“T-Credits” return this week as students return to campus.
It’ll be a busy week across all sports as the women’s tennis team begins its spring slate. SEC showdowns will also be aplenty in both men’s and women’s basketball as the season rolls on.
Here’s a look at the action for the week.
Jan. 15: Men’s basketball vs. Georgia
Basketball will tip off the week for athletics. The No. 6 Vols (15-1, 2-1 SEC) had a reality check last week at Florida that nobody could have seen coming. They shot just 21% from the field and 14% from beyond the arc in a 73-43 pummeling. However, they had a bounce-back win at Texas later in the week, posting a 74-70 win over the Longhorns.
No. 23 Georgia (14-2, 2-1 SEC) will be the first game of the week before Tennessee heads to Nashville on Saturday. The Bulldogs have finally entered the AP poll after 14 long years with wins over Oklahoma and Kentucky last week. The Vols will need to come out and dominate from the jump after poor shooting performances last week.
Tennessee leads the series by a wide margin. The Vols are looking to make this win No. 100 over the Bulldogs while they’ve only dropped 62 games. The Vols are on a four-game win streak, including a come-from-behind win last year where they finished the game on a 21-6 run in the final six minutes.
Jan. 16: Women’s swim and dive vs. Arkansas
The fifth-ranked women’s swim and dive team will take on the Razorbacks at home. In their last outing against Alabama, the Lady Vols impressed, setting new records and winning the meet 190-109.
Sophomore Camille Spink set the record for the fastest 50 and 100 free, posting times of 21.65 and 47.69. Freshman Ella Jansen also set a new mark, swimming a 1:54.86 200-meter fly to break another program record.
Jan. 16: Men’s tennis at Middle Tennessee
Men’s tennis will head to Middle Tennessee for the third match of the season. On Monday, the Vols swept both Tennessee Tech and Belmont for two easy wins to start the season. However, Tennessee will not have an easy out-of-conference slate, playing No. 4 Wake Forest after the Blue Raiders.
The Blue Raiders will pose more of a challenge than the Vols have seen this season, finishing 21-10 while winning the Conference USA Championship. MTSU also qualified for the NCAA Regionals, where they lost to one-seeded Mississippi State.
Jan. 16: Women’s basketball vs. Mississippi State
Women’s basketball is back in action against the Mississippi State Bulldogs (15-3, 2-2 SEC). The No. 15 Lady Vols (14-2, 2-2) will host a “We Back Pat” game, which serves to raise awareness about Alzheimer’s disease.
This season the Lady Vols have looked better than most expected from year one under head coach Kim Caldwell. Despite having two losses on their record, the Lady Vols’ only losses have come to No. 9 Oklahoma and No. 6 LSU.
Tennessee is 32-8 all-time against Mississippi State, with the first loss coming in 2016. Since that loss, the Lady Vols are a poor 4-8 against the Bulldogs.
Jan. 17: Track and field at Vanderbilt Invitational
Track and field will take on Vanderbilt after a strong performance at the McFerrin 12 Degree Invitational. The Vols totaled 36 top-five finishes and 13 top-10 marks in school history. Canaan Anderson also took the crown for the program’s fastest 1,000-meter time, finishing in 2:23.38 to break the record by .53 of a second.
Jan. 18: Men’s basketball at Vanderbilt
The men’s basketball team will head over to Nashville to take on the Commodores (13-3, 1-2 SEC). Vanderbilt could potentially be on a three-game skid heading into this matchup after losing to Mississippi State and Missouri last week while facing South Carolina on Wednesday.
Tennessee is an impressive 131-76 all-time against the Commodores. This includes a 13-1 record since January 2018, and a current two-game win streak.
Jan. 18: Women’s tennis at Wake Forest, vs. East Carolina
Women’s tennis will have their first matches of the spring season as they look to make a run in the NCAA Tournament at the end of the year. Elza Tomase and Catherine Aulia are primed for big years after an impressive finish to their fall seasons. The Lady Vols open the season at No. 18 and will have two likely-easy matches against unranked opponents to start the season.
They will be in Winston-Salem, North Carolina to take on the Demon Deacons and Pirates in a doubleheader.
Jan. 19: Men’s Tennis at Wake Forest
Men’s tennis will be back in action in North Carolina for their first road match of the year. Wake Forest comes in as the No. 4 ranked team in the nation, so this will be an uphill battle for the No. 13 Vols.
Jan. 19: Women’s basketball at Vanderbilt
The Lady Vols will take on Vanderbilt (14-4, 1-3 SEC) in Nashville. Their record can be deceiving as the Commodores have been able to hang with some top programs this year — they just couldn’t finish the job.
The Lady Vols are 80-10 against Vanderbilt and are 18-1 in the last 19 meetings. Although the Commodores can put up a good fight, expect to see the Lady Vols close this game well, especially after losing late in their two losses.
Jan. 21: Men’s basketball vs. Mississippi State — 1 “T-Credit” opportunity
Finally, the first “T-Credit” event of 2025.
The Vols will host the No. 15 Bulldogs (14-3, 2-2 SEC) for an SEC showdown as students return to Knoxville. A win here would be big for the Vols after a tough loss to the Gators last week, and it would be crucial to carry momentum through the rest of January.
Tennessee is 90-46 against Mississippi State, although it has lost two in a row.
Students who attend this game can earn 1 “T-Credit”.
