With high hopes for season, No. 12 Tennessee faces Gardner-Webb

With one of college basketball's top guards in Zakai Zeigler and a revamped supporting cast, No. 12 Tennessee will start working toward its first Final Four appearance in program history when it hosts Gardner-Webb in Knoxville, Tenn., on Monday night.

It will mark the season opener for both teams.

Tennessee, which last season reached the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament and finished 27-9, got a glimpse of what its new lineup will look like against strong competition when it hosted an exhibition game against 17th-ranked Indiana on Sunday.

However, the Volunteers struggled from the field in what ended up being a 66-62 loss to the Hoosiers, making just 18 of 59 shots (30.5 percent).

"Offensively, not very good. Had shots to start with, and to be honest with you, shots that we need to make," Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said after the exhibition. "But, with that said, if we're not making them, our defense kept us in the game. And it (always makes it) harder when you're not making shots, but you got to have something that you can count on every night."

Zeigler led the way with 13 points and eight assists. But Barnes said he was not happy with Zeigler taking a contested 3-pointer in the closing seconds, instead suggesting that a timeout should have been called.

The Volunteers fizzled out down the stretch, with their last made field goal coming with 3:50 to play.

Jordan Gainey got the start and finished with 12 points, while Chaz Lanier, who Barnes said came in off the bench because he had not practiced as much prior to the game, recorded 10 points.

Gardner-Webb enters the season with optimism after longtime assistant Jeremy Luther was promoted to head coach in late March. Luther, a former guard at Robert Morris and Liberty, inherits a squad that finished third in the Big South Conference last season with a 17-16 overall record and an 11-5 mark in league play.

The Runnin' Bulldogs lost their top two scorers from a season ago, Julien Soumaoro and Caleb Robinson (both averaged 12.7 points per game), but they were still picked to finish sixth in the Big South in the league's preseason poll.

Gardner-Webb will, however, get a boost from two players who chose to transfer back into the program after spending last season elsewhere.

Anthony Selden played for the Runnin' Bulldogs for three seasons before spending the 2023-24 campaign at Rice, where he averaged 5.5 points and 2.4 rebounds in 29 games (six starts). Jamaine Mann also is back at Gardner-Webb following stops at Vanderbilt and Georgia State.

Mann came off the bench in all 18 games he appeared in last season for Georgia State. He averaged 5.9 points and 3.1 rebounds.

The Runnin' Bulldogs' matchup with Tennessee will be the first meeting of a challenging three-game road trip to open the season that also includes visits to North Carolina Central and Pitt.

"We couldn't be more excited about the season. I have really enjoyed coaching this team through the summer and fall," Luther said. "I love our chemistry and the passion the kids show up with every day. Seems like it was just yesterday that I was hired, and now the season is already here."

--Field Level Media