Tennessee Vols morning report: Meeting Cuonzo Martin again, Lady Vols, softball
The Tennessee Vols facing a former coach in basketball along with Lady Vols and softball news lead the Volunteers headlines for Thursday, Jan. 18, 2018.
For the first time in a while, we don’t have any football news to bring you this morning. Nope, it’s all basketball and spring sports. The Tennessee Vols are still in a crazy period with their athletics program, but nothing changed on the gridiron.
In basketball, though, a lot happened on both sides. There are multiple stories from a game the men’s Vols played Wednesday night that we need to get to. On top of that, the Lady Vols have multiple stories for us to cover as well.
As a result, this morning report includes a recap, a preview, a storyline from the recap, and a story about next year. Oh, and we also have a season preview to get to with another sport.
But let’s start with the men’s basketball program. And we’ll get to the recap of last night’s game.
Tennessee Vols lose at Missouri – Grant Ramey, GoVols247
Tennessee basketball’s three-game winning streak came to an end Wednesday night as the Vols lost to the Missouri Tigers on the road 59-55. With the loss, they fall to 12-5 overall and 3-3 in the SEC. However, the loss isn’t a terrible one, as Mizzou is now 13-5 overall and 3-2 in the SEC. They are a good team, and this was a tough game.
"Rick Barnes warned Monday of the grind the Southeastern Conference schedule would be. His team would realize the dogfight the league is, or else they would learn “real quick.”Lesson No. 1 took place during a slugfest at Mizzou Arena Wednesday night."
Cuonzo Martin on facing Vols – Mike Wilson, Knoxville News Sentinel
A part of Thursday night’s game was facing Cuonzo Martin, Tennessee basketball’s former coach. Martin coached the Vols for three years from 2011 to 2014. He had nothing negative to say about the program, though, in the postgame.
"To him, it was just another win and all part of the job – even though it did come against a program he once coached.“It wasn’t about that for me,” Martin said. “It was about winning a basketball game. A lot on the surface level was probably made about it, but it was just a job and a task at hand.”"
Tennessee Lady Vols to face Notre Dame – UTSports
The Tennessee Lady Vols will face the No. 5 ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish on the road Thursday, the third difficult game in this brutal four-game stretch they’re on. So far, they are 1-1 in the stretch.
"This marks the 28th meeting between these schools in women’s basketball, with UT holding a 21-6 advantage. The Lady Vols will try to halt a three-game road losing skid in the series and end a 17-game homecourt winning streak by the Irish."
3 Lady Vols recruits McDonald’s All-Americans – McDonald’s All-American media center
After securing the No. 1 recruiting class last year, Holly Warlick has more talent coming in for next year. The women’s Tennessee Vols basketball team has three signees who are McDonald’s All-Americans this year: Zarielle Green, Amira Collins and Jazmine Massengill.
"Of the 24 girls selected to be McDonald’s All Americans, Baylor has the most McDonald’s All American players suiting up next fall with four commits followed by Tennessee with three commits. Like the Boys roster, this year’s Girls roster features two sets of high school teammates that will play against each other. The Girls Game begins at 5 p.m. EST March 28 and will air live on ESPN2."
Tennessee softball picked second in SEC – SECSports
The Tennessee Vols softball team has been picked to finish second in the SEC for 2018 by the coaches in the conference. The Florida Gators came in at No. 1.
"The Gators, who received 11 first-place votes, will be vying for their eighth overall regular season title after posting a 20-3 record in the SEC last season.Tennessee earned one first-place vote and is projected to finish second in the SEC, while Texas A&M took third place in this year’s poll. LSU was ranked fourth, and Alabama, which earned one first-place vote, rounded out the top 5."