Tennessee is No. 11 in the updated Top 25 And 1 heading into Tuesday’s game vs. Texas Tech at Madison Square Garden
1 min read
Tennessee coaches have spent decades trying to lure elite basketball prospects from Memphis to Knoxville, Tennessee, with, generally speaking, very little success. The two cities are in the same state, sure. But they’re very different places separated by roughly 400 miles. And that’s among the reasons elite basketball prospects from Memphis have historically passed on the Vols.
Kennedy Chandler didn’t, though.
The 6-foot freshman who starred at Briarcrest Christian and was a two-time Mr. Basketball winner in the state of Tennessee had offers from Duke, Kentucky, Memphis and North Carolina but committed to Tennessee in November 2020. He’s now leading the nationally ranked Vols in points per game (16.1), assists per game (4.7), steals per game (2.4) and minutes per game (28.7) while shooting 52.3% from the field and 42.3% from 3-point range. The five-star point guard got 27 points in Saturday’s 69-54 win at Colorado and is consistently performing like an All-American.
“They had Kennedy Chandler — and we didn’t,” is how Colorado coach Tad Boyle summarized things after last weekend’s loss to the Vols. “He was the difference in the game.”
Watching Chandler flourish while his hometown Tigers struggle must be especially tough for Memphis fans considering the most-glaring hole on Penny Hardaway’s roster is at point guard, where senior Alex Lomax still gets most of the minutes despite the fact that he turns the ball over just as often as he records an assist. Either way, Chandler, who projects as a one-and-done lottery pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, will spend Tuesday night on the big stage that the Jimmy V Classic provides. He and his teammates will play Texas Tech inside Madison Square Garden. Tennessee enters the game at No. 11 in Tuesday morning’s updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings.
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Top 25 And 1 rankings
IN: Colorado State
OUT: Florida
