The Official #20 Tennessee vs. Rice Game Thread, 8:30 PM ET, SEC Network

#1
YankeeVol

YankeeVol

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#1
#20 Tennessee Volunteers: 3-0 (0-0 SEC)

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Rice Owls: 2-2 (0-0 American)

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GAME 4 | TENNESSEE vs. RICE - Monday, Nov. 17, 2025 | 8:30 p.m. ET | Knoxville, Tenn. | Food City Center (21,678)

Line: UT -25.5
O/U: 143.5

TV: SEC Network / Watch
Radio: Vol Network / Listen / Live Stats
Satellite Radio: SiriusXM 132 & 191 / Internet: SXM App
Online: WatchESPN app

Rice Game Notes

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#2
#2
THE MATCHUP
• All four prior series meetings came between 1951 and 1963. Tennessee is 1-3 against Rice All-time.
• Following a 13-19 (4-14) campaign in 2024-25, Rice placed No. 12 in the AAC preseason poll.
• The Owls are led by graduate guard Trae Broadnax's 16.5 ppg.
• UT is 54-46 all-time versus the current AAC membership. Of the 100 games, 65 (32-33) are against Charlotte, Memphis and Tulane.
• Rick Barnes is 26-7 against current AAC members. His best mark is a 9-0 ledger versus Rice, with all nine games while he was at Texas.
• Rob Lanier worked as Rick Barnes' associate head coach during his first four years at Tennessee (2015-19) and as an assistant for two seasons at Texas (1999-2001). They earned four NCAA Tournament berths and four year-end AP top-20 rankings. The Vols won the SEC in 2017-18 and reached the Sweet 16 during a 31-win 2018-19 campaign.
• In his first year as a head coach, 1987-88, Barnes' George Mason team faced a St. Bonaventure team on 12/28/87 that featured Lanier as a sophomore guard.
 
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#3
#3
NEWS & NOTES
• Rice's Trae Broadnax was a teammate of VFL Jordan Gainey at USC Upstate from 2021-23, while Presley Patterson is a native of Knoxville and a KCHS graduate.
• 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. They were in the AP top 12 all year, with 18 straight top-eight nods to end the year. UT was top-five 11 times and No. 1 spot for five weeks.
• Last season was the first time UT won 30-plus games and made the Elite Eight in the same year.
• With 839 wins, Rick Barnes leads active DI coaches and ranks ninth all-time (min. 10 years in DI).
• The Vols placed third in the SEC media preseason poll this year. It marked UT's fourth straight topthree selection—no other school has even a two-year streak—and eighth consecutive top-five pick.
• UT has won 39 non-conference games in a row, since 12/8/20. Per Elias, that is its second-longest streak ever and is five shy of the school record.
• In the win over North Florida, J.P. Estrella (23), Ja'Kobi Gillespie (21) and Nate Ament (19) became the third UT trio to reach 19 points in the same game in Rick Barnes' 11-year tenure, including the second in the last 10 seasons.
• J.P. Estrella has set new career highs in points in each of the first three games this year, going from 12 to 17 to 23. He also amassed his first two double-doubles as a Vol.
• Nate Ament has posted at least 18 points and eight rebounds in each of his first three collegiate games. He also recorded five assists in two of those affairs.
• Tennessee's 204 victories over the last nine seasons (2017-26) rank co-seventh in DI, with Saint Mary's. Only Houston (246), Gonzaga (242), Duke (224), Kansas (214), Purdue (209) and Auburn (205) own more. After UT, the rest of the top 10 is Liberty (202), Drake (200) and San Diego State (200).
 
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#4
#4
WINNING WAYS
• Over the last nine seasons (2017-26), Tennessee paces all SEC programs in postseason victories (23), plus sits a close second in total victories and overall winning percentage with a 204-74 (.734) mark. 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 (205-71; .743).
• 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 112-36 (.757) overall record. That is good for the most wins and the second-best winning percentage in the SEC, ahead of Auburn (111-33; .771) in the former and closely behind it in the latter.
• In that same span, Tennessee (51-21; .708) is cosecond, alongside Alabama (51-21; .708), in the SEC in both league victories and league winning percentage. It is behind only Auburn (53-19; .736).
 
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#5
#5
BIG MAN'S BIG-TIME RETURN
• After missing the final 35 games of the 2024-25 season due to left foot surgery, J.P. Estrella resumed play in the 2025-26 season opener with a career high 12 points and co-career-best five rebounds against Mercer (11/3/25).
• Estrella followed that with new career highs in both categories versus Northern Kentucky (11/8/25), tallying 17 points and 11 rebounds for his first collegiate double-double.
• In the next game, against North Florida (11/12/25), Estrella had another career-best point total in a double-double, notching 23 points and 10 rebounds, while shooting 11-of-14. He became just the fourth SEC player—fifth instance—in the last six season (2020-26) to make 11-plus field goals on fewer than 15 attempts while grabbing 10-plus boards. The others are Tennessee's Jonas Aidoo (2/14/24), Mississippi State's Tolu Smith III (1/28/23 and 1/16/21) and Kentucky's Oscar Tshiebwe (11/16/21).
 
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#7
#7
TennesseeFan07 said:
I see Rice covering the spread. I got it at 27.5 We will see.
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Yea, Barttorvik has it 21.5, Haslem metrics has it 19.5, KenPom has it at 22 and they played Oregon close, 67-63 final score. They hit 45% of their threes which is good for 11th overall nationally, so if they’re on they definitely could keep it close considering we have a habit of giving up some open looks from 3.
 
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#8
#8
Take the under...cause if we score 70 they'll be in the 60s for sure. Depending on how well we shoot from outside, but this could be similar to the Mercer game.
 
#16
#16
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#17
#17
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