# 2018–19 Tennessee Volunteers basketball team

The 2018–19 Tennessee Volunteers basketball team represented the University of Tennessee in the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Volunteers were led by fourth-year head coach Rick Barnes. The team played its home games at Thompson–Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tennessee, as a member of the Southeastern Conference. They finished the season 31–6, 15–3 to finish in 2nd place. In the SEC Tournament, they defeated Mississippi State and Kentucky to make it to the championship. In the championship, they lost to Auburn. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament where they defeated Colgate in the First Round, Iowa in the Second Round before losing in the Sweet Sixteen to Purdue.

## Previous season

The Vols finished the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season 26–9, 13–5 in SEC play to earn a share of the SEC regular season championship. As the No. 2 seed in the SEC tournament, they defeated Mississippi State and Arkansas before losing to Kentucky in the championship game. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 3 seed in the South region. There the Volunteers defeated Wright State before being upset by Loyola–Chicago in the Second Round.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| James Daniel III | 3 | G | 6'0" | 175 | RS Senior | Hampton, VA | Graduated |
| Chris Darrington | 32 | G | 6'1" | 179 | Junior | Toledo, OH | Transferred to Toledo |

### 2018 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| D. J. Burns C | Rock Hill, SC | York Preparatory School | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 248 lb (112 kg) | Jun 1, 2018 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 86 ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: NR Rivals: NR 247Sports: NR ESPN: NR ||||||
| 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: "Rivals.com 2018 Tennessee Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. "2018 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. ||||||
Source:

## Roster
### Depth chart

| Pos. | Starting 5 | Bench 1 | Bench 2 | Bench 3 |
| F/C | Kyle Alexander | John Fulkerson | Zach Kent | |
| F | Grant Williams | Derrick Walker | D. J. Burns | Brock Jancek (W) |
| G/F | Admiral Schofield | Yves Pons | Lucas Campbell (W) | |
| G | Lamonte Turner | Jalen Johnson | Jacob Fleschman (W) | |
| PG | Jordan Bone | Jordan Bowden | Brad Woodson (W) | |
Source:

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| October 31, 2018* 7:00 pm, SECN+ | No. 6 | Tusculum | W 87–48 | | 16 – Bowden | 7 – Walker | 5 – Fulkerson | Thompson–Boling Arena (4,439) Knoxville, TN |
| Regular season |||||||||
| November 6, 2018* 7:00 pm, SECN | No. 6 | Lenoir–Rhyne NIT Season Tip-Off campus game | W 86–41 | 1–0 | 18 – Bone | 9 – Schofield | 6 – Bowden | Thompson–Boling Arena (16,156) Knoxville, TN |
| November 9, 2018* 7:00 pm, SECN+ | No. 6 | Louisiana NIT Season Tip-Off campus game | W 87–65 | 2–0 | 31 – Williams | 10 – Williams | 8 – Bone | Thompson–Boling Arena (16,864) Knoxville, TN |
| November 13, 2018* 9:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 5 | Georgia Tech | W 66–53 | 3–0 | 22 – Williams | 11 – Bowden | 4 – Schofield | Thompson–Boling Arena (16,219) Knoxville, TN |
| November 21, 2018* 5:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 5 | vs. Louisville NIT Season Tip-Off semifinals | W 92–81 | 4–0 | 24 – Williams | 9 – Williams | 6 – Bone | Barclays Center (4,981) Brooklyn, NY |
| November 23, 2018* 9:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 5 | vs. No. 2 Kansas NIT Season Tip-Off championship | L 81–87 $^{OT}$ | 4–1 | 21 – Schofield | 8 – Williams | 6 – Williams | Barclays Center (5,491) Brooklyn, NY |
| November 28, 2018* 6:30 pm, SECN | No. 6 | Eastern Kentucky | W 95–67 | 5–1 | 21 – Williams | 11 – Williams | 7 – Bone | Thompson–Boling Arena (15,036) Knoxville, TN |
| December 2, 2018* 12:00 pm, SECN | No. 6 | Texas A&M–Corpus Christi | W 79–51 | 6–1 | 16 – Schofield | 10 – Alexander | 10 – Bone | Thompson–Boling Arena (14,730) Knoxville, TN |
| December 9, 2018* 3:00 pm, ESPN | No. 7 | vs. No. 1 Gonzaga Jerry Colangelo Classic | W 76–73 | 7–1 | 30 – Schofield | 12 – Williams | 9 – Bone | Talking Stick Resort Arena (10,172) Phoenix, AZ |
| December 15, 2018* 12:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 3 | at Memphis | W 102–92 | 8–1 | 29 – Schofield | 11 – Schofield | 6 – Bowden | FedEx Forum (18,528) Memphis, TN |
| December 19, 2018* 7:00 pm, SECN+ | No. 3 | Samford | W 83–70 | 9–1 | 24 – Bone | 9 – Pons | 11 – Bone | Thompson–Boling Arena (15,794) Knoxville, TN |
| December 22, 2018* 12:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 3 | Wake Forest | W 83–64 | 10–1 | 22 – Williams | 10 – Williams | 5 – Bone | Thompson–Boling Arena (19,846) Knoxville, TN |
| December 29, 2018* 1:00 pm, SECN+ | No. 3 | Tennessee Tech | W 96–53 | 11–1 | 25 – Williams | 7 – Williams | 3 – Bone | Thompson–Boling Arena (21,165) Knoxville, TN |
| January 5, 2019 3:30 pm, SECN | No. 3 | Georgia | W 96–50 | 12–1 (1–0) | 20 – Bowden | 14 – Alexander | 5 – Tied | Thompson–Boling Arena (21,678) Knoxville, TN |
| January 8, 2019 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 3 | at Missouri | W 87–63 | 13–1 (2–0) | 20 – Bowden | 17 – Alexander | 5 – Bone | Mizzou Arena (10,165) Columbia, MO |
| January 12, 2019 6:00 pm, ESPN | No. 3 | at Florida | W 78–67 | 14–1 (3–0) | 20 – Williams | 9 – Williams | 5 – Bone | Exactech Arena (10,923) Gainesville, FL |
| January 15, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 3 | Arkansas | W 106–87 | 15–1 (4–0) | 21 – Turner | 7 – Williams | 8 – Bone | Thompson–Boling Arena (19,282) Knoxville, TN |
| January 19, 2019 2:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 3 | Alabama | W 71–68 | 16–1 (5–0) | 21 – Williams | 11 – Schofield | 7 – Bone | Thompson–Boling Arena (21,957) Knoxville, TN |
| January 23, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 1 | at Vanderbilt | W 88–83 $^{OT}$ | 17–1 (6–0) | 43 – Williams | 8 – Williams | 7 – Bone | Memorial Gymnasium (14,316) Nashville, TN |
| January 26, 2019* 4:00 pm, ESPN | No. 1 | West Virginia Big 12/SEC Challenge | W 83–66 | 18–1 | 23 – Turner | 10 – Schofield | 5 – Tied | Thompson–Boling Arena (22,149) Knoxville, TN |
| January 29, 2019 6:30 pm, SECN | No. 1 | at South Carolina | W 92–70 | 19–1 (7–0) | 24 – Schofield | 9 – Tied | 9 – Bone | Colonial Life Arena (18,000) Columbia, SC |
| February 2, 2019 8:00 pm, ESPN | No. 1 | at Texas A&M | W 93–76 | 20–1 (8–0) | 22 – Williams | 10 – Williams | 10 – Bone | Reed Arena (10,234) College Station, TX |
| February 5, 2019 9:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 1 | Missouri | W 72–60 | 21–1 (9–0) | 13 – Tied | 8 – Alexander | 7 – Bone | Thompson–Boling Arena (17,264) Knoxville, TN |
| February 9, 2019 4:00 pm, ESPN | No. 1 | Florida | W 73–61 | 22–1 (10–0) | 16 – Williams | 6 – Tied | 5 – Bone | Thompson–Boling Arena (22,261) Knoxville, TN |
| February 13, 2019 6:30 pm, SECN | No. 1 | South Carolina | W 85–73 | 23–1 (11–0) | 21 – Schofield | 10 – Schofield | 7 – Williams | Thompson–Boling Arena (19,407) Knoxville, TN |
| February 16, 2019 8:00 pm, ESPN | No. 1 | at No. 5 Kentucky Rivalry/ESPN College GameDay | L 69–86 | 23–2 (11–1) | 19 – Bone | 8 – Williams | 6 – Bone | Rupp Arena (24,467) Lexington, KY |
| February 19, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN | No. 5 | Vanderbilt | W 58–46 | 24–2 (12–1) | 14 – Williams | 11 – Williams | 6 – Bone | Thompson–Boling Arena (20,523) Knoxville, TN |
| February 23, 2019 12:00 pm, ESPN | No. 5 | at No. 13 LSU | L 80–82 $^{OT}$ | 24–3 (12–2) | 27 – Schofield | 9 – Schofield | 3 – Williams | Pete Maravich Assembly Center (13,581) Baton Rouge, LA |
| February 27, 2019 7:00 pm, SECN | No. 7 | at Ole Miss | W 73–71 | 25–3 (13–2) | 21 – Williams | 6 – Tied | 4 – Tied | The Pavilion at Ole Miss (9,500) Oxford, MS |
| March 2, 2019 2:00 pm, CBS | No. 7 | No. 4 Kentucky Rivalry | W 71–52 | 26–3 (14–2) | 27 – Bone | 7 – Tied | 6 – Turner | Thompson–Boling Arena (21,729) Knoxville, TN |
| March 5, 2019 9:00 pm, SECN | No. 5 | Mississippi State | W 71–54 | 27–3 (15–2) | 18 – Schofield | 10 – Tied | 6 – Tied | Thompson–Boling Arena (20,555) Knoxville, TN |
| March 9, 2019 12:00 pm, ESPN | No. 5 | at Auburn | L 80–84 | 27–4 (15–3) | 25 – Williams | 9 – Tied | 7 – Bone | Auburn Arena (9,121) Auburn, AL |
| SEC Tournament |||||||||
| March 15, 2019 9:30 pm, SECN | (3) No. 8 | vs. (6) Mississippi State Quarterfinals | W 83–76 | 28–4 | 20 – Schofield | 9 – Alexander | 9 – Bone | Bridgestone Arena (19,575) Nashville, TN |
| March 16, 2019 3:30 pm, ESPN | (3) No. 8 | vs. (2) No. 4 Kentucky Semifinals | W 82–78 | 29–4 | 21 – Schofield | 7 – Williams | 5 – Tied | Bridgestone Arena (20,933) Nashville, TN |
| March 17, 2019 1:00 pm, ESPN | (3) No. 8 | vs. (5) No. 22 Auburn Championship | L 64–84 | 29–5 | 24 – Turner | 8 – Williams | 2 – Tied | Bridgestone Arena (19,452) Nashville, TN |
| NCAA tournament |||||||||
| March 22, 2019* 2:45 pm, CBS | (2 S) No. 6 | vs. (15 S) Colgate First Round | W 77–70 | 30–5 | 19 – Schofield | 3 – Bone | 6 – Turner | Nationwide Arena (19,641) Columbus, OH |
| March 24, 2019* 12:10 pm, CBS | (2 S) No. 6 | vs. (10 S) Iowa Second Round | W 83–77 $^{OT}$ | 31–5 | 19 – Tied | 9 – Alexander | 5 – Williams | Nationwide Arena (19,610) Columbus, OH |
| March 28, 2019* 7:29 pm, TBS | (2 S) No. 6 | vs. (3 S) No. 13 Purdue Sweet Sixteen | L 94–99 $^{OT}$ | 31–6 | 21 – Schofield | 9 – Schofield | 4 – Tied | KFC Yum! Center (19,831) Louisville, KY |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. S=South. 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 | 6 | 5 (1) | 5 (1) | 6 | 7 | 3 (1) | 3 (2) | 3 (12) | 3 (12) | 3 (13) | 3 (13) | 1 (48) | 1 (48) | 1 (48) | 1 (40) | 5 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 6 | Not released |
| Coaches | 6 | 6^ | 5 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 3 (7) | 3 (7) | 3 (6) | 3 (7) | 1 (30) | 1 (31) | 1 (32) | 1 (30) | 6 | 7 | 4-T | 8 | 5 | 10 |
^Coaches' Poll did not release a second poll at the same time as the AP. *AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings