OPENING TIP

Tennessee State takes a two-game winning streak into its first true road game of the regular season Friday against No. 11/9 Tennessee at Food City Center. The Tigers (2-1) scored 250 points in their first two home games, beating East-West 127-61 and Fisk 123-73. All five starters reached double figures against Fisk, led by Aaron Bradshaw's 23 points. Ty-Laur Johnson finished with 11 points and 12 assists. TSU totaled 56 assists against 18 turnovers in the two wins.

Tennessee State is averaging 104.7 points through three games, while Tennessee has allowed 53.0 through two. The Volunteers (2-0) beat Wofford 90-59 and Radford 70-47 to open the season. Terrence Hill Jr. scored 17 and 18 points in those wins, respectively. Tennessee is coming off its third consecutive Elite Eight appearance.

HISTORY VS. TENNESSEE

SERIES INFORMATION

Friday marks the eighth meeting between the programs. Tennessee leads 7-0, with all seven previous games played in Knoxville. The series began Nov. 23, 1990, with a 91-75 Tennessee win. The schools met in three consecutive seasons from 2013-14 through 2015-16, then went nearly 10 years before meeting again in November 2025.

THE CLOSEST CALL

Tennessee State led 43-36 at halftime on Dec. 29, 2015, in the tightest game of the series. Wayne Martin had 19 points and nine rebounds for the Tigers, and Keron DeShields added 13. Tennessee used a late 9-0 run to come back for a 74-69 victory in Rick Barnes' first season with the Vols.

LAST MEETING

Tennessee won 89-60 on Nov. 20, 2025. Aaron Nkrumah led TSU with 19 points, five assists and three steals. Travis Harper II scored 17, and Antoine Lorick III added 12 off the bench. The Tigers forced 17 turnovers, grabbed 12 offensive rebounds and scored 39 points after halftime. Kavien Jones, the only player on this season's TSU roster who appeared for the Tigers in that game, had two points and three rebounds in 10 minutes.

COACHING AND PLAYER CONNECTIONS

MCCLAIN'S CONNECTIONS TO TAYLOR AND MORRIS

Tennessee assistant Steve McClain has ties to both the TSU bench and backcourt. Vince Taylor was an assistant on McClain's first Wyoming staff in 1998-99, when the Cowboys reached the NIT. McClain was a special assistant at Texas during Arterio Morris' freshman season in 2022-23. Both were with the Longhorns when Morris scored five points against Tennessee in Knoxville, including a 3-pointer that tied the game at 17.

LOCKRIDGE PLAYED IN THE SERIES

TSU assistant coach Brandon Lockridge came off the bench for the Tigers in Tennessee's 81-56 win in Knoxville on Nov. 28, 2003. Friday will mark his second straight game in the series as a TSU assistant.

PATTERSON'S KNOXVILLE TIES

Knoxville native Presley Patterson played 1:09 for Rice against Tennessee at Food City Center on Nov. 17, 2025, three days before TSU visited the Vols. Patterson scored 15 points in Knoxville Catholic's 2020 state championship win alongside future Vol B.J. Edwards, who scored 14. They beat a Briarcrest Christian team that featured another future Vol, Kennedy Chandler.

BRADSHAW HAS FACED THE VOLS TWICE

Aaron Bradshaw played in both Kentucky-Tennessee games in 2023-24. He grabbed six rebounds, three on the offensive glass, in the Lexington meeting and also appeared in Kentucky's win in Knoxville. Bradshaw, Morris and Patterson have all faced Tennessee while playing for other schools.

HILL WAS ON THE BENCH FOR A NO. 1 UPSET

TSU associate head coach Dalonte Hill was on Kansas State's staff when the 10th-ranked Wildcats beat Rick Barnes' No. 1 Texas team 71-62 on Jan. 18, 2010. Kansas State went 4-2 against Barnes' Longhorns during Hill's five seasons on staff, including a 73-72 win in Austin in 2007.

SMITH AND BARNES HAVE MARCH HISTORY

Nolan Smith faced a Rick Barnes team as a Duke sophomore in the 2009 NCAA Tournament. Smith scored 11 points off the bench, handed out three assists and made all four of his free throws as Duke beat Barnes' Texas team 74-69 in the second round in Greensboro, N.C.

SMITH AND GRANT MET IN THE ACC

Smith was a Duke assistant when the Blue Devils beat Boston College 72-61 on Feb. 12, 2022. Earl Grant, now a Tennessee assistant, was in his first season as Boston College's head coach. Paolo Banchero had 16 points and 14 rebounds for Duke.

BY THE NUMBERS — FISK

Tennessee State 123, Fisk 73 · November 9, 2026

PLAYER STATS THROUGH FISK

Season averages through November 9 · 3 regular-season games

SEASON PLAYER NOTES

BRADSHAW LEADS AT BOTH ENDS

Aaron Bradshaw leads TSU in scoring (14.3), rebounding (6.7) and blocks (3.0). He scored 17 of his 23 points against Fisk before halftime and blocked three shots in the opening half. His nine blocks through three games account for more than a third of TSU's 26.

LINDSEY RETURNS TO KNOXVILLE

Knoxville native Deondrea Lindsey has scored 10, 12 and 16 points in his first three collegiate games. He went 8-of-11 against Fisk and enters Friday at 56.0 percent from the floor. Lindsey began his high school career at Knoxville Catholic, where teammate Presley Patterson also played.

MORRIS PICKS UP THE PRESSURE

Arterio Morris has handed out 18 assists against seven turnovers through three starts. He has eight steals over the last two games, including five in 11:23 of second-half action against Fisk.

JOHNSON CREATES IN TRANSITION

Ty-Laur Johnson has 15 assists over his last two games and leads TSU with 19 on the season. Against Fisk, he assisted on two baskets during the 11-0 run that opened the second half. He also leads the Tigers with nine steals through three games.

ALSTON FINISHES THE BREAK

Christian Alston scored 13 points against Fisk on six field goals, all from inside the arc. His layup gave TSU a 29-point lead less than two minutes into the second half. Alston has six steals through three starts, including two against Fisk.

JAYDEN JONES HELPS ON THE GLASS

Jayden Jones has grabbed at least four rebounds in every game and has 14 through three outings, including 10 on the defensive end. The sophomore is also shooting 65.0 percent from the field on 13-of-20 shooting.

KAVIEN JONES RETURNS TO FOOD CITY CENTER

Kavien Jones is shooting 66.7 percent through three games and has made seven of his last nine shots. He led TSU with eight rebounds against Fisk and scored the putback that took the Tigers past 100. Jones grabbed three rebounds in 10 minutes in last year's visit to Knoxville.

SIMMONS GIVES TSU A SCORING LIFT

Ajayi Simmons has scored 25 points on 8-of-11 shooting in TSU's two wins and has grabbed 14 rebounds in those games. He also has seven offensive boards on the season, tied with Kavien Jones for second on the team.

VIEIRA-TUCK MAKES THE MOST OF HIS MINUTES

Daniel Vieira-Tuck scored all 11 of his points against Fisk in the final 7:56, shooting 4-of-5 and adding two steals and a block. He has made seven of his last 10 shots and all four of his free throws over the last two games.

PATTERSON ADDS PLAYMAKING

Presley Patterson has five assists in TSU's two wins, including three in just over eight minutes against Fisk. He also hit the final 3-pointer against the Bulldogs, giving him four makes from beyond the arc through three games.

BODENHAMER KEEPS POSSESSIONS ALIVE

Maddux Bodenhamer has six assists against one turnover through three games. He added four points, two rebounds, an assist and a steal in under nine minutes against Fisk.