HOOPS CENTRAL: Vols at Georgia Tech

November 15, 2015 | Men's Basketball

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Nov. 15, 2015

GAMEDAY INFO WATCH LIVE (ESPNU) LISTEN LIVE (Vol Network) NOTES LAST TIME OUT

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- With the Rick Barnes era officially underway on Rocky Top, the Tennessee basketball team goes on the road for the first time this year when it travels to Atlanta to face Georgia Tech on Monday night. The game tips off at 7 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on ESPNU.

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Gameday Time & Broadcast Info

Opponent: Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
Tipoff: 7 p.m. ET
TV: ESPNU
Radio: Vol Network
Online: Live Audio ,

Tennessee

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Georgia Tech

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Monday's ESPNU broadcast features Tom Hart and Cory Alexander on the call. Fans can also listen live on their local Vol Network affiliate with Bob Kesling and Bert Bertelkamp describing the action.

The Vols (1-0) are coming off a season-opening win over UNC Asheville on Friday night. Tennessee got career-high performances from guards Kevin Punter (31 points) and Robert Hubbs III (18 points), as well as forward and Georgia-native Jabari McGhee (nine points) in holding off the Bulldogs 82-78 at Thompson-Boling Arena. The victory was the 605th of head coach Rick Barnes' career and his first with Tennessee.

Monday's game marks the first clash of a four-year, four-game contract between the Vols and Yellow Jackets. The Volunteers will host the Yellow Jackets during the 2016-17 and 2018-19 seasons and will play a second game in Atlanta in 2017-18 (dates have yet to be determined).

About Georgia Tech

The Yellow Jackets (1-0) are entering their fifth season under head coach Brian Gregory.
Georgia Tech posted a 12-19, 3-15 ACC record last season.
Last season, Tech ranked 12th nationally in rebound margin (+7.3) and 11th in offensive rebounds per game (14.3).
Three starters and six of Tech's top eight scorers from last season return this year.
The Yellow Jackets added a pair of talented graduate transfers to their roster this year. Adam Smith, a guard from Virginia Tech, led the ACC in 3-point percentage last season while averaging 13.4 ppg, and 6-8 forward James White, a grad transfer from Arkansas-Little Rock, averaged more than 11 ppg.
Forward Charles Mitchell scored a career-high 21 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, and the Yellow Jackets used a 32-3 run in the second half to beat visiting Cornell 116-81 Friday.
Mitchell was a Tennessee recruiting target under a previous coaching staff.
Tech redshirt senior forward Nick Jacobs played his first three seasons in the SEC at Alabama. On Feb. 1, 2014, he posted 13 points and six rebounds in a win over Tennessee in Tuscaloosa.

Four Vols Are Georgia Natives

Monday's game in Atlanta will serve as a homecoming of sorts for four players on UT's roster, as senior Armani Moore (Kennesaw), senior Devon Baulkman (Bainbridge), redshirt freshman Jabari McGhee (Albany) and true freshman Shembari Phillips (Atlanta) all hail from the state of Georgia.
Tennessee also has produced two All-Americans who are Georgia natives: Reggie Johnson (Ellenwood) was a first-team All-American in 1979 and 1980; Dale Ellis (Marietta) was a first-team All-American in 1982 and 1983.

Last Meeting In Atlanta Ended With Vols Buzzer-Beater

Though the venue was different, the last time the Vols faced Georgia Tech in Atlanta, Tennessee used a buzzer-beater to escape with a victory.
In the Peach Bowl Classic on Dec. 15, 2002, Vols guard Jon Higgins hit a desperation 3-point shot from just beyond halfcourt at the buzzer to shock the Philips Arena crowd of 10,919 and lift Tennessee to a 70-69 win.
The inbounds pass to Higgins was thrown from the endline by forward Ron Slay, who led all scorers with 28 points and also pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds.
Current Miami Heat star Chris Bosh posted 12 points and nine rebounds for the Yellow Jackets.

Oliver No Stranger To Peach State

First-year Vols assistant coach Desmond Oliver was an assistant coach at Georgia from 2004-09.
During his time at UGA, the Bulldogs were 2-3 against the in-state rival Yellow Jackets.

UNC Asheville Recap

Three Vols set career-highs for scoring as Tennessee tipped off the Rick Barnes era with an 82-78 win over UNC Asheville Nov. 13 at Thompson-Boling Arena.
Kevin Punter Jr. scored a career-high 31, while Robert Hubbs III scored a career-high 18 and Jabari McGhee logged a career-best nine points.
Vols senior Armani Moore did a bit of everything, totaling 12 points, eight rebounds, six assists, two blocks and one steal. He also drew two charges.
UT shot 50 percent in the first half and had just three turnovers, but a 23-13 edge on the boards kept UNC Asheville within a point at the break, 34-33.
Bulldogs forward Will Weeks gave UNC Asheville the lead, 71-69, with 2:47 to go. But Moore went right back down the court to tie with a jumper, draw a foul and put the Vols back on top with the ensuing free throw.
Weeks would tie the game back up with a free throw, but a 6-0 UT run, highlighted by a pair of baskets from Punter, swung the momentum back to the Volunteers. Hubbs had a huge block on the defensive end to key the second of those baskets, but he went down after the play with a cramp and did not return.
The Vols hit four free throws over the final 37 seconds, and McGhee came up with a leaping steal at midcourt after the final of those to seal the win.
Weeks led the Bulldogs 25 points.

Punter Drops 31 In Opener

Senior point guard Kevin Punter Jr. began his 2015-16 season with a bang Friday, scoring a career-high 31 points in UT's win over UNC Asheville.
The second-year Vol from the Bronx, also posted career-bests in field goals made (10) and attempted (14) and free throws made (8) and attempted (12).
His strong, 35-minute effort also included two assists and two steals.
It was Tennessee's first 30-point performance since current Miami Heat rookie scored 30 against Mississippi State on Feb. 3, 2015.

Kasongo Receives Clearance

Vols newcomer Ray Kasongo, a sophomore junior-college transfer from the College of Southern Idaho, received clearance from the NCAA on Nov. 13 regarding an amateurism issue stemming from his recruitment by another institution.
Kasongo was forced to sit out UT's season-opener vs. UNC Asheville on Nov. 13. He also was required to pay $300 in restitution.
Kasongo will be eligible for competition starting with the Georgia Tech game on Nov. 16.