NEWS & NOTES
• Zakai Zeigler is averaging 17.2 ppg in his six appearances against Mississippi State, with a 23.3 ppg mark in the last three. Three of his seven collegiate 20-point outings are versus the Bulldogs, including two of his three with 24-plus.
• This is the second straight home game for Tennessee in which it is playing an AP top-25 matchup against a specific foe for the first time. It beat #23 Georgia, 74-56, on 1/15/25.
• UT is 31-23 (.574) in AP top-25 clashes under Rick Barnes. That includes a 3-1 mark in 2024-25 and a 23-16 (.590) ledger with both teams in the AP top 20.
• The Volunteers are 19-7 (.731) at home versus AP top-25 foes in the Barnes era, including 14-1 in their last 15 such games (since 1/30/21).
• Tennessee's .795 (58-15) winning percentage on Tuesdays during Barnes' tenure is its best of any day of the week.
• At 67-7 (.905), UT is one of just 10 DI teams with a .900-plus home winning percentage over the last five seasons (2020-25). It is one of five in a Power Five league.
• UT is seeking a 3-0 start in SEC home play for the fourth time in seven years, including the third in the last four and second in a row.
• Tennessee is averaging 5.2 dunks per game and giving up just 0.9 per contest. Felix Okpara (37) and Cade Phillips (26) have combined for nearly four times as many dunks (63) as the Volunteers have allowed in total (17).
• Tennessee's DI-leading 25.5 3P% defense is 1.4 percent better than second-place. That is equal to the gap from No. 2 Cincinnati (26.9) to No. 13 Bradley (28.3).
• Over the last four games, Felix Okpara has 13 blocks (3.3 bpg), with three-plus in each. In the first 14 games of the season, he totaled 18 blocks (1.3 bpg), with three- plus just thrice.
• The Volunteers' 187 victories over the last eight seasons (2017-25) rank co-seventh nationally, tied with Auburn and Saint Mary's. Only Gonzaga (227), Houston (222), Kansas (204), Duke (201), Purdue (197) and San Diego State (188) possess more. Liberty (186) rounds out the top 10.
