Tennessee Men’s Basketball 2026 NCAA Tournament Capsule
March 7, 2026 · CSM Staff
Tennessee Volunteers
SEC (22-11, 11-7)
Big Wins: 11/25 vs Houston (76-73), 1/24 at Alabama (79-73)
Bad Losses: 12/2 at Syracuse (60-62), 1/17 Kentucky (78-80)
Coach: Rick Barnes
Probable Starters:
Nate Ament, Freshman, Forward, 17.5 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 2.5 apg
Felix Okpara, Senior, Forward, 7.67 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 1.4 bpg
J.P. Estrella, Sophomore, Forward, 10.1 ppg, 5.2 rpg
Ja’Kobi Gillespie, Senior, Guard, 18.0 ppg, 5.5 apg, 2.8 rpg, 2.1 spg
Bishop Boswell, Sophomore, Guard, 6.2 ppg, 2.9 apg, 4.5 rpg
Key Role Players:
DeWayne Brown II, Freshman, Forward, 4.9 ppg, 3.8 rpg
Jaylen Carey, Junior, Forward, 7.4 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 1.3 apg
Ethan Burg, Sophomore, Guard, 2.6 ppg, 1.1 apg
Amari Evans, Freshman, Guard, 4.2 ppg, 3.1 rpg
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 80.1 (84th in nation, 12th in conference)
Scoring Defense: 69.4 (61, 1)
Field-Goal Percentage: 46.6 (95, 9)
Field-Goal Defense: 41.1 (35, 2)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 6.6 (292, 16)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 33.8 (197, 11)
Free-Throw Percentage: 69.4 (279, 14)
Rebound Margin: 13.3 (2, 2)
Assists Per Game: 17.1 (28, 2)
Turnovers Per Game: 11.9 (222, 15)
Recent Postseason Appearances:
| 2025 | NCAA | Round of 64 win over Wofford |
| 2025 | NCAA | Round of 32 win over UCLA |
| 2025 | NCAA | Regional Semifinal win over Kentucky |
| 2025 | NCAA | Regional Final loss to Houston |
| 2024 | NCAA | Round of 64 win over Saint Peter’s |
| 2024 | NCAA | Round of 32 win over Texas |
| 2024 | NCAA | Regional Semifinal win over Creighton |
| 2024 | NCAA | Regional Final loss to Purdue |
| 2023 | NCAA | Round of 64 win over Louisiana |
| 2023 | NCAA | Round of 32 win over Duke |
| 2023 | NCAA | Regional Semifinal loss to Florida Atlantic |
| 2022 | NCAA | Round of 64 win over Longwood |
| 2022 | NCAA | Round of 32 loss to Michigan |
| 2021 | NCAA | Round of 64 loss to Oregon State |
| 2019 | NCAA | Round of 64 win over Colgate |
| 2019 | NCAA | Round of 32 win over Iowa |
| 2019 | NCAA | Regional Semifinal loss to Purdue |
| 2018 | NCAA | Round of 64 win over Wright State |
| 2018 | NCAA | Round of 32 loss to Loyola (IL) |
| 2014 | NCAA | Opening Round win over Iowa |
| 2014 | NCAA | Round of 64 win over Massachusetts |
| 2014 | NCAA | Round of 32 win over Mercer |
| 2014 | NCAA | Regional Semifinal loss to Michigan |
| 2013 | NIT | First Round loss to Mercer |
| 2012 | NIT | First Round win over Savannah State |
| 2012 | NIT | Second Round loss to Middle Tennessee |
| 2011 | NCAA | Round of 64 loss to Michigan |
| 2010 | NCAA | Round of 64 win over San Diego State |
| 2010 | NCAA | Round of 32 win over Ohio |
| 2010 | NCAA | Regional Semifinal win over Ohio State |
| 2010 | NCAA | Regional Final loss to Michigan State |
| 2009 | NCAA | Round of 64 loss to Oklahoma |
| 2008 | NCAA | Round of 64 win over American University |
| 2008 | NCAA | Round of 32 win over Butler |
| 2008 | NCAA | Regional Semifinal loss to Louisville |
| 2007 | NCAA | Round of 64 win over Long Beach State |
| 2007 | NCAA | Round of 32 win over Virginia |
| 2007 | NCAA | Regional Semifinal loss to Ohio State |
*all team stats through 3/8
