Cullowhee, N.C. – Western Carolina men's basketball hits the road for the final time in the 2024 calendar year with a trip to Rocky Top to battle No. 1 Tennessee out of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) on Tuesday night. Tip-off from Thompson-Boling Arena at the Food City Center in Knoxville is set for 7 p.m.
Tuesday's matchup with the Volunteers is the first for WCU against a No. 1 ranked team in men's basketball since battling in-state opposition North Carolina on Jan. 30, 1957, as the Tar Heels earned the 77-59 victory. It was the first time that the Tar Heels had earned a No. 1 ranking.
The Catamounts and Volunteers midweek matchup will be shown on SECN+ (paid subscription required). Live streaming audio from the Catamount Sports Network and live stats are available at CatamountSports.com. Fans can also listen to the game locally on 105.7 FM / 540 AM WRGC, "The River" in Sylva (www.wrgc.com).
Matchup: Western Carolina (3-6) at #1/1 Tennessee (10-0)
Date: Tuesday, Dec. 17
Time: 7 p.m.
Site: Thompson Boling Arena at Food City Center (Knoxville, Tenn.)
Live Stats: Stat Broadcast
Live Video: SECN+ (paid subscription required)
Live Audio: Catamount Sports Network
Radio: 105.7 FM / 540 AM WRGC "The River" (wrgc.com)
Twitter: @CatamountMBB
About Western Carolina:
Western Carolina opened a busy stretch of three games in six days on the wrong end of a 78-61 decision last Saturday on the road against mountain rival UNC Asheville. Redshirt sophomore Marcus Kell led the way with 11 points on the offensive end and junior Vernon Collins chipped in 10 points. Senior Bernard Pelote led WCU on the glass with eight rebounds in the loss.
The Catamount bench has filled the scoreboard throughout the start of the 2024-25 season, averaging 28.7 points per game, which ranks second in the Southern Conference. Sophomore guard Jamar Livingston leads the team in bench scoring with 34 points over seven games including 13 points against Truett McConnell and 10 at Marquette.
Collins is tied for second in bench scoring with 32 points over four games including 12 against Queens. Freshman Fischer Brown joins Collins with 32 points off the bench over his eight games of action. Redshirt junior Chase McKey has scored 30 total points off the bench in five games, with a high mark of 13 against Bob Jones. WCU has seen a bench player with double-figures seven times off the bench, led by junior Ice Emery's 24 against Truett McConnell.
Freshman guard CJ Hyland continues to rack up the numbers in recent games after his career-best 12 points against Bellarmine were preceded by a career-high five rebounds and six assists at nationally-ranked Marquette. In his past seven games, the Loganville, Ga., native has averaged 7.3 points per game on 19-of-47 (40.4%) shooting and 7-of-19 (36.8%) from beyond the arc. Hyland also averages 2.3 assists per game and just under a steal per contest.
Western Carolina sits second in the SoCon with 39.9 rebounds per game over the first nine games, led by Pelote at 7.4 per game. He leads the league at 5.9 defensive rebounds per game. Kell sits eighth in the conference, averaging 2.1 offensive rebounds per game.
Stansberry paces the SoCon – and is 11th in the nation – hitting 95.2% (20-of-21) at the free throw line. Collins leads the Catamounts with nine blocks, sitting in a tie for fourth as he's averaging a block a game, followed closely by Kell with seven rejections in a tie for eighth with 0.8 blocks per game.
WCU has been well-tested to begin the 2024-25 season, the first under veteran head coach Tim Craft. Per the NET strength of schedule (SOS) rankings, the Catamounts maintain the top spot in the league with the 94th toughest schedule, just ahead of Wofford at 98. Tuesday's matchup with Tennessee marks WCU's second quadrant one game in the 2024-25 season and is one of two SoCon schools to face multiple opponents in quadrant one.
Craft is accustomed to playing big-name schools as during his time at Gardner-Webb and Western Carolina, he's totaled 44 contests against schools from the ACC, SEC, Big 10, PAC 12, Big East, and American Athletic Conference. The Catamounts match up with Wake Forest, Florida State, Marquette, and Tennessee, all prior to SoCon play; Craft-led teams have had their most success against the ACC, with three wins coming against the likes of Clemson, Georgia Tech, and Wake Forest during his tenure in Boiling Springs. During his time at Gardner-Webb, Craft's Runnin' Bulldog squads also claimed wins over Purdue, Nebraska, and Georgia.
Craft vs Barnes All-Time:
Tuesday is the second all-time meeting between Craft and Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes. The two met during Barnes' debut season in Knoxville and the Vols earned the 89-64 win in a November 2015 matchup. The Catamounts also faced a Barnes-led team during the 2009-10 season, when WCU traveled to No. 3 Texas, where the Longhorns earned the 73-41 win.
Catamounts Against the SEC:
The Catamounts have a long history against the Southeastern Conference (SEC), facing 14 of the league's now 16 members. Tuesday's tilt sees Tennessee tie with Georgia and South Carolina for the most-common opponent out of the SEC in WCU history.
Founded in 1921, the Southern Conference – the FIFTH OLDEST CONFERENCE IN THE NATION – has given rise to two of the premier athletic conferences in America: the Southeastern (SEC, founded in 1932) and the Atlantic Coast (ACC, founded in 1952). Only the Big Ten (1896), the Missouri Valley (1907), the Pac-12 (1915), and the Southwestern Athletic (1920) conferences are older.
Tennessee was a founding member of The Southern Conference back in 1921, exiting the SoCon in 1932 when the SEC was formed.
Scouting the Opposition:
Tennessee comes into Tuesday's matchup with an unblemished 10-0 record after earning a buzzer-beating win over Illinois 66-64 on Saturday in Champaign. The Volunteers have already earned three quadrant one victories, including a neutral site win over Baylor and Louisville and their triumph over the Fighting Illini. Tennessee also has power-four triumphs over Virginia, Syracuse, and Miami (Fla.), sitting second in the latest NET rankings.
Fifth-year senior guard Chaz Lanier, who has a litany of accolades to date including being a Jerry West Award Watch List honoree along with earning the Lute Olson National Player of the Week and a USBWA National Player of the Week awards, leads the Vols offensive attack. He is averaging 18.9 points per game having eclipsed the 20-point plateau four times. Lanier is shooting 45.8% and connected on 37 threes at a 47.4% clip.
Senior forward Igor Milicic Jr. is averaging 12.3 points per game, along with a team-high eight rebounds per contest. The Rovinj, Croatia, native has a pair of double-doubles to begin the 2024-25 season. Senior guard Jordan Gainey is averaging 11.6 points per game with a season-high 23 against Illinois, all while shooting at a 48.6% rate.
Senior guard Zakai Zeigler is averaging 11.5 points per game with seven double-figure scoring outputs and a team-high 75 assists with a double-double against Miami (Fla.) (13 pts, 10 assists). Zeigler was a third-team Preseason All-America selection by multiple publications and was named to the Wooden Award Preseason Top 50. He also appeared on the Naismith Trophy Player of the Year Watch List, Lute Olson Player of the Year Early Season Watch List, and the Bob Cousy Award Watch List.
Tennessee is led by veteran head coach Rick Barnes, who's in his 10th season at the helm in Knoxville and his 38th season on the sidelines. Barnes has totaled 816 career wins to rank second among active DI men's basketball coaches. Barnes has led the Volunteers to six NCAA tournament appearances, including three Sweet 16s and an elite eight, and the Vols have eclipsed 25 wins five times.
The Vols finished the 2023-24 season with a 27-9 record, including a 14-4 mark in league play. Tennessee advanced to the Elite 8 before falling to eventual National Runner-Up Purdue. Zeigler was the lone Vols player to be named to the league's all-conference first team by both the conference media and coaches.
Series History:
The Volunteers and Catamounts have met eight times prior with Tennessee winning seven of those contests, including each of the past four matchups. The two teams meet on Tuesday for the first time in 12 years as the Vols claimed a 66-52 decision in Knoxville most recently. The Catamounts were led by Trey Sumler in that matchup with 23 points.
Western Carolina is looking for its first win in the head-to-head series since Dec. 17, 1993, when the Catamounts won 78-71 over Tennessee. WCU also seeks a win over the SEC in back-to-back years after defeating Vanderbilt 63-62 in Nashville. Vonterius Woolbright, who had 22 points and 12 rebounds, led the way with a double-double.
Up Next for Western Carolina:
The Catamounts close out nonconference play on Thursday, Dec. 19, with a special education day tip against NAIA foe Milligan from Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center. Tip-off is set for 11 a.m.
The game will be shown on ESPN+ (paid subscription required), with live audio coverage through the Catamount Sports Network available on 105.7 FM / 540 AM WRGC "The River" in Sylva and streaming LIVE through CatamountSports.com. Live stats are also available on CatamountSports.com.
Keep track of everything related to Catamount men's basketball and WCU Athletics through our social media outlets on Facebook (fb.com/catamountsports), Instagram (@catamountmbb @wcu_catamounts), and Twitter (@CatamountMBB @catamounts).
