KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The 12th-ranked Tennessee men’s basketball team officially opens its 2024-25 campaign Monday versus the Runnin’ Bulldogs of Gardner-Webb at Food City Center. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. ET.

Fans can catch Monday’s game between the Volunteers and Runnin’ Bulldogs on SECN+. Andy Brock (play-by-play), Steve Hamer (analyst) and Sarah Detwiler (reporter) will have the call.

Fans can also listen live on their local Vol Network affiliate to hear Bob Kesling and Bert Bertelkamp describing the action.

THE MATCHUP
• This is the third meeting between Tennessee and Gardner-Webb, with the Volunteers winning each of the prior two, both at home.
• The last matchup between the two sides was Rick Barnes‘ fourth game with UT, an 89-64 victory on 11/22/15. Kevin Punter Jr. (24) and Devon Baulkman (22) combined for 46 points, while Armani Moorehad 15 points and 16 rebounds, the second-most boards and lone 15/15 outing of Barnes’ UT tenure.
• Coming off a 17-16 (11-5) campaign in 2023-24, the Runnin’ Bulldogs were picked sixth in the Big South.
• Gardner-Webb lost its top five scorers from last year. Its leading returnee is Ademide Badmus, a senior forward who put up 5.6 ppg in 2023-24.
• The Volunteers are 28-0 all-time against the current Big South schools, including 11-0 versus UNC Asheville. They have defeated all nine members at least once.
• Rick Barnes owns a 23-0 record versus the current Big South membership, including a 10-0 ledger at Tennessee. He has beat all nine schools at least once.

NEWS & NOTES
• Tennessee has won its last three season openers, all at home, by a combined 98 points. It won by 28 in 2021-22, by 32 in 2022-23 and by 38 in 2023-24, good for an average of 32.7 points per game.
• The Volunteers are 34-3 (.919) all-time in home openers at Food City Center, dating back to 1987- 88. They are 31-1 (.969) over their last 32 such games, including 8-1 (.889) under Rick Barnes. The average attendance in the 36 non- COVID-season home openers is 16,785, with eight over 20,000.
• Tennessee placed third in the SEC preseason media poll, its third year in a row in the top three and seventh straight in the top five. The Volunteers also came in at No. 12 nationally in both the AP Poll and Coaches Poll, their fifth consecutive year in the preseason top-20 of each.
• The Volunteers added four transfers: two fifth-year guards, a senior forward and a junior forward. They own a combined 3,356 collegiate points across 372 outings, with three of them all- conference selections in 2023-24.
• Tennessee, aided by a 13-2 stretch, is coming off a year in which it won its 11th SEC regular season crown, including its sixth outright title. The Volunteers then, as a No. 2 seed, went on to earn their second Elite Eight berth.
• The Volunteers finished fifth in both major national polls in 2023- 24. The AP mark tied their best closing spot ever (2021-22, 2007- 08) and the Coaches Poll broke the program record (seventh in 2007-08). Tennessee also placed fifth in KenPom, surpassing the prior year (sixth in 2022-23) for its best mark ever.
• UT went 27-9 last year, marking the the third time in the last six years (2018-24) under Rick Barnes it won 27-plus games. It hit that tally twice before his arrival.
• The 171 wins for Tennessee over the last seven years (2017-24) rank co-eighth nationally and mark the highest total in a seven- year stretch in program history. Only Kansas (191), Duke (185), Purdue (182) and Virginia (176) have more among schools in a Power Six league that entire time.

TENNESSEE TABBED THIRD
• Tennessee placed third in the SEC preseason poll, as voted on by a select panel of league and national media members.
• Only the two Yellowhammer State schools, Alabama and Auburn, finished above Tennessee in the voting.
• This is the third straight year the Volunteers took a top-three position in the preseason media poll, the only school that can make such a claim. Tennessee held the top spot in 2023-24 and indeed went on to win the league title. In 2022-23, UT took third-place in the voting.
• Tennessee has claimed a top-five spot in the preseason media poll seven consecutive years, dating back to the 2018-19 edition.

WINNING WAYS
• Over the last seven seasons (2017-24), Tennessee paces all SEC programs in total wins (171) and is tied for first in postseason victories (18), while placing a narrow second in winning percentage (.722). In that span, UT has three SEC titles, winning the regular season in 2018 and 2024, as well as the 2022 tournament.
• In that same seven-year stretch, the Vols are one of only two SEC schools with an overall winning percentage of over .700, alongside Auburn (.723).
• In SEC play over the same seven-year period, Tennessee (86-39; .688) is second in the league, behind Kentucky (87-38; .696), in both victories and winning percentage. Only Auburn (81-45; .643) and Alabama (78-48; .619) have even 70-plus wins.
• Over just the last three seasons (2021-24), UT owns a 79-28 (.7383) overall record. That is good for the most victories and the best winning percentage of any SEC team in that span. Auburn ranks second at 76-27 (.7379) during that time.
• In that same three-year span, Tennessee (39-15; .722) is tied with Kentucky for the best record in conference play among SEC teams.

PRESEASON PLAUDITS
• Zakai Zeigler collected Preseason First Team All-SEC recognition from the media, alongside Auburn’s Johni Broome, Florida’s Walter Clayton Jr., Alabama’s Mark Sears and Texas A&M’s Wade Taylor IV.
• In addition, Zeigler was one of five individuals to earn votes for SEC Preseason Player of the Year, joining Sears (the designee), Broome, Taylor and Georgia’s Asa Newell.
• This is the third year in a row Zeigler, a second-team choice in advance of both the 2023-24 and 2022-23 campaigns, garnered Preseason All-SEC honors from the media. He is the fourth such three-time selection in UT history, joining Allan Houston (first team in each of 1990-91, 1991-92 and 1992-93), Tony Harris (first team in each 1998-99, 1999-2000 and 2000-01) and Tyler Smith (second team in 2007-08, first team in both 2008-09 and 2009-10).
• The league’s coaches also labeled Zeigler a Preseason First Team All-SEC choice, placing him alongside the same four players. It marked his third consecutive year receiving that distinction, the only such player in the league.
• Zeigler earned Preseason Second Team All-America plaudits from the Blue Ribbon Yearbook. The other second-team choices were Broome, Taylor, Duke’s Cooper Flagg and Purdue’s Braden Smith. He was named a Preseason Third Team All-American by ESPN’s Jay Bilas.
• After finishing as a Midseason Top 10 List selection last year, Zakai Zeigler was named to the Bob Cousy Award Top 20 Preseason Watch List this season. In addition, Chaz Lanier earned a spot on the Jerry West Award Top 20 Preseason Watch List.
• In addition, Zeigler earned a spot on the Naismith Trophy Preseason Watch List. He was one of nine SEC players to make the cut.

1K CLUB
• Tennessee has three players who enter the 2024-25 season with over 1,000 points and another who is just 71 away from that mark.
• Darlinstone Dubar owns 1,359 points in 116 outings, good for 11.7 ppg across four seasons.
• Jordan Gainey possesses 1,175 points in 100 contests, an average of 11.8 ppg over three years.
• Zakai Zeigler has 1,052 points in 101 appearances, giving him a 10.4 ppg average in three seasons.
• Chaz Lanier is closing in on 1,000 points, as he begins 2024-25 with 929 points in 104 outings, an 8.9 ppg ledger across four campaigns.

INAM: “IT’S NOT ABOUT ME”
• In each of Zakai Zeigler’s three seasons, Tennessee has finished top-15 nationally in assist rate, per KenPom. It ranked No. 13 in 2023-24 (61.0), second in 2022-23 (66.2) and sixth in 2021-22 (63.0).
• The Volunteers posted 20-plus assists 11 times in 2023-24 and reached 25-plus thrice, with a high of 28 against Vanderbilt (2/17/24).
• Tennessee recorded 20-plus assists 23 times in 2021-22, logging 25-plus on 10 occasions, with a high of 29 versus USC Upstate (12/14/21).

POLL PRESENCE
• Tennessee has played 203 games as a ranked team in the AP Poll in Rick Barnes‘ tenure, posting a 151-52 (.744) record. Over 66.9 percent of the Volunteers’ 303 games since Barnes arrived in 2015-16 have come with the team ranked in the AP Poll, all since 2017-18 (203 of 237, 85.7 percent).
• UT is 130-47 (.734) while in the AP top 20 under Barnes, 99-34 (.739) while top-15, 79-25 (.760) while top-10, 36-12 (.750) while top-five, 17-2 (.895) while top-three and 7-1 (.875) while No. 1.
• The Vols are 28-22 (.560) in AP top-25 matchups under Barnes, including 22-15 (.595) with both teams in the top 20, 13-9 (.591) with both in the top 15 and 7-6 (.538) with both in the top 10.