Tennessee State Tigers at Tennessee Volunteers
· NCAA Men's Basketball
Gillespie scores 17 to lead No. 20 Tennessee over Tennessee State 89-60
Nate Ament and Amaree Abram each scored 15, DeWayne Brown II had 13 and Felix Okpara scored 11 for the Volunteers (5-0).
Aaron Nkrumah scored 19 to lead the Tigers (2-3). Travis Harper II had 17 and Antoine Lorick added 12.
Gillespie had 10 points and four assists to lead the Vols to a 43-21 halftime lead. Nkrumah, the reigning Ohio Valley Conference player of the week (23.5 points, 7 rebounds) had 10 for the Tigers.
Tennessee State outrebounded the Vols in the first half 19-18, but Tennessee held a 38-30 rebounding advantage in the game.
The Vols got some good news on 6-foot-11 redshirt sophomore J.P. Estrella. Through the first three games, Estrella was averaging 17.8 points and 8.7 rebounds. Late in the first half in Monday's win over Rice, Estrella suffered a left knee injury in a scrum of bodies. There was no structural damage to the knee. The bone bruise will keep him out 2/3 weeks.
Tennessee sophomore starting guard Bishop Boswell missed his third straight game with a left leg injury sustained in practice a couple weeks ago.
Tennessee: The Vols will take on Rutgers next Monday in the first round of the Players Era Men's Championship in Las Vegas.
How can I watch Tennessee State vs. Tennessee?
Recent Plays
| 2nd 0:00 | End of Game | 60 - 89 |
| 2nd 0:00 | End of 2nd half | 60 - 89 |
| 2nd 0:00 | Tennessee Deadball Team Rebound. | 60 - 89 |
| 2nd 0:03 | Ethan Burg missed Three Point Jumper. | 60 - 89 |
| 2nd 0:10 | Felix Okpara Defensive Rebound. | 60 - 89 |
Statistics
 TNST |
 TENN |
|
|---|---|---|
| 18-56 | FG | 25-57 |
| 32 | Field Goal % | 44 |
| 5-27 | 3PT | 8-25 |
| 19 | Three Point % | 32 |
| 19-25 | FT | 31-35 |
| 76 | Free Throw % | 89 |
| 30 | Rebounds | 38 |
| 12 | Offensive Rebounds | 10 |
| 18 | Defensive Rebounds | 28 |
| 11 | Assists | 20 |
| 12 | Steals | 12 |
| 3 | Blocks | 4 |
| 22 | Turnovers | 17 |
| 1 | Team Turnovers | 0 |
| 22 | Total Turnovers | 17 |
| 0 | Technical Fouls | 0 |
| 0 | Total Technical Fouls | 0 |
| 0 | Flagrant Fouls | 0 |
| 11 | Points Off Turnovers | 24 |
| 16 | Fast Break Points | 13 |
| 22 | Points in Paint | 32 |
| 23 | Fouls | 20 |
| 0 | Largest Lead | 34 |
Game Information
Location: Knoxville, TN
Attendance: 17,313 | Capacity:
2025-26 Ohio Valley Conference Standings
| TEAM | CONF | GB | OVER |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tennessee State | 15-5 | - | 23-9 |
| Morehead State | 15-5 | - | 20-13 |
| Southeast Missouri State | 14-6 | 1 | 20-13 |
| UT Martin | 13-7 | 2 | 22-11 |
| SIU Edwardsville | 12-8 | 3 | 19-13 |
| Lindenwood | 11-9 | 4 | 18-15 |
| Little Rock | 9-11 | 6 | 12-20 |
| Tennessee Tech | 8-12 | 7 | 13-18 |
| Eastern Illinois | 8-12 | 7 | 13-20 |
| Southern Indiana | 4-16 | 11 | 7-23 |
| Western Illinois | 1-19 | 14 | 5-26 |
2025-26 Southeastern Conference Standings
| TEAM | CONF | GB | OVER |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida | 16-2 | - | 26-7 |
| Arkansas | 13-5 | 3 | 26-8 |
| Alabama | 13-5 | 3 | 23-9 |
| Vanderbilt | 11-7 | 5 | 26-8 |
| Tennessee | 11-7 | 5 | 22-11 |
| Texas A&M | 11-7 | 5 | 21-11 |
| Georgia | 10-8 | 6 | 22-10 |
| Missouri | 10-8 | 6 | 20-12 |
| Kentucky | 10-8 | 6 | 21-13 |
| Texas | 9-9 | 7 | 18-14 |
| Oklahoma | 7-11 | 9 | 19-15 |
| Auburn | 7-11 | 9 | 17-16 |
| Mississippi State | 5-13 | 11 | 13-19 |
| Ole Miss | 4-14 | 12 | 15-20 |
| South Carolina | 4-14 | 12 | 13-19 |
| LSU | 3-15 | 13 | 15-17 |