Rick Barnes' first remark to the Tennessee basketball team was positive Tuesday. The coach told his players that its 30-point loss at Florida would ultimately be good for the No. 1 Vols.

The Vols guard had a brutal one against Georgia after having a hard one against Texas after having a rough one against Florida. "The best of the best I have seen go through some periods where they struggled to shoot," Vols coach Rick Barnes said.

Tennessee coach Rick Barnes gave leading scorer Chaz Lanier a quick hook just 11 seconds into the second half on Saturday at Texas, benching him for peeling off a screen and hurling an errant pass into the bench area.

The Tennessee Vols will be falling from the top spot when the new AP men's basketball poll comes out Monday, but they won't be doing so on a losing streak.

Rick Barnes blasted the "ridiculous" defensive lapses from Tennessee veterans, including a pair of fouls on 3-pointers in Saturday's 76-75 loss to Vanderbilt.

The North Florida transfer has scored 25 points total ... PORTAL:The inside story on how Tennessee basketball, Rick Barnes recruited transfer portal class "His gravity and him being on the court ...

The Volunteer's next five games are all against ranked opponents with three of those games coming against teams currently ranked in the top 10 After its loss to

Tennessee announced its Checker Game during Southeastern Conference basketball play. The Vols will checker Food City Center orange and white on Feb. 1 versus Florida. Tipoff between the Vols and Gators is slated for noon EST and will be televised by ESPN.

Predictions, picks and odds as Tennessee basketball faces Mississippi State. Plus, injury updates and the latest news

Tennessee basketball can make a No. 1 seed case with a win against Mississippi State on Tuesday, according to ESPN's Joe Lunardi.

He had one at Florida, while Tennessee had six as a team. The Vols averaged 16.9 assists as a team through the first 14 games. CLASS:The inside story on how Tennessee basketball, Rick Barnes ...

The lone meeting this season between No. 14 Mississippi State and No. 6 Tennessee will be of national significance Tuesday night in Knoxville, Tenn. Mississippi State (15-3, 3-2 SEC) met