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With high hopes for the season, No. 12 Tennessee faces Gardner-Webb

With high hopes for the season, No. 12 Tennessee faces Gardner-Webb

With Zakai Zeigler, one of college basketball’s best guards, and a revamped supporting cast, No. 12 Tennessee will begin working toward its first Final Four appearance in program history when it hosts Gardner-Webb on Monday night in Knoxville, Tenn receives.

It’s the start of the season for both teams.

Tennessee, which reached the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament last season and finished 27-9, got a glimpse of what its new lineup will look like against tough competition when it hosted an exhibition game against No. 17 Indiana on Sunday.

However, the Volunteers struggled from the field in a 66-62 loss to the Hoosiers, making just 18 of 59 shots (30.5 percent).

“Not very good offensively. Had shots from the start, and to be honest, shots we need to make,” Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said after the performance. “But when we don’t make them, our defense kept us in the game. And it becomes (more and more) difficult when you’re not making shots, but you have to have something to rely on every night.

Zeigler led the way with 13 points and eight assists. But Barnes said he wasn’t happy with Zeigler making a controversial 3-pointer in the final seconds and instead suggested a timeout should have been called.

The Volunteers failed down the stretch and their last field goal came with 3:50 minutes left in the game.

Jordan Gainey got the start and finished with 12 points, while Chaz Lanier, who Barnes said came off the bench because he hadn’t practiced as much before the game, scored 10 points.

Gardner-Webb is optimistic about the season after longtime assistant Jeremy Luther was promoted to head coach in late March. Luther, a former guard at Robert Morris and Liberty, takes over a squad that finished third in the Big South Conference last season with a 17-16 overall record and an 11-5 record in league play.

The Runnin’ Bulldogs lost their top two scorers from last season, Julien Soumaoro and Caleb Robinson (both averaged 12.7 points per game), but were still ranked sixth in the Big South in the league’s preseason poll.

However, Gardner-Webb will get a boost from two players who decided to rejoin the program after spending last season elsewhere.

Anthony Selden played for the Runnin’ Bulldogs for three seasons before spending the 2023-24 season at Rice, where he averaged 5.5 points and 2.4 rebounds in 29 games (six starts). Jamaine Mann is also back at Gardner-Webb after stints at Vanderbilt and Georgia State.

Mann came off the bench in all 18 games he appeared in for Georgia State last season. He averaged 5.9 points and 3.1 rebounds.

The Runnin’ Bulldogs’ matchup with Tennessee will be the first meeting of a challenging three-game season-opening road trip that also includes visits to North Carolina Central and Pitt.

“We couldn’t be more excited about the season. “I really enjoyed coaching this team over the summer and fall,” Luther said. “I love the chemistry between us and the passion with which the children compete every day. It feels like it was just yesterday when I was hired and now the season is already here.”