Tennessee Basketball will flip the switch to Dark Mode when the Volunteers host the LSU Tigers on the hardwood for a Valentine’s Day contest on Feb. 14 in the Food City Center. Tennessee will don its all-black uniforms with fans also encouraged to wear their Dark Mode gear for the SEC battle.
On Thursday, Tennessee Athletics announced that the LSU game has officially been sold out with more than 21,000 fans expected to be in the Food City Center on a Saturday night. This is the sixth time that Tennessee Basketball has sold out a game this year, with five contests taking place in the regular season and one in the preseason.
Tennessee began the year by selling out a preseason exhibition game against Duke during the football season in late October. The Vols have since sold out regular-season matchups against Louisville (Dec. 16), Kentucky (Jan. 17), and Auburn (Jan. 31), and have already announced a sellout for the Alabama game on Feb. 28 in Knoxville. Depending on how each team’s season plays out, there’s also a good chance that the Vols’ home game against Vanderbilt on Mar. 7 will also be sold out. Tennessee says that only a limited number of tickets remain for that game.
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After starting the SEC slate with a 2-3 record, Tennessee has turned the corner in an impactful way. The Vols have rattled off four straight wins in conference play, with victories at Alabama, at Georgia, against Auburn, and against Ole Miss. Tennessee is now 16-6 on the season overall with a rematch against Kentucky coming up this Saturday night in Rupp Arena.
Tennessee is currently a point underdog heading into Saturday night’s primetime matchup in Lexington.
The Vols’ improved play over the last two weeks goes hand-in-hand with the improved play of freshman wing Nate Ament. After starting the season with some good-but-not-elite stats, Ament has burst out of his shell to become the scoring threat that many analysts projected him to be before the season. In the Vols’ last three games, he’s averaging 24.5 points per game. Ament hasn’t scored fewer than 17 points in nearly a month after scoring eight points in a win over Texas on Jan. 6 in Knoxville.
Tennessee has also had increased scoring production from forward JP Estrella in Felix Okpara’s injury absence lately, with the big man averaging 12.3 PPG over his last three outings.
Tennessee will play at Kentucky on Saturday and at Mississippi State next Wednesday before returning to Knoxville for the sold-out LSU game. The Tigers (14-8), meanwhile, will take on Georgia and Arkansas at home before travelling to Knoxville for the Valentine’s Day showdown.
Tennessee is set to host LSU at 6:00 p.m. ET on Saturday, Feb. 14, in Knoxville. Stay tuned to Rocky Top Insider for more Tennessee Basketball coverage.
