Tennessee Vols morning report: March Madness preview, Rick Barnes potential award
The Tennessee Vols tipping off in the NCAA Tournament and Rick Barnes being an award finalist lead the Volunteers news for Thursday, March 15, 2018.
March Madness is here! And of course, that leads our Tennessee Vols news for today. But if we’re talking about updates on Rocky Top, that’s far from the only thing to talk about.
The Vols have a ton of news happening today. There are multiple men’s basketball reports to get too, not just a March Madness preview. On top of that, we have an update on Neyland Stadium. Meanwhile, baseball, softball and other sports bring news.
So it’s a heavy news day all the way around. But let’s not kid ourselves. The NCAA Tournament is the lead story. So we begin with that.
Tennessee opens March Madness vs. Wright State – Grant Ramey, GoVols247
The Tennessee Vols begin the first round of the NCAA Tournament at 12:40 p.m. E.T. as a No. 3 seed against the Wright State Raiders in Dallas.
"It’s Tennessee’s first postseason appearance since 2014, when the Vols went from the First Four to the Sweet Sixteen as a No. 11 seed, beating Iowa, UMass and Mercer."
Rick Barnes a Naismith Coach of the Year finalist – Naismith Trophy online
Tennessee Vols head coach Rick Barnes is one of four finalists for the Naismith coach of the year. Barnes joins Tony Bennett of the Virginia Cavaliers, Chris Holtmann of the Ohio State Buckeyes, and Jay Wright of the Villanova Wildcats.
Three people on Neyland scoreboard – Blake Toppmeyer, Knoxville News Sentinel
The Tennessee football scoreboard at Neyland Stadium has been updated. And three former Vols have been shown on there: Jason Witten, Al Wilson and Gen. Robert Neyland.
"The images are visible from outside the stadium. Neyland, after whom the stadium is named, is a staple on the video board.Jones, Neyland and former defensive end Reggie White had been on the video board since Oct. 2, 2014."
Tennessee baseball defeats Western Carolina – Rob Harvey, The Daily Times
The Tennessee Vols shut out the Western Carolina Catamounts 5-0 on Wednesday to improve their winning streak to four games and their record to 12-6.
"The Vols saw great starts from all three starting pitchers over the weekend and it continued Wednesday, as freshman Sean Hunley helped the Vols cruise to a 5-0 win over the Catamounts with a complete game shutout."
Tennessee softball sweeps Wednesday double-header – UTSports
The No. 4 ranked Tennessee Lady Vols defeated Cleveland State 12-0 and North Dakota 5-0 on Wednesday in their opening games of the Bank of Hawaii Rainbow Wahine Classic on Wednesday to improve their winning streak to 18 games and their overall record to 26-1. They continue the tournament with two more games today.
"Tennessee will face North Dakota (13-12) again Thursday at 8:30 p.m. ET before taking on Hawai’i in the night cap at 1 a.m. ET."
Lorenzo Scalise on Arnold Palmer Cup team – Arnold Palmer Cup online
Tennessee Vols golfer Lorenzo Scalise has been named to the 2018 Arnold Palmer Cup team. Scalise represents Italy on the international team.
"The annual Ryder Cup-style competition will be played July 6-8 at Evian Resort Golf Club. The 2018 Arnold Palmer Cup will be the first using the expanded format of United States men’s and women’s collegiate golfers versus their counterparts from around the world."
Women’s swimming and diving opens NCAAs – UTSports
The Tennessee Lady Vols swimming and diving team set multiple school records Wednesday to open NCAAs.
"The team of Erika Brown, Stanzi Moseley, Tess Cieplucha and Meghan Small swam six seconds faster than their seed time to take fourth overall in a school-record time of 6:52.15.Leading off the relay, Brown also broke the Tennessee 200 freestyle record with a time of 1:42.39."