# 2024–25 Tennessee Volunteers basketball team

The 2024–25 Tennessee Volunteers basketball team represents the University of Tennessee during the 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team is led by tenth-year head coach Rick Barnes and play their home games at Thompson–Boling Arena located in Knoxville, Tennessee as a member of the Southeastern Conference.

## Previous season

The Volunteers finished the 2023–24 season 27–9, 14–4 in SEC play to finish win the SEC. As the No. 1 seed in the SEC tournament, they were upset by Mississippi State in the quarterfinals. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 2 seed in the Mid-West Region, where they defeated Saint Peter's in the First Round, Texas in the Second Round, and Creighton in the Sweet Sixteen. There, they were defeated by the No. 1 seed Purdue.

## Offseason
### Departures

Departures :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Jonas Aidoo | 0 | F | 6'11" | 240 | Junior | Durham, North Carolina | Transferred to Arkansas |
| Freddie Dilione V | 1 | G | 6'5" | 195 | RS Freshman | Fayetteville, North Carolina | Transferred to Penn State |
| Dalton Knecht | 3 | G | 6'6" | 213 | Fifth year | Thornton, Colorado | Drafted 17th overall in the 2024 NBA draft by the Los Angeles Lakers |
| Tobe Awaka | 11 | F | 6'8" | 250 | Sophomore | Hyde Park, New York | Transferred to Arizona |
| Santiago Véscovi | 25 | G | 6'3" | 196 | Fifth year | Montevideo, Uruguay | Exhausted eligiblilty; signed with Baxi Manresa |
| Josiah-Jordan James | 30 | G | 6'7" | 220 | Fifth year | Charleston, South Carolina | Declared for the 2024 NBA draft; signed by the Indiana Mad Ants |
| Colin Coyne | 35 | F | 6'9" | 238 | Senior | Fredericksburg, Virginia | Graduated; became student assistant coach |
| D.J. Jefferson | 44 | G | 6'5" | 209 | RS Freshman | Richardson, Texas | Transferred to Longwood |

### Incoming transfers

Incoming transfers :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous school |
| Chaz Lanier | 2 | G | 6'5" | 207 | Fifth year | Nashville, Tennessee | North Florida |
| Igor Miličić Jr. | 7 | F | 6'10" | 225 | Senior | Rovinj, Croatia | Charlotte |
| Darlinstone Dubar | 8 | G | 6'6" | 220 | Fifth year | Charlotte, North Carolina | Hofstra |
| Felix Okpara | 34 | F | 6'11" | 235 | Junior | Lagos, Nigeria | Ohio State |

### Recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Bishop Boswell F | Charlotte, North Carolina | Myers Park High School | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 203 lb (92 kg) | Sep 28, 2023 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 86 ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2024 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. ||||||

## Preseason

On October 14, 2024 the SEC released their preseason media poll. Tennessee was picked to finish third in the SEC regular season. Senior guard Zakai Zeigler was named to the First Team All-SEC.

### SEC media poll

SEC media poll :
| Predicted finish | Team |
| 1 | Alabama |
| 2 | Auburn |
| 3 | Tennessee |
| 4 | Arkansas |
| 5 | Texas A&M |
| 6 | Florida |
| 7 | Texas |
| 8 | Kentucky |
| 9 | Ole Miss |
| 10 | Mississippi State |
| 11 | South Carolina |
| 12 | Georgia |
| 13 | Missouri |
| 14 | LSU |
| 15 | Oklahoma |
| 16 | Vanderbilt |
Source

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| October 27, 2024* 3:00 p.m., SECN+ | No. 12 | No. 17 Indiana | L 62–66 | – | 13 – Zeigler | 8 – Miličić Jr. | 8 – Zeigler | Thompson–Boling Arena (13,351) Knoxville, TN |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| November 4, 2024* 7:00 p.m., SECN+/ESPN+ | No. 12 | Gardner–Webb | W 80–64 | 1–0 | 18 – Lanier | 9 – Okpara | 9 – Zeigler | Thompson–Boling Arena (17,813) Knoxville, TN |
| November 9, 2024* 12:00 p.m., ACCN | No. 12 | at Louisville | W 77–55 | 2–0 | 19 – Tied | 7 – Mashack | 7 – Zeigler | KFC Yum! Center (16,976) Louisville, KY |
| November 13, 2024* 7:00 p.m., SECN+/ESPN+ | No. 11 | Montana | W 92–57 | 3–0 | 18 – Miličić Jr. | 10 – Miličić Jr. | 7 – Zeigler | Thompson–Boling Arena (16,916) Knoxville, TN |
| November 17, 2024* 3:00 p.m., SECN+/ESPN+ | No. 11 | Austin Peay | W 103–68 | 4–0 | 23 – Miličić Jr. | 9 – Tied | 8 – Zeigler | Thompson–Boling Arena (17,232) Knoxville, TN |
| November 21, 2024* 9:30 p.m., CBSSN | No. 11 | vs. Virginia Bahamas Championship semifinal | W 64–42 | 5–0 | 26 – Lanier | 8 – Miličić Jr. | 6 – Zeigler | Baha Mar Convention Center (2,077) Nassau, Bahamas |
| November 22, 2024* 9:30 p.m., CBSSN | No. 11 | vs. No. 13 Baylor Bahamas Championship final | W 77–62 | 6–0 | 25 – Lanier | 6 – Mashack | 9 – Zeigler | Baha Mar Convention Center (2,119) Nassau, Bahamas |
| November 27, 2024* 4:00 p.m., SECN+/ESPN+ | No. 7 | UT Martin | W 78–35 | 7–0 | 18 – Lanier | 13 – Miličić Jr. | 9 – Zeigler | Thompson–Boling Arena (17,314) Knoxville, TN |
| December 3, 2024* 7:30 p.m., ESPN | No. 3 | Syracuse ACC–SEC Challenge | W 96–70 | 8–0 | 26 – Lanier | 10 – Miličić Jr. | 8 – Zeigler | Thompson–Boling Arena (21,678) Knoxville, TN |
| December 10, 2024* 6:30 p.m., ESPN | No. 1 | vs. Miami (FL) Jimmy V Classic | W 75–62 | 9–0 | 22 – Lanier | 9 – Miličić Jr. | 9 – Zeigler | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| December 14, 2024* 5:30 p.m., FOX | No. 1 | at Illinois | W 66–64 | 10–0 | 23 – Gainey | 14 – Miličić Jr. | 2 – Tied | State Farm Center (15,544) Champaign, IL |
| December 17, 2024* 7:00 p.m., SECN+/ESPN+ | No. 1 | Western Carolina | W 84–36 | 11–0 | 19 – Lanier | 10 – Zeigler | 9 – Zeigler | Thompson–Boling Arena (16,866) Knoxville, TN |
| December 23, 2024* 7:00 p.m., SECN | No. 1 | Middle Tennessee | W 82–64 | 12–0 | 23 – Lanier | 12 – Miličić Jr. | 15 – Zeigler | Thompson–Boling Arena (20,706) Knoxville, TN |
| December 31, 2024* 3:00 p.m., SECN+/ESPN+ | No. 1 | Norfolk State | W 67–52 | 13–0 | 24 – Lanier | 10 – Miličić Jr. | 6 – Zeigler | Thompson–Boling Arena (19,616) Knoxville, TN |
| SEC regular season |||||||||
| January 4, 2025 1:00 p.m., ESPN | No. 1 | No. 23 Arkansas | W 76–52 | 14–0 (1–0) | 29 – Lanier | 18 – Miličić Jr. | 7 – Zeigler | Thompson–Boling Arena (21,678) Knoxville, TN |
| January 7, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN2 | No. 1 | at No. 8 Florida | L 43–73 | 14–1 (1–1) | 10 – Tied | 7 – Tied | 2 – Mashack | Exactech Arena (11,011) Gainesville, FL |
| January 11, 2025 6:00 p.m., ESPN | No. 1 | at Texas | W 74–70 | 15–1 (2–1) | 16 – Zeigler | 9 – Okpara | 8 – Zeigler | Moody Center (10,195) Austin, TX |
| January 15, 2025 8:00 p.m., SECN | No. 6 | No. 23 Georgia | W 74–56 | 16–1 (3–1) | 19 – Gainey | 9 – Miličić Jr. | 7 – Zeigler | Thompson–Boling Arena (19,239) Knoxville, TN |
| January 18, 2025 3:30 p.m., SECN | No. 6 | at Vanderbilt Rivalry | L 75–76 | 16–2 (3–2) | 17 – Lanier | 5 – Miličić Jr. | 10 – Zeigler | Memorial Gymnasium (14,316) Nashville, TN |
| January 21, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN2 | No. 6 | No. 14 Mississippi State | W 68–56 | 17–2 (4–2) | 23 – Lanier | 12 – Okpara | 7 – Zeigler | Thompson–Boling Arena (21,678) Knoxville, TN |
| January 25, 2025 8:30 p.m., ESPN | No. 6 | at No. 1 Auburn College GameDay | L 51–53 | 17–3 (4–3) | 14 – Zeigler | 9 – Okpara | 5 – Zeigler | Neville Arena (9,121) Auburn, AL |
| January 28, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN | No. 8 | No. 12 Kentucky Rivalry | L 73–78 | 17–4 (4–4) | 19 – Miličić Jr. | 9 – Miličić Jr. | 6 – Zeigler | Thompson–Boling Arena (22,272) Knoxville, TN |
| February 1, 2025 12:00 p.m., ESPN | No. 8 | No. 5 Florida | W 64–44 | 18–4 (5–4) | 19 – Lanier | 8 – Tied | 5 – Mashack | Thompson–Boling Arena (21,678) Knoxville, TN |
| February 5, 2025 7:00 p.m., SECN | No. 4 | No. 15 Missouri | W 85–81 | 19–4 (6–4) | 21 – Tied | 10 – Miličić Jr. | 8 – Zeigler | Thompson–Boling Arena (20,002) Knoxville, TN |
| February 8, 2025 12:00 p.m., ESPN | No. 4 | at Oklahoma | W 70–52 | 20–4 (7–4) | 21 – Lanier | 6 – Tied | 9 – Zeigler | Lloyd Noble Center (10,162) Norman, OK |
| February 11, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN | No. 5 | at No. 15 Kentucky Rivalry | L 64–75 | 20–5 (7–5) | 17 – Zeigler | 9 – Miličić Jr. | 6 – Zeigler | Rupp Arena (20,076) Lexington, KY |
| February 15, 2025 1:00 p.m., SECN | No. 5 | Vanderbilt Rivalry | W 81–76 | 21–5 (8–5) | 22 – Zeigler | 8 – Lanier | 8 – Zeigler | Thompson–Boling Arena (21,678) Knoxville, TN |
| February 22, 2025 12:00 p.m., ESPN | No. 6 | at No. 7 Texas A&M | W 77–69 | 22–5 (9–5) | 30 – Lanier | 7 – Okpara | 7 – Zeigler | Reed Arena (12,989) College Station, TX |
| February 25, 2025 9:00 p.m., SECN | No. 5 | at LSU | W 65–59 | 23–5 (10–5) | 17 – Zeigler | 9 – Lanier | 3 – Tied | Pete Maravich Assembly Center (8,522) Baton Rouge, LA |
| March 1, 2025 4:00 p.m., ESPN | No. 5 | No. 6 Alabama | W 79–76 | 24–5 (11–5) | 18 – Lanier | 9 – Okpara | 4 – Zeigler | Thompson–Boling Arena (22,392) Knoxville, TN |
| March 5, 2025 9:00 p.m., ESPN2 | No. 4 | at Ole Miss | L 76–78 | 24–6 (11–6) | 17 – Gainey | 7 – Okpara | 15 – Ziegler | SJB Pavilion (9,038) Oxford, MS |
| March 8, 2025 2:00 p.m., SECN | No. 4 | South Carolina | W 75–65 | 25–6 (12–6) | 23 – Lanier | 7 – Mashack | 8 – Ziegler | Thompson–Boling Arena (21,678) Knoxville, TN |
| SEC Tournament |||||||||
| March 14, 2025 3:30 p.m., ESPN | (4) No. 8 | vs. (13) Texas Quarterfinals | W 83–77 | 26–6 | 23 – Lanier | 7 – Tied | 6 – Zeigler | Bridgestone Arena (17,526) Nashville, TN |
| March 15, 2025 1:00 p.m., ESPN | (4) No. 8 | vs. (1) No. 3 Auburn Semifinals | W 70–65 | 27–6 | 20 – Zeigler | 9 – Okpara | 4 – Zeigler | Bridgestone Arena (19,049) Nashville, TN |
| March 16, 2025 1:00 p.m., ESPN | (4) No. 8 | vs. (2) No. 4 Florida Championship | L 77–86 | 27–7 | 24 – Gainey | 6 – Mashack | 8 – Zeigler | Bridgestone Arena (19,151) Nashville, TN |
| NCAA Tournament |||||||||
| March 20, 2025* 6:50 pm, TNT | (2 MW) No. 6 | vs. (15 MW) Wofford First Round | | | | | | Rupp Arena Lexington, KY |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. MW=Midwest. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking т = Tied with team above or below ( ) = First-place votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | Final |
| AP | 12 | 11 | 11 | 7 | 3 | 1 (58) | 1 (50) | 1 (41) | 1 (41) | 1 (45) | 6 | 6 | 8 | 4 | 5 (1) | 6 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 6 | |
| Coaches | 12 | 9 | 9 | 6 | 3 | 1 (25) | 1 (22) | 1 (20) | 1 (20) | 1 (21) | 6 (1) | 7 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 6т | 6 | |