Get To Know: Tennessee

Name: University of Tennessee

Location: Knoxville, Tennessee

Nickname: Volunteers

Why "Volunteers?" That's all the Atlanta Constitution's fault.  In 1902, the newspaper referred to the UT football team as such following a game against Georgia Tech.  As for why they went that route, the state earned that nickname due to the number of men who volunteered for military service in the War of 1812, the Mexican-American War, and the Civil War.

Let's Discuss "Rocky Top" For A Moment: It's not the official school fight song.  That honor belongs to Down The Field.  With that said, we're gonna hear Rocky Top approximately 7,000 times during this game, so brace yourselves.

Notable Alumni: Former US Vice President Al Gore; Saxby Chambliss, US Senator and owner of a great name; authors Kurt Vonnegut and Cormac McCarthy; Charles Scott Abbott, one of the two creators of Trivial Pursuit; Min Kao, CEO and founder of Garmin; Paul Finebaum, the biggest name in SEC radio; Kevin Nash, former WWE and WCW World Heavyweight Champion; Woody Paige, noted Around The Horn punching bag; and Chris Hadfield, former commander of the International Space Station.

Last Season: 24-13, 11-7 in the SEC.  They finished up the season by advancing to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament from a spot in the First Four in Dayton.

This Season: 2-2.  Three of their games have been on neutral courts, where they're 1-2 in those games.  Don't be misled on that though: the losses are to VCU and Kansas.

KenPom Ranking: #82

Returning Points Leader: Josh Richardson, 10.3 ppg

Returning Rebounds Leader: Derek Reese, 3.0 rpg

Returning Assists Leader: Josh Richardson, 1.5 apg

Head Coach: Donnie Tyndall, in his first season.  He has a career coaching record of 172-103 after two previous stops at Morehead State and Southern Miss.  Of course, this might turn into his only season in Knoxville depending on how the NCAA deals with allegations regarding impermissible benefits during his time at Southern Miss.

All Time Series: Tennessee leads, 4-3

Last Meeting: December 16, 2008.  Tennessee won, 80-68, as part of the Big East-SEC Invitational.