Tennessee men’s and women’s basketball programs are off to hot starts this fall.
The Vols’ men’s team, currently the No. 1 team in the nation, is 9-0 to start the season.
The No. 19 Lady Vols, under the direction of head coach Kim Caldwell in her first season with the program, is also undefeated to start the year with a record of 7-0.
According to a post by the SEC Network on X, “Tennessee is the only D1 school with both basketball programs still undefeated” at this point in the season.
Tennessee is the ONLY DI school with both basketball programs still undefeated 🔥@Vol_Hoops | @LadyVol_Hoops pic.twitter.com/Q3znEZT4Hn
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) December 13, 2024
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Both teams have been terrific in their own right to start the season. The Vols have put on a showcase in meshing players together as Tennessee quickly climbed the rankings to No. 1 despite having so much turnover in the offseason. Led by Zakai Zeigler and Jahmai Mashack, the Vols look to have one of the strongest units in the country both on and off the court.
The Lady Vols, on the other hand, have been one of the more exciting teams to watch in the sport through their first seven games. Kim Caldwell has brought a wickedly exciting brand of basketball to Knoxville as the Lady Vols have crossed the 89-point mark in five of their seven games this season including three triple-digit scoring nights.
The Vols have one ranked win on the season with a dominant victory over No. 13 Baylor in the Baha Mar Tournament Championship but have dominated their Power 4 non-conference opponents. Tennessee is 4-0 against the ACC this season with wins over Louisville, Virginia, Syracuse, and Miami.
Rick Barnes’ team has won their nine games this season by an average of 25 points.
The Lady Vols, meanwhile, are coming off of their first Top 25 win of the Kim Caldwell era last weekend in New York. Tennessee defeated No. 17 Iowa by a score of 78-68 to give the Lady Vols a marquee win in the non-conference slate as only five more games remain between them and the start of Caldwell’s first SEC season.
Tennessee guard Talaysia Cooper has been a scoring machine for the Lady Vols. Cooper is averaging 20.1 points per game to lead the team in scoring and has been Tennessee’s leading scorer in the last five straight games. Cooper has also been Tennessee’s leading rebounder in four of seven games this season.
If Tennessee men’s and women’s basketball success wasn’t enough, the Tennessee football team is also gearing up for their first run in the College Football Playoffs in program history later this month.
Safe to say things are going well on Rocky Top this fall.
