is 42-40 against the current Big Ten membership, with a 9-8 mark at Tennessee that includes wins over seven schools.
• Rutgers is the second of two teams on UT’s schedule Rick Barnes has never coached against. The Vols posted a 95-56 win over the other, Northern Kentucky, on 11/8/25. Northwestern and Penn State are the only other Big Ten teams he not met as a head coach.
• Following a 15-17 (8-12) campaign, Rutgers placed No. 17 in this year’s Big Ten preseason media poll.
• Sophomore forward Dylan Grant leads the Scarlet Knights with 16.6 ppg and 7.2 rpg.
NEWS & NOTES
• The Volunteers are 15-13 all-time in the Pacific Time Zone (15-12 in December, 0-1 in March). Their lone Pacific Time outing in the last 15 seasons (2010-25) was an 86-79 setback versus Gonzaga in Seattle on 12/19/15.
• UT’s only prior trips to Nevada— all in Las Vegas—came in Dec. 1977 (0-2) and Dec. 1982 (1-1).
• In Rick Barnes’ tenure, UT is 12-10 in nine multi-team events (MTE’s). That includes 5-9 record in America (3-5 in continental U.S.) and a 7-1 ledger in the Bahamas.
• Barnes is seeking a win over a 211th different school, including a 206th over current DI programs.
• With 841 wins, Rick Barnes leads active DI coaches and ranks ninth all-time (min. 10 years in DI).
• Tennessee won two of its last three MTE trips, claiming the Battle 4 Atlantis in 2022 and the Baha Mar Championship in 2025.
• Ten Volunteers are averaging over 5.0 ppg on the season, with three posting at least 14.0 ppg.
• UT leads the nation in rebounding margin (+19.2) and in offensive rebounding percentage (49.7).
• Nate Ament, Cameron Boozer and A.J. Dybantsa are the only DI freshmen with 15 points and six boards in five games this season. Meleek Thomas has four outings.
• LVFL Candace Parker, a twotime National Player of the Year and two-time national champion at Tennessee, will be the color analyst for a UT men’s basketball game for the first time. The top pick in 2008, she won two WNBA MVP awards and three titles.
• Tennessee, Alabama and Houston are the only schools to make the last three Sweet 16s. Tennessee, Alabama and Duke are the only three in the last two Elite Eights.
• UT finished fifth in the AP Poll, Coaches Poll and KenPom for the second consecutive season in 2024-25, tying the program best set/tied just one year prior.
• UT’s 206 wins in the last nine years (2017-26) are co-sixth in DI, alongside Auburn. Only Houston (248), Gonzaga (244), Duke (226), Kansas (215) and Purdue (212) own more. After UT, the rest of the top 10 is Saint Mary’s (205), Liberty (203) and Drake (202).
WINNING WAYS
• Over the last nine seasons (2017-26), Tennessee paces all SEC programs in postseason victories (23), sits co-first in total victories (206) and is a close second in overall winning percentage (.736; 206- 74). In that period, UT has three SEC titles (2018 and 2024 regular seasons, 2022 tournament).
• In that same span, the Vols are one of two SEC teams with 190-plus wins or an overall winning percentage above .700, alongside Auburn (206-72; .741).
• Over SEC play across the same period, Tennessee (98-45; .685) is first in league victories and league winning percentage. Only Kentucky (97-46; .678), Auburn (96-48; .667) and Alabama (91-53; .632) are also at 85-plus wins and/or a .600 clip.
• In just the last five seasons (2021-26), the Vols own a 114-36 (.760) overall record. That is good for the most wins and the second-best winning percentage in the SEC, ahead of Auburn (112-34; .767) in the former and closely behind it in the latter.
• In that same time, Tennessee (51-21; .708) is co-second, alongside Alabama (51-21; .708), in the SEC in both league victories and league winning percentage. It is behind only Auburn (53-19; .736).
POLL PRESENCE
• Tennessee has played 246 games as a ranked team in the AP Poll in Rick Barnes’ tenure, posting a 186-60 (.756) record. A total of 71.1 percent of the Volunteers’ 346 games since Barnes arrived in 2015-16 have come with the team ranked in the AP Poll, all since 2017-18 (246 of 280, 87.9 percent).
• UT is 165-55 (.750) while in the AP top 20 under Barnes, 129-42 (.754) while top-15, 103-33 (.757) while top-10, 49-14 (.778) while top-five, 25-3 (.893) while top-three and 14-2 (.875) while No. 1.
• The Vols are 38-28 (.576) in AP top-25 matchups under Barnes, including 30-21 (.588) with both teams in the top 20, 20-15 (.571) with both in the top 15 and 11-10 (.524) with both in the top 10.
SPREADING THE SCORING
• Tennessee had three individuals score 17-plus points in its second, third and fourth games of the season.
• Prior to this season, that happened 14 total times in Rick Barnes’ first 10 years (2015-25) at the helm. Half of them came during the 2018-19 campaign.
• The stretch included a game against North Florida (11/12/25) in which three Volunteers had at least 19 points. It marked the third such occurrence in Barnes’ tenure, alongside 1/29/19 against South Carolina and 11/19/15 versus Marshall. The latter was Barnes’ third game at Tennessee.
FRESHMAN PHENOM
• Nate Ament claimed SEC Freshman of the Week honors on 11/10/25, the first such accolade of the year in the league. The last Volunteer to win the award was Julian Phillips on 1/23/23.
• Ament, to begin his career against Mercer (11/3/25) became the fifth Tennessee freshman with 18 points in a season opener in the last 20 years (2006-26).
• Next, Ament had 23 points, eight rebounds, five assists and two steals versus Northern Kentucky (11/8/25). He became the sixth SEC freshman in the last 20 seasons (2006-26) to reach that mark, joining Reed Sheppard (12/2/23), Brandon Miller (3/12/23), VFL Kennedy Chandler (2/22/22), Ben Simmons (12/2/15) and James Young (1/8/14). Only two other Vols, Chandler and Josiah-Jordan James (3/1/22), have hit those numbers across that twodecade span.
• In the only game of his second week, Nate Ament had 19 points, nine rebounds, five assist, two steals and one block versus North Florida (11/12/25). He became the fifth SEC freshman—seventh instance— in the last 20 years (2006-26) to register that line. Ament follows Ben Simmons (thrice in 2015-16), James Young (1/8/14), Archie Goodwin (11/23/12) and John Wall (3/27/10). Only one other Vol, Igor Miličić Jr. (2/5/25) has notched that line in those 20 seasons.
• That lone performance helped Ament repeat as SEC Freshman of the Week on 11/17/25. He became the sixth Vol with two such honors in a season, including the first since Zakai Zeigler in 2021-22 and the first one ever to garner them in back-to-back weeks.
• To open his third week, Ament had 19 points and 10 rebounds for his first double-double, adding three steals, against Rice (11/17/25). He became the fifth SEC freshman—six instance—in the past 15 years (2011-26) with that line, following Brandon Miller (3/12/23); Jabari Smith (11/12/21); Aaron Nesmith (11/27/18); and Ben Simmons (twice in 2015-16). The last Vol to do it was over 19 years ago when Dane Bradshaw (1/18/06) achieved it.
• Ament then recorded 15 points, six rebounds, four assists and four steals against Tennessee State (11/20/25). He is just the fifth SEC freshman—third in regulation—to post that line in the last 10 years (2016-26), alongside Collin Murray-Boyles (3/9/24 in OT), Anthony Edwards (2/26/20 in OT), Keyontae Johnson (3/15/19) and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (3/15/18).
DISHING OUT DIMES
• In each of Tennessee’s first three games of the season—wins over Mercer (11/3/25), Northern Kentucky (11/8/25) and North Florida (11/12/25)— two different players had five-plus assists. The Volunteers had that happen just four total times during the 2024-25 season.
• The first four instances were recorded by four different players. Ja’Kobi Gillespie (six) and Ethan Burg (five) did it against Mercer, while it was Nate Ament (five) and Troy Henderson (five) versus Northern Kentucky. Gillespie (seven) and Ament (five) achieved the feat against North Florida.
• In 2024-25, only three different Volunteers had fiveplus assists in a game at any point in the year.
• Against Northern Kentucky, Troy Henderson became the first UT freshman with five-plus assists and zero turnovers in a game since Kennedy Chandler (seven) on 3/13/22 in the SEC Tournament title game win over Texas A&M in Tampa, Fla.
• After notching 19 assists in the opener versus Mercer (11/3/25), Tennessee had 24 assists against Northern Kentucky (11/8/25), its most since 11/13/24 versus Montana (24). The Volunteers eclipsed that number with 26 against North Florida (11/12/25), their top tally since 2/17/24 against Vanderbilt (28). UT then posted 23 versus Rice (11/20/25), giving the team three straight games at 23-plus, and followed that with 20 against Tennessee State (11/20/25) for a fourth consecutive game at 20-plus and fifth in a row with at least 19.
