2017–18 Tennessee Volunteers basketball team

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.

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

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

College recruiting information

Name	Hometown	School	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
	Recruit 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
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:    (80)
Zach Kent C	Middletown, DE	Blair Academy	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	Oct 30, 2016
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:    (77)
Overall recruit ranking:   Scout: NR    Rivals: NR    247Sports: NR    ESPN: NR
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, On3, 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. "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.

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

See also: 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball 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

See also

• 2017–18 Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball team