2017–18 Tennessee Volunteers basketball team

2017–18 Tennessee Volunteers basketball
2017–18 Tennessee Volunteers basketball
SEC regular season co-champions
NCAA tournament, Second Round
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 16
AP	No. 13
Record	26–9 (13–5 SEC)
Head coach	Rick Barnes (3rd season);
Assistant coaches	Rob Lanier; Desmond Oliver; Michael Schwartz;
Home arena	Thompson–Boling Arena
	Seasons ← 2016–17 2018–19 →

2017–18 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 19 Auburn	13	–	5	.722	26	–	8	.765
No. 13 Tennessee	13	–	5	.722	26	–	9	.743
No. 23 Florida	11	–	7	.611	21	–	13	.618
No. 18 Kentucky †	10	–	8	.556	26	–	11	.703
Missouri	10	–	8	.556	20	–	13	.606
Arkansas	10	–	8	.556	23	–	12	.657
Mississippi State	9	–	9	.500	25	–	12	.676
Texas A&M	9	–	9	.500	22	–	13	.629
Alabama	8	–	10	.444	20	–	16	.556
LSU	8	–	10	.444	18	–	15	.545
Georgia	7	–	11	.389	18	–	15	.545
South Carolina	7	–	11	.389	17	–	16	.515
Vanderbilt	6	–	12	.333	12	–	20	.375
Ole Miss	5	–	13	.278	12	–	20	.375

† 2018 SEC tournament winner Rankings from AP poll

The 2017–18 Tennessee Volunteers basketball team represented the University of Tennessee in the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Volunteers were led by third-year head coach Rick Barnes.^[1] The team played its home games at Thompson–Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tennessee, as a member of the Southeastern Conference. They finished the 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.

Previous season

The Vols finished the 2016–17 season 16–16, 8–10 in SEC play to finish in a tie for ninth place. They lost in the second round of the SEC tournament to Georgia.

Offseason

Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Notes	Ref
Robert Hubbs III	3	G	6'5"	207	Senior	Newbern, TN	Graduated
Kwe Parker	12	G	6'0"	181	Freshman	Fayetteville, NC	Transferred to Cape Fear Community College	^[2]^[3]
Lew Evans	21	F	6'7"	235	RS Senior	Salt Lake City, UT	Graduated
Shembari Phillips	25	G	6'3"	192	Sophomore	Atlanta, GA	Transferred to Georgia Tech	^[4]

Incoming transfers

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Notes	Ref
James Daniel III	3	G	6'0"	175	RS Senior	Hampton, VA	Graduate transfer from Howard. Eligible to play immediately.	^[5]
Chris Darrington	32	G	6'1"	179	Junior	Toledo, OH	Junior college transfer from Vincennes University. Eligible to play immediately.	^[6]

2017 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Yves Pons SF	Paris, France	INSEP Paris	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	217 lb (98 kg)	Feb 28, 2017
Yves Pons SF	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports:
Derrick Walker PF	Kansas City, MO	Sunrise Christian Academy	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	255 lb (116 kg)	Feb 2, 2017
Derrick Walker PF	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 80
Zach Kent C	Middletown, DE	Blair Academy	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	Oct 30, 2016
Zach Kent C	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 77
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 2017 Tennessee Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

Source: ^[7]

Roster

2017–18 Tennessee Volunteers men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
G	0	Jordan Bone	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	176 lb (80 kg)	So	The Ensworth School	Nashville, Tennessee
G	1	Lamonte Turner	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	183 lb (83 kg)	RS So	IMG Academy	Florence, Alabama
F	2	Grant Williams	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	241 lb (109 kg)	So	Providence Day School	Charlotte, North Carolina
G	3	James Daniel III	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	172 lb (78 kg)	RS Sr	Howard	Hampton, Virginia
G	4	Jacob Fleschman (W)	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	168 lb (76 kg)	So	Westlake High School	Austin, Texas
F	5	Admiral Schofield	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	238 lb (108 kg)	Jr	Zion-Benton Township High School	Zion, Illinois
F	10	John Fulkerson	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	RS Fr	Christ School	Kingsport, Tennessee
F	11	Kyle Alexander	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Jr	Orangeville Prep	Milton, Ontario, Canada
G	12	Brad Woodson (W)	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Jr	Riverdale High School	Murfreesboro, Tennessee
G	13	Jalen Johnson	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	RS Fr	Wesleyan Christian Academy	Durham, North Carolina
F	15	Derrick Walker	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	238 lb (108 kg)	Fr	Sunrise Christian Academy	Kansas City, Missouri
G	23	Jordan Bowden	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	So	Carter High School	Knoxville, Tennessee
G	24	Lucas Campbell (W)	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	186 lb (84 kg)	Jr	Christian Academy of Knoxville	Knoxville, Tennessee
G	32	Chris Darrington	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	179 lb (81 kg)	Jr	Vincennes University	Toledo, Ohio
F	33	Zach Kent	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	224 lb (102 kg)	Fr	Blair Academy	Magnolia, Delaware
F	35	Yves Pons	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	203 lb (92 kg)	Fr	INSEP Academy	Fuveau, France

Head coach

Rick Barnes (Lenoir–Rhyne)

Assistant coach(es)

Rob Lanier (St. Bonaventure)
Desmond Oliver (Dominican (NY))
Michael Schwartz (Texas)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

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
G/F	Admiral Schofield	Yves Pons	Jalen Johnson	Lucas Campbell (W)
G	Jordan Bowden	Lamonte' Turner	Chris Darrington	Jacob Fleschman (W)
PG	Jordan Bone	James Daniel		Brad Woodson (W)

Source:^[8]

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
November 2, 2017* 7:00 pm		Carson–Newman	W 86–44	–	18 – Williams	12 – Williams	8 – Bone	Thompson–Boling Arena (5,014) Knoxville, TN
November 5, 2017* 12:30 pm		at Clemson Exhibition for Hurricane Relief	W 71–67	–	24 – Williams	7 – Tied	4 – Daniel	Littlejohn Coliseum (4,112) Clemson, SC
Regular season
November 10, 2017* 7:00 pm		Presbyterian Battle 4 Atlantis campus-site game	W 88–53	1–0	22 – Schofield	7 – Williams	5 – Fulkerson	Thompson–Boling Arena (15,047) Knoxville, TN
November 14, 2017* 7:00 pm		High Point	W 84–53	2–0	16 – Bone	12 – Williams	10 – Daniel	Thompson–Boling Arena (12,343) Knoxville, TN
November 22, 2017* 12:00 pm, ESPN2		vs. No. 18 Purdue Battle 4 Atlantis quarterfinals	W 78–75 ^OT	3–0	22 – Williams	11 – Alexander	3 – Bone	Imperial Arena (1,306) Nassau, Bahamas
November 23, 2017* 12:30 pm, ESPN		vs. No. 5 Villanova Battle 4 Atlantis semifinals	L 76–85	3–1	20 – Williams	8 – Williams	5 – Turner	Imperial Arena (2,102) Nassau, Bahamas
November 24, 2017* 2:30 pm, ESPN2		vs. NC State Battle 4 Atlantis 3rd Place game	W 67–58	4–1	14 – Williams	13 – Alexander	4 – Williams	Imperial Arena (1,329) Nassau, Bahamas
November 29, 2017* 7:00 pm		Mercer	W 84–60	5–1	21 – Williams	4 – Tied	10 – Daniel	Thompson–Boling Arena (13,642) Knoxville, TN
December 3, 2017* 6:00 pm, ESPNU		at Georgia Tech	W 77–70	6–1	24 – Turner	11 – Alexander	4 – Bone	McCamish Pavilion (6,529) Atlanta, GA
December 9, 2017* 2:15 pm, SECN	No. 24	Lipscomb	W 81–71	7–1	19 – Williams	8 – Williams	6 – Bone	Thompson–Boling Arena (14,051) Knoxville, TN
December 17, 2017* 3:00 pm, ESPN	No. 20	No. 7 North Carolina	L 73–78	7–2	15 – Williams	9 – Turner	4 – Bone	Thompson–Boling Arena (21,678) Knoxville, TN
December 20, 2017* 9:00 pm, SECN	No. 21-T	Furman	W 66–61	8–2	21 – Bowden	13 – Schofield	4 – Daniel	Thompson–Boling Arena (13,095) Knoxville, TN
December 23, 2017* 12:30 pm, ESPN2	No. 21-T	at Wake Forest	W 79–60	9–2	17 – Bowden	6 – Schofield	5 – Bone	LJVM Coliseum (11,362) Winston-Salem, NC
December 30, 2017 1:00 pm, SECN	No. 19	at Arkansas	L 93–95 ^OT	9–3 (0–1)	21 – Bone	7 – Schofield	5 – Bone	Bud Walton Arena (18,696) Fayetteville, AR
January 2, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPNU	No. 23	Auburn	L 84–94	9–4 (0–2)	25 – Turner	8 – Williams	3 – Bowden	Thompson–Boling Arena (14,755) Knoxville, TN
January 6, 2018 9:00 pm, SECN	No. 23	No. 17 Kentucky Rivalry	W 76–65	10–4 (1–2)	20 – Schofield	9 – Schofield	6 – Daniel	Thompson–Boling Arena (21,678) Knoxville, TN
January 9, 2018 9:00 pm, SECN	No. 24	at Vanderbilt	W 92–84	11–4 (2–2)	37 – Williams	9 – Schofield	4 – Daniel	Memorial Gymnasium (11,510) Nashville, TN
January 13, 2018 6:00 pm, SECN	No. 24	Texas A&M	W 75–62	12–4 (3–2)	15 – Bowden	8 – Schofield	4 – Bone	Thompson–Boling Arena (19,612) Knoxville, TN
January 17, 2018 9:00 pm, SECN	No. 21	at Missouri	L 55–59	12–5 (3–3)	15 – Williams	5 – Tied	3 – Tied	Mizzou Arena (15,061) Columbia, MO
January 20, 2018 6:00 pm, ESPN2	No. 21	at South Carolina	W 70–63	13–5 (4–3)	25 – Turner	6 – Turner	3 – Tied	Colonial Life Arena (18,000) Columbia, SC
January 23, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPNU	No. 22	Vanderbilt	W 67–62	14–5 (5–3)	19 – Bowden	6 – Tied	4 – Daniel	Thompson–Boling Arena (14,127) Knoxville, TN
January 27, 2018* 4:00 pm, ESPNU	No. 22	at Iowa State Big 12/SEC Challenge	W 68–45	15–5	20 – Turner	10 – Tied	3 – Tied	Hilton Coliseum (14,384) Ames, IA
January 31, 2018 6:00 pm, SECN	No. 18	LSU	W 84–61	16–5 (6–3)	17 – Daniel	8 – Schofield	8 – Bone	Thompson–Boling Arena (13,425) Knoxville, TN
February 3, 2018 6:00 pm, SECN	No. 18	Ole Miss	W 94–61	17–5 (7–3)	17 – Tied	12 – Schofield	6 – Bone	Thompson–Boling Arena (18,316) Knoxville, TN
February 6, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN	No. 15	at No. 24 Kentucky Rivalry	W 61–59	18–5 (8–3)	16 – Turner	8 – Bowden	4 – Bone	Rupp Arena (23,332) Lexington, KY
February 10, 2018 6:00 pm, SECN	No. 15	at Alabama	L 50–78	18–6 (8–4)	16 – Williams	7 – Tied	2 – Bone	Coleman Coliseum (15,383) Tuscaloosa, AL
February 13, 2018 9:00 pm, ESPNU	No. 18	South Carolina	W 70–67	19–6 (9–4)	22 – Williams	5 – Tied	4 – Bone	Thompson–Boling Arena (13,126) Knoxville, TN
February 17, 2018 6:00 pm, SECN	No. 18	at Georgia	L 62–73	19–7 (9–5)	14 – Turner	13 – Alexander	7 – Bone	Stegeman Coliseum (10,028) Athens, GA
February 21, 2018 9:00 pm, ESPN2	No. 19	Florida	W 62–57	20–7 (10–5)	23 – Williams	8 – Schofield	4 – Tied	Thompson–Boling Arena (16,016) Knoxville, TN
February 24, 2018 1:00 pm, SECN	No. 19	at Ole Miss	W 73–65	21–7 (11–5)	25 – Schofield	7 – Tied	8 – Bone	The Pavilion at Ole Miss (8,149) Oxford, MS
February 27, 2018 7:00 pm, SECN	No. 16	at Mississippi State	W 76–54	22–7 (12–5)	24 – Schofield	7 – Tied	4 – Tied	Humphrey Coliseum (7,548) Starkville, MS
March 3, 2018 6:00 pm, SECN	No. 16	Georgia	W 66–61	23–7 (13–5)	23 – Schofield	9 – Alexander	7 – Bowden	Thompson–Boling Arena (21,678) Knoxville, TN
SEC Tournament
March 9, 2018 7:00 pm, SECN	(2) No. 13	vs. (7) Mississippi State Quarterfinals	W 62–59	24–7	15 – Turner	11 – Williams	3 – Tied	Scottrade Center (14,596) St. Louis, MO
March 10, 2018 3:30 pm, ESPN	(2) No. 13	vs. (6) Arkansas Semifinals	W 84–66	25–7	19 – Bone	7 – Tied	4 – Tied	Scottrade Center (18,729) St. Louis, MO
March 11, 2018 1:00 pm, ESPN	(2) No. 13	vs. (4) Kentucky Championship	L 72–77	25–8	22 – Schofield	10 – Schofield	4 – Tied	Scottrade Center (18,973) St. Louis, MO
NCAA tournament
March 15, 2018* 12:40 pm, truTV	(3 S) No. 13	vs. (14 S) Wright State First Round	W 73–47	26–8	19 – Turner	12 – Schofield	9 – Turner	American Airlines Center (15,802) Dallas, TX
March 17, 2018* 6:10 pm, TNT	(3 S) No. 13	vs. (11 S) Loyola–Chicago Second Round	L 62–63	26–9	14 – Schofield	5 – Turner	5 – Bone	American Airlines Center (18,642) Dallas, TX
*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
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes т = Tied with team above or below
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	Final
AP	—	—	—	RV	24	20	21-T	19	23	24	21	22	18	15	18	19	16	13	13	Not released
Coaches	—	—^	—	RV	RV	20	20	20	22	23	21	21	19	14	17	19	17	12	12	16

^Coaches' Poll did not release a second poll at the same time as the AP.
*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings

References

^ "Rick Barnes". utsports.com. Archived from the original on July 7, 2016. Retrieved June 23, 2016.
^ "Guard Kwe Parker to transfer from Tennessee after one year with Vols". ESPN. Associated Press. March 23, 2017. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
^ Smist, John (June 26, 2017). "Cape Fear signs Tennessee transfer Kwe Parker". WECT. Retrieved July 9, 2017.
^ "Tennessee G Shembari Phillips transferring to Georgia Tech". USA Today. Associated Press. June 5, 2017. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
^ Goodman, Jeff (May 22, 2017). "Volunteers land NCAA's 2015-16 leading scorer James Daniel". ESPN. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
^ Buckey, Brian (May 4, 2017). "Former Scott HS basketball player commits to University of Tennessee". The Blade. Toledo, Ohio. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
^ "2017 Tennessee Basketball Commits". 247sports. Retrieved October 30, 2016.
^ "Tennessee vs Ole Miss Box Score". Tennessee Vols Athletics. Retrieved February 3, 2018.

[1] "Rick Barnes". utsports.com. Archived from the original on July 7, 2016. Retrieved June 23, 2016.

[2] "Guard Kwe Parker to transfer from Tennessee after one year with Vols". ESPN. Associated Press. March 23, 2017. Retrieved March 26, 2017.

[3] Smist, John (June 26, 2017). "Cape Fear signs Tennessee transfer Kwe Parker". WECT. Retrieved July 9, 2017.

[4] "Tennessee G Shembari Phillips transferring to Georgia Tech". USA Today. Associated Press. June 5, 2017. Retrieved June 16, 2017.

[5] Goodman, Jeff (May 22, 2017). "Volunteers land NCAA's 2015-16 leading scorer James Daniel". ESPN. Retrieved May 22, 2017.

[6] Buckey, Brian (May 4, 2017). "Former Scott HS basketball player commits to University of Tennessee". The Blade. Toledo, Ohio. Retrieved March 15, 2018.

[7] "2017 Tennessee Basketball Commits". 247sports. Retrieved October 30, 2016.

[8] "Tennessee vs Ole Miss Box Score". Tennessee Vols Athletics. Retrieved February 3, 2018.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

v t e Tennessee Volunteers basketball
Venues	Alumni Memorial Gym (1934–1958) Stokely Athletic Center (1958–1987) Thompson–Boling Arena (1987–present)
Rivalries	Kentucky Vanderbilt
Culture & lore	Gambling scandal "Rocky Top" Smokey
People	Head coaches NBA players Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25

Previous season

Offseason

Departures

Incoming transfers

2017 recruiting class

Roster

Depth chart

Schedule and results

Rankings

See also

References