Tennessee Basketball: Season awards, SEC Tournament schedule, more
By Blake Wyman
![Mar 4, 2023; Auburn, Alabama, USA; Tennessee Volunteers forward Olivier Nkamhoua (13) shoots the ball against the Auburn Tigers during the first half at Neville Arena. Mandatory Credit: John Reed-USA TODAY Sports Mar 4, 2023; Auburn, Alabama, USA; Tennessee Volunteers forward Olivier Nkamhoua (13) shoots the ball against the Auburn Tigers during the first half at Neville Arena. Mandatory Credit: John Reed-USA TODAY Sports](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/faf2b9e3ad7cb9b19d18a1fc4c8585f01c613b4fa5c4c578d9c38246e9eb0707.jpg)
Tennessee basketball finished the season with a record of 22-9 (11-7).
The Volunteers had many highs and just as many lows. They knocked off 3 top-10 teams and also lost to 7 unranked teams. To say that their season was a rollercoaster feels like an understatement at this point. However, despite all of the ups and downs, the Vols enter the SEC tournament as a five seed and are in an excellent position to make a run deep into the SEC and NCAA tournaments. Let’s look at the end-of-regular season awards, how the SEC tournament will play out, and more.
Tennessee basketball season awards.
All awards, stats, and information are according to the Tennessee Athletics Website:
Santiago Vescovi: First Team All-SEC
SEC Play Key Statistics: 13.3 PPG, 4.5 RPG
More: Santiago Vescovi is just the fifth Vol since 2000 to earn multiple All-SEC first-team selections from the league’s coaches. • Chris Lofton (2006, 2007, 2008) • Tyler Smith (2008, 2009) • Jordan McRae (2013, 2014) • Grant Williams (2018, 2019) • Santiago Vescovi (2022, 2023)
Zakai Zeigler: Second Team All-SEC + All-Defense
SEC Play Key Statistics: 10.2 PPG, 6.5 APG, 1.8 SPG
More: This is the third time a Volunteer has earned multiple All-Defensive team honors. Furthermore, this is also the first time a Tennessee basketball player has ever done it by their sophomore year.
Julian Phillips: All-Freshman Team
More: Third season in a row with a Vol on the All-Freshman Team
Josiah-Jordan James: SEC Community Service Team
More: James is a true leader on and off the court, actively helping make Knoxville a better place.
Tennessee Basketball SEC Tournament schedule.
turning our attention to Nashville pic.twitter.com/xZ1HQFwe0z
— Tennessee Basketball (@Vol_Hoops) March 6, 2023
The road to the SEC championship will take extensive work. The Vols will kick off the Tournament on Thursday at 3:30 pm against the winner of Ole Miss and South Carolina. For reference, the Vols beat South Carolina by 40 and Ole Miss by four earlier this season. It’s safe to say that Tennessee would rather face the Gamecocks than the Rebels.
If the Vols take care of business in the first round, they will take on Missouri at 3:30 on Friday. This game will be a big one and one that the Vols will need to have if they want a rematch against Alabama.
Suppose the Vols can beat Alabama again this year. In that case, they may have a chance to get round 3 against the Kentucky Wildcats, which would be an electric SEC championship matchup between two rival bluebloods.
Next. When does March Madness start? Tipoff date for Men’s & Women’s Tournaments, more. dark