Big Orange Report March 12, 2026

 

Barnes Wants Consistency

The Tennessee men fell from the double bye line with a home loss to Vanderbilt in the regular season finale. The script was different from previous losses. The Vols fell way behind early in the contest and could never quite catch up after trailing by 10 at halftime. UT scored only 24 points before intermission. The key factors in the defeat are easy to determine. Tennessee was an anemic 6 of 24 from behind the arc and just 14 of 21 from the charity stripe. Defensive lapses also played a role in this disappointing loss to their bitter rivals. The math is easy, one more three point field goal and two more free throws converted and Tennessee wins.

The Big Orange gets an opportunity to right the ship and bounce back this week in the SEC tournament in Nashville. The Vols have a first round bye and will play the winner of the Auburn vs. Mississippi State game on Thursday afternoon at 2 p.m. on the SEC television network.  If Tennessee wins then the opportunity for some serious payback occurs on Friday with a rubber game against the Commodores. The Vols had beaten Vanderbilt in Nashville earlier this year. This side of the bracket also includes red hot Florida and if the Volunteers can come out on top in the first two games, they would most likely face the Gators with a ticket to the championship game on the line. Joe Lunardi projects Florida to be a No. 1 seed in the big dance this year.

At this writing, there is some optimism that star freshman Nate Ament will be able to play this week. The final word should come no later than Wednesday.

Last Chance for Redemption

The Tennessee women's basketball program has just spent the most forgettable five weeks in team history. The losses piled up and then an early exit from the conference tournament capped the difficult days of February and early March. The couch coaches and critics came out of the woodwork and attacked some players, but mainly head coach Kim Caldwell and her staff. Just a quick note here, athletic director Danny White released a statement last week,  offering his full support to Caldwell during these trying times.

The opinion here is that the problem was not the coaches, but the veteran players on the roster that would show up one game and disappear the next. Janiah Barker, Zee Spearman, a pair of seniors, and junior Talaysia Cooper were players that the staff depended on heavily to lead by example with by superior performance on the floor. Unfortunately, the talented freshmen class on the team was left to figure things out on their own.

After defeating Alabama in the regular season, the Lady Vols dropped their tournament opener to the Tide and the upperclassmen underperformed and frankly, failed Tennessee. Allegedly Cooper made a derogatory remark to the coach early in the second half and Caldwell put the talented but emotionally fragile junior on the bench for the last 15 minutes of the game. At this writing it is not known if Cooper will even be with the team for the first round of the NCAA tournament this year.

The brackets for the women's tournament will be selected on Sunday on ESPN. Right now, it appears, according to ESPN's bracketologist Charlie Creme, that Tennessee has fallen to an eighth or ninth seed when the field is announced this weekend. The Lady Vols will get this last opportunity to bounce back from adversity and deliver a determined performance before their season ends.

Record Tying Weekend

The Unbeaten and No. 1 ranked Tennessee softball team got the broom out on Sunday, coming from behind for the second game in a row, to sweep the opening SEC series from No. 16 ranked LSU.  The 23rd win of the year tied the 2007 squad which was led by the great Monica Abbott, for consecutive wins without a loss to begin the schedule. The SoftVols have a chance to set a new high water mark with midweek games against mid major, in state competition.

After Sage Mardjetko shutout the Tigers on Friday, Tennessee fell behind 4-0 on Saturday before the offense ignited, led by the twins from Texas, Gabby and Alannah Leach. The sisters slammed back-to-back homers and that is believed to be the first time that twins have gone yard back-to-back in NCAA history. Gabby put an exclamation point on the weekend by blasting a walk-off winner on Sunday in the home half of the seventh inning.

An impressive note has to be the fact that UT got the series sweep without using ace pitcher Karlyn Pickens. The senior is listed day to day after a shoulder problem was diagnosed but out of an abundance of caution, the staff and trainers elected to keep Pickens sidelined during this opening series.

Tennessee will attempt to shatter the all time, season-opening winning streak on Tuesday when they face Austin Peay in the Mid State Classic in Columbia. Then on Wednesday the team has a pit stop in Nashville and a game against Lipscomb. The Vols continue west for a weekend series in Starkville against No. 15 ranked Mississippi State.

Vol Notes

The football team has scattered for spring break this week and will return during the weekend. Perhaps the most important spring training sessions during the Josh Heupel era will get underway next week.

The Big Orange Report is brought to you by: