The Vols have advanced on to the second round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament after handling business against 15-seed Wofford on Thursday night. Now, a date with seven-seed UCLA awaits them on Saturday night.
Just like last round, I want to provide a “by the numbers” look at the Vols’ NCAA Tournament game against the UCLA Bruins. These two teams have never met in the postseason and have only played each other one other time previously, but more on that in a moment.
Here are some fun facts and interesting statistics as Tennessee gets set to take on UCLA in the second round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
3
The Vols enter Saturday’s contest with three wins against Big Ten opponents in the NCAA Tournament. That wouldn’t be too bad if UT had only played between 3-5 games vs. Big Ten teams in the NCAAT previously, but they’ve unfortunately played 11 games against Big Ten opponents in the NCAA Tournament, meaning they’re just 3-8 in the postseason vs. Big Ten foes. It feels weird calling UCLA a “Big Ten school,” but they are, and Tennessee has been eliminated by teams from the Big Ten in the NCAA Tournament more than any other conference. Tennessee is 2-0 vs. Iowa and 1-1 vs. Ohio State in the NCAAT, but they’re winless against Michigan (0-3), Purdue (0-2), Michigan State (0-1), and Indiana (0-1).
0
The Vols have never beaten UCLA in men’s basketball. Of course, the two programs have only played once before, and it was all the way back in 1977. Tennessee is 0-1 all-time against the Bruins, with their only other contest resulting in a 103-89 loss in a top-10 match-up in a neutral site game in Atlanta on January 30, 1977.
70
The 70-point mark has been vitally important to both Tennessee and UCLA this season. When both teams hold their opponent to 70 points or less, they both have been almost unbeatable. The Vols are 24-1 this season when holding an opponent to 70 or fewer points, and UCLA is 19-2 when they do so. So if you were expecting a high-scoring game on Saturday night, you probably should adjust those expectations.
On the flip side, how have these two teams done when they’re the ones being held to 70 or fewer points? UCLA is just 6-7 this season if they score 70 points or less, while Tennessee is 8-3 when scoring 70 or less. For the Vols, two of those three losses came when they were held to 51 points and 43 points. They’re 8-1 when scoring between 60-70 points.
20
Against defenses ranked in the top 20 on KenPom, UCLA is just 1-3 this season. The Bruins haven’t played a defense ranked in the top 20 on KenPom since Feb. 4, which was actually their only win this season against an elite defense, a 63-61 victory over Michigan State. In their three losses to top-20 KenPom defenses, UCLA has lost by an average of 15 points. Tennessee’s defense ranks No. 3 on KenPom, which will be the highest-ranked defense the Bruins have faced this season.
15
Saturday night’s contest will mark the third time in the last four games the Vols will have faced a defense ranked in the top 15 on KenPom. Tennessee has split the previous two games, beating Auburn 70-65 and losing 86-77 to Florida in the SEC Tournament. The Vols are 3-3 this season against teams with a defense in the top 15 on KenPom, but five of those six games have come against Florida and Auburn.
35
Like Tennessee, the Bruins are better on defense but still have a good offense. UCLA’s offensive efficiency ranks 35th on KenPom, and that ranking is a bit of an inflection point for the Vols this season. Tennessee has been great against offenses ranked 36th or worse on KenPom, going a perfect 18-0 this season. But when you look at the teams on the other side of UCLA’s offensive ranking, it paints a different picture. The Vols are just 10-7 against teams with an offense ranked 34th or better on KenPom. It’s worth noting, though, that five of those seven losses for UT have come against offenses ranked in the top 10 on KenPom, as the Vols are just 4-5 against top-10 KenPom offenses.
7
This will be the fifth time the Vols have faced a 7-seed in the NCAA Tournament. Tennessee is 2-2 all-time against 7-seeds, and they’ve won two in a row against that seed line. The Vols beat 7-seed Texas 62-58 in last year’s NCAA Tournament, and they defeated 7-seed Butler 76-71 in overtime in 2008.
9
Saturday’s game will be a late tip-off on the East Coast, with the Vols and Bruins slated to start at 9:40 PM Eastern. I personally don’t put a whole lot of weight on this particular stat, but I thought it was interesting to point out nonetheless: The Vols are 3-1 this season in games that have tipped off at 9:00 p.m. ET or later, and UT won both games they played in the NCAA Tournament last year that tipped off after 9:00 p.m..
Obviously, UCLA has more late night Eastern Time tip-offs since they’re out on the West Coast. They’re 16-3 this season in games that have tipped off at 9:00 PM Eastern or later, but Thursday’s game against Utah State was only the second time this season they played a late night tip-off outside of the Pacific Time Zone. The other was a 9:00 p.m. ET tip-off against Northwestern on the road, which was a 73-69 win for UCLA.
7-3
Recently, gargantuan big men have given the Vols a headache in the NCAA Tournament. Whether it’s been Zach Edey, Hunter Dickinson, or another seven-footer, Tennessee has oftentimes played their worst when they’ve faced a large body down low. UCLA has a seven-footer on roster, and though he isn’t nearly the force of an Edey or Dickinson, he’s been playing some of his best basketball lately.
Aday Mara is a 7-foot-3, 240-pound center for the Bruins. Though he averages just 6.4 points and 4.0 rebounds, he’s been playing well recently and could take advantage of Tennessee’s lack of post presence. Over his last six games, Mara is averaging 9.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 2.0 blocks in just an average of 14.5 minutes a game. He’s scored in double figures in four of his last six contests, and he’s blocked two or more shots in four of his last six games, too. Against Utah State, he totaled 10 points, six rebounds, and five blocks in 20 minutes. UCLA is a perfect 7-0 this season when Mara records three or more blocks, and they’re 16-1 when he blocks two or more shots in a game.
118
Chaz Lanier enters Saturday’s game on the precipice of passing a Tennessee legend. The Second Team All-SEC guard has made 116 three-pointers this season, leaving him just three made three-pointers shy of Chris Lofton’s school record of 118 made threes in the 2007-08 season. Prior to this season, Lofton had the three seasons with the most made three-pointers in school history, but Lanier will finish, at worst, with the second-most made threes in a season at Tennessee.
18
After he dropped 29 points against Wofford, Tennessee remains undefeated this season when Chaz Lanier scores at least 18 points. The Vols are a sterling 20-0 when Lanier eclipses the 18-point mark.
2
With his 12-point, 12-assist performance against Wofford, Zakai Zeigler became the first Vol to have multiple points-assists double-doubles in the NCAA Tournament. Tennessee has only had five games in the NCAAT where a player has recorded a points-assists double-double, and Zeigler has two of those five games. He now has 12 points-assists double-doubles in his Tennessee career, which is by far the most in school history. The next closest is Rodney Woods with five. Tennessee is 11-2 when Zeigler records a double-double, which includes the one time he recorded the more standard points-rebounds double-double against Western Carolina in December of this season.
