Hoops Central: #6 [2] Tennessee vs. #11 [3] Creighton

DETROIT – The sixth-ranked, No. 2 seed Tennessee men’s basketball is geared up to compete in the Sweet 16 for the second consecutive season, facing 11th-ranked, No. 3 seed Creighton Friday night in Detroit at Little Caesars Arena. Tipoff is slated for 9:59 pm ET.

Fans can catch Friday’s game between the Vols (26-8) and Bluejays (25-9) on TBS. Andrew Catalon (play-by-play), Steve Lappas (analyst) and Evan Washburn (reporter) will have the call.

Fans can also listen live on their local Vol Network affiliate to hear Bob Kesling and Bert Bertelkamp describing the action.

Tennessee clinched its second consecutive Sweet 16 appearance, its second time doing so in program history, with a 62-58 victory Saturday night over seventh-seeded Texas at Spectrum Center in Charlotte.

Fifth-year guard Dalton Knechtwho iced the game with four late free throws, scored a game-high 18 points for the Vols, which led for over 36 minutes and forced 17 turnovers in a commanding defensive performance.

THE MATCHUP

• In the lone previous meeting between the two sides, Tennessee notched a 34-28 home win over Creighton on 1/9/37. That was just the 29th season in program history at UT.
• Creighton, which tied for second place in the BIG EAST, has its ninth straight 20-win season and is in the Sweet 16 for the third time in four years.
• Senior guard Baylor Scheierman, a Third Team All-American, paces Creighton at 18.3 ppg and 9.1 rpg.
• Scheierman and UT guard Dalton Knecht are two of the five finalists for the Julius Erving Award.
• UT is 31-27 all-time against current BIG EAST schools. It owns a 3-0 record in such NCAA Tournament games, possessing victories over Buter (2008), Connecticut (2000) and Marquette (1983).
• Tennessee and Creighton are two of the seven teams making back-to-back Sweet 16 trips, alongside Alabama, Connecticut, Gonzaga, Houston and San Diego State.
• The Volunteers are seeking their second Elite Eight bid (2010), while the Bluejays are looking for their third (1941 and 2023).

NEWS & NOTES
• Tennessee won the SEC regular season crown for the 11th time, notching its sixth outright title.
• The Volunteers are 8-5 in the NCAA Tournament during Rick Barneswho is tied for the most such wins by a UT head coach.
• UT is 27-26 all-time in 26 NCAA Tournament trips, with this the first time it has ever owned a winning record in the event. The Vols are 2-5 in second games, 7-3 as a No. 2 seed and 0-2 against No. 3 seeds. This will be their first postseason game in Michigan.
• UT is one of 14 teams with seven Sweet 16 bids in the last 17 NCAA Tournaments (since 2006-07). It joins North Carolina (11), Duke (10), Gonzaga (10), Kansas (nine plus one vacated), Gonzaga (nine), Kentucky (eight), UCLA (eight), Arizona (seven plus one vacated), Michigan (seven), Purdue (seven), Syracuse (seven), Wisconsin (seven) and Xavier (seven).
• This is the second time UT has earned back-to-back Sweet 16 berths, joining 2007 and 2008.
• UT went 4-2 in the regular season against the other Sweet 16 teams.
• UT has 26 wins for the fourth time in the last seven years under Rick Barnes; it hit that tally three times before his 2015 arrival. UT has 170 victories since 2017-18, co-10th in DI and co-fifth among teams at the Power Six level that entire time.
• Barnes, a Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year Award finalist, hit 200 wins at UT in the Round of 64 victory against Saint Peter’s, becoming the 19th coach to reach that mark at two DI schools.
• With three steals in the win over Texas, Santiago Vescovi upped his career total to 212, passing Vincent Yarbrough (1998-2002) for the most in UT history. He owns 15 steals in NCAA Tournament play, tied with Chris Lofton (2004-08) for the UT record.
• Zakai Zeigler has 24 assists in NCAA Tournament action, three behind Bert Bertelkamp (1976-80) for the school record.
• Dalton Knechtone of four Naismith Trophy finalists, is tied with Allan Houston (717 in 1991-92) for third on UT’s single-season scoring list and seven shy of Dale Ellis (724 in 1982-83) for second.

VARIETY OF VICTORIES
• The Volunteers have 26 wins this far, their seventh time ever hitting that mark. Four of those campaigns have come in the last seven years Rick Barnes.
• Tennessee had 24 regular season triumphs, tying the 1999-2000 season for the third-most in program history. It won 28 in 2007-08 and 27 in 2018-19. Two of UT’s top four marks all-time are under Barnes.
• The Vols finished with eight true road wins this season, matching 2017-18 and 1999-2000 for the program’s second-highest total ever. Only the 2007-08 team logged more, totaling nine.
• UT’s 14 SEC victories put them in a five-way tie for their fourth-most ever. It claimed 16 such decisions in 1976-77, as well as 15 in both 2018-19 and 1966-67.

RACKING UP RANKED VICTORIES
• In the past four years (2020-24), Tennessee leads all SEC teams with 21 AP top-25 wins, good for six more than any other SEC program (Alabama has 15). That tally ties Iowa State for fifth in the country.
• In that same four-year span, UT also leads the SEC in wins over teams in the AP top 20, top 15, top 10 and top five. Its 19 top-20 wins rank fourth nationally and 16 top-15 victories place third. Its eight top-10 triumphs sit co-sixth alongside Connecticut, North Carolina, Purdue and Texas, while its five top-five wins match Arizona, Gonzaga and Michigan State for the most in the nation.
• The eight AP top-10 triumphs during that time are: #1 Alabama (2/15/23), #3 Kansas (11/25/22), #3 Auburn (2/26/22), #4 Kentucky ( 2/15/22), #5 Kentucky (3/12/22), #6 Arizona (12/22/21), #10 Texas (1/28/23) and at #10 Kentucky (2/3/24 ).
• Over the last four seasons (2020-24), UT has played 36 games against AP top-25 opponents, the most in the league, posting a 21-15 (.583) ledger. The Vols are the only SEC team, regardless of number of games, with a winning record against ranked foes during that span. Auburn is a distant second with a .478 (11-12) mark.
• Tennessee (36), Alabama (34) and Arkansas (34) are the only SEC teams to play over 30 ranked foes since the start of the 2020-21 campaign.

WINNING WAYS
• Over the last seven seasons, dating back to the start of the 2017-18 campaign, Tennessee paces all SEC programs in postseason wins (17) and co-leads the conference in both total victories (170) and winning percentage (.723) . In that span, the Vols have claimed three SEC titles, winning the regular season in 2018 and 2024, as well as the tournament in 2022.
• In that same seven-year stretch, the Vols are one of only two SEC schools with an overall winning percentage of over .700, alongside Auburn (.723).
• In SEC play over the same seven-year period, Tennessee (86-39; .688) is second in the league, behind Kentucky (87-38; .696), in both victories and winning percentage. Only Auburn (81-45; .643) and Alabama (78-48; .619) have even 70-plus wins.
• Over just the last three seasons (2021-24), UT owns a 78-27 (.743) overall record. That is good for the most victories and the best winning percentage of any SEC team in that span. Auburn ranks second at 76-27 (.738) during that time.

INAM: “IT’S NOT ABOUT ME”
• The Volunteers have posted 20-plus assists 11 times this season. They have reached 25-plus three times, with a high of 28 against Vanderbilt (2/17/24)
• Tennessee has a 60.8 percent assist rate that ranks No. 13 nationally, per KenPom, through 3/26/24.
• Last season, Tennessee placed second nationally, per KenPom, with a 66.2 percent assist rate. It also logged a 64.9 percent mark in SEC play.

POLL PRESENCE
• Tennessee has played 201 games as a ranked team in the AP Poll Rick Barnes‘ tenure, posting a stellar 150-51 (.746) record. Over 66.5 percent of the Volunteers’ games since Barnes arrived in 2015-16 have come with the team ranked in the AP Poll.
• UT is 129-46 (.737) while ranked in the AP top 20 under Barnes, 98-33 (.748) while in the top 15, 78-24 (.765) while in the top 10, 35-11 ( .761) while in the top five, 17-2 (.895) while in the top three and 7-1 (.875) while at No. 1.
• The Vols are 27-21 (.563) in top-25 matchups under Barnes, including 21-14 (.600) with both teams in the top 20, 12-8 (.600) with both in the top 15 and 7 -5 (.583) with both in the top 10.