Tennessee Vols basketball head coach Rick Barnes on his team’s win over the Ole Miss Rebels leads our Volunteers news for Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019.
Welcome to the last day in February. With March about to hit, we have a ton of Tennessee Vols news to bring you, as it’s peak spring. That includes men’s and women’s basketball reaching postseason time, all other spring sports in full swing, and spring football about to start.
It’s all a lot to cover, but our morning update on Rocky Top for today comes on the heels of a huge men’s basketball road win over the Ole Miss Rebels. We already covered the game last night, so this coverage involves statements made about it.
We also have a recap of two other events that happened on Wednesday. Following that, we’ll bring you two awards that two separate athletes receives, and we’ll close this out with a preview of another event happening tonight. Let’s start with the basketball news.
Rick Barnes on Tennessee’s win over Ole Miss – Grant Ramey, GoVols247
The Tennessee Vols men’s basketball team improved to 25-3 and 13-2 in the SEC after a huge win over the Ole Miss Rebels on the road Wednesday night. The win kept them in contention for the regular season SEC title, and it was thanks to a late shot by Grant Williams. Here’s a bit of what Rick Barnes said about the win.
"“We had a lot of guys that played a lot of minutes out there tonight if you look at it, but all of us are. Look their (Ole Miss) minutes, 31, 31, 37, 34. Look at ours: 36, 32, 34, 33. This time of year, guys have to log those minutes in games like this because it’s a possession game and you realize that.”"
Tennessee baseball defeats MTSU – Dan Harralson, VolsWire.com
The Tennessee Vols baseball team scored a 2-0 win over the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders Wednesday. With the victory, they improved to 9-0 on the year.
"The win is Tennessee’s fifth shutout performance of the season and the Vols are outscoring their opponents, 59-5.UT’s Camden Sewell recorded six shutout innings, allowing one hit, five strikeouts and two walks in his first career start."
Men’s tennis defeats MTSU – UTSports
While Tennessee baseball remained undefeated with a win over MTSU, the Tennessee Vols men’s tennis team also scored a win over MTSU. The No. 15/19 ranked Vols won Wednesday’s match 6-1.
"The Vols (9-1) took the doubles point over the Blue Raiders (8-7) in short order. Timo Stodder and Preston Touliatos teamed up in the No. 1 spot, winning 6-2. Playing in the No. 2 position was Andrew Rogers and Martim Prata, the duo sealed the doubles point by taking their match 6-4. Adam Walton and Pat Harper had an unfinished match in the third spot."
Evina Westbrook named to community service team – SECSports
Tennessee Lady Vols sophomore guard Evina Westbrook was named to the SEC Women’s Basketball Community Service team Wednesday. As UT’s best player this year, this just adds to her significance to the program.
"A member of the UT Athletics Department’s VOLeaders program, Evina Westbrook is one of UT’s most active volunteers in the community and someone who has a heart for those dealing with hardships. She has visited patients on separate occasions at the UT Cancer Institute as well as East Tennessee Children’s Hospital and joined the Lady Vol basketball team in hosting kids from East Tennessee Children’s Hospital at a Christmas party in UT’s Pratt Pavilion practice facility."
Mariah Smith named women’s golfer of the week – SECSports
Tennessee Lady Vols sophomore women’s golfer Mariah Smith was named the SEC’s Women’s Golfer of the Week. Here are a few of the bulleted accomplishments listed in her favor.
"Led Tennessee to a first-place finish at the FAU Winter Warm Up with a final score of 559 (-17), defeating the field by a program record 41 strokes.Won the FAU Winter Warm Up individual championship by a stroke over teammates Micheala Williams and Waverly Whiston."
Lady Vols to host Vanderbilt – Will Backus, UT Daily Beacon
The Tennessee women’s basketball program will look to rebound Thursday night against the 6-21 Vanderbilt Commodores. At 17-10 and 6-8 in the SEC, they have to win at home against a team that is 1-13 in the SEC if they want to keep their NCAA hopes alive. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.
"Tennessee has dropped its last two contests, both in conference, by double-digits. Vanderbilt provides a good opportunity to bounce back."