Braves Face First Ranked 2022-23 Foe: No. 13 Tennessee

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The Braves (3-5) caught a brief break from the road after knocking out five games in eight days across Texas and Arizona, but turn their focus eastward this weekend for a meeting with Southeastern Conference (SEC) foe, No. 13 Tennessee (6-1) at Thompson-Boling Arena on Sunday, Dec. 4. Marking the first meeting between the Braves and Volunteers, tip-off is set for 5:00 p.m. CT with the broadcast slated for SEC Network+.

THE GAME: Alcorn State Braves (3-5) at No. 13 Tennessee Volunteers (6-1)
WHEN: Sunday, Dec. 4, at 5:00 p.m. CT
WHERE: Thompson-Boling Arena (Knoxville, Tenn.)
TICKETS: Tennessee Tickets
WATCH LIVE VIDEO: Broadcast on SEC Network+ ($6.99/month or $69.99/year)
LIVE STATS: UT Stats
LISTEN LIVE: UT Radio

IN THE RANKINGS
Alcorn is not ranked in the latest Associated Press or USA TODAY Coaches Poll Top 25 poll. Tennessee is ranked 13th in both the latest Associated Press and USA TODAY Coaches Top 25 poll. Alcorn did not receive any votes in these preseason polls, Tennessee ranked at 11th in both preseason polls.

Receiving two (2) No. 1 picks, Alcorn was picked No. 2 in Preseason Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Predicted Order of Finish after winning the regular season SWAC Championship in 2021-22. Ranking second in the final Southeastern Conference (SEC) regular season standings and winning the SEC Tournament championship last year, Tennessee was picked third in the SEC preseason poll.

SOCIAL MEDIA
Keep up with everything Alcorn Men's Basketball this year by following the Braves' hoops social media platforms. You can follow @BravesMBB on Instagram and @Alcorn_St_MBB on Twitter.

SERIES VS. TENNESSEE
This is the first meeting between these programs.

LAST TIME OUT FOR THESE TEAMS
ALCORN
The Braves came within mere minutes of completing a historical feat over the weekend at Grand Canyon, but that also meant they had to work through a significant uphill battle on the road. Facing seemingly unstoppable accuracy from the GCU Antelopes in the early going, Alcorn was fell into a 38-8 deficit as GCU fired efficiently from long range early, while the Braves missed their first five shots on a slow start.
 
With a 30-point GCU advantage on the board after 12 minutes, Darryl Jordan, Byron Joshua and Jeremiah Kendall got the Braves moving in the right direction. Joshua led the charge en route to a 30-point scoring night that matched his career high, flanked by strong comeback efforts by Kendall and Dekedran Thorn.
 
The Braves closed out the first half with a 24-10 scoring advantage in the final seven minutes of the period, heading into the break having sliced the deficit in half at 48-33. Though the Lopes got some early points in the second half, the Braves went right back to grinding down the lead. Alcorn scored on three consecutive possessions with a Ladarius Marshall dunk, a Thorn jumper and a turnover converted for points via a contested Kendall layup. The once unflappable confidence for GCU players and fans alike began dimming as it became apparent the lead was chipping away.
 
Forcing four consecutive empty possessions for the Lopes into the final 10 minutes, Dominic Brewton drew the defense to leave Joshua wide open in the corner to tick it down to two points. And then, fittingly, it was Joshua that knocked down two straight free throws to tie the game at 63-63 with 7:29 on the clock.
 
After the near-21-minute rally, the Braves couldn't keep the Lopes contained for much longer, as success at the free throw line began to take its toll in GCU favor. Had the Braves succeeded in completing the rally, it would have been the biggest comeback since Drexel's NCAA Record-holding 34-point swing in 2018, and would have registered as the fourth-biggest deficit overcome in NCAA history. Down the stretch the Lopes outscored Alcorn 17-10 and came away with the 80-72 victory.

TENNESSEE
Coming off an SEC Tournament Championship and a second-place regular season finish last season, the Volunteers opened the year with a No. 11 preseason ranking. Returning four starters and a sixth man from a year ago, UT's early success was projectable. However, opening the year on a 99-80 neutral victory over second-ranked Gonzaga and going 3-0 at the Battle 4 Atlantis with wins over Southern Cal and third-ranked Kansas have cemented the Vols in the spotlight.
 
Returning hope for the first time in two weeks, the Volunteers dominated McNeese State for their 20th consecutive home win on Nov. 30. Sporting a new No. 13 ranking, UT forced McNeese into 24 turnovers and the defense only allowed a 15-point first half output for the Cowboys.
 
Although UT's first half wasn't a commanding force on offense, they still doubled-up the Cowboys and took command in the second half. Four Vols scored in double figures and overall they outscored McNeese 30-4 in points-off-turnovers. The reigning SEC Player of the Week, senior guard Santiago Vescovi led the way for UT with 16 points, also logging five rebounds, three assists and two steals. Freshman forward Julian Phillips scored 12 with a team-high four assists, five rebounds and two steals. Rounding out the biggest scorers, Oliver Nkamhoua had 11 points with six boards and Tyreke Key scored 10.
 
In total, the Vols logged 21 team assists in the game, with only 23 made buckets.
 
After being named to the SEC Preseason First Team, Santiago Vescovi is pacing the starters with 12.0 ppg and 5.0 rpg, tying for the team best with 24 assists and grabbing a team-high 18 steals. Pacing UT with 20 made threes, he's shooting .351 from the field. Julian Phillips is chipping in 10.9 ppg while shooting .364, and is leading the starters on the glass with 5.3 rpg. Tyreke Key is scoring 10.7 ppg on .380 shooting, with 2.9 rpg.

The Vols rank eighth in the NCAA and 2nd in the SEC in Field Goal Percentage Defense, limiting opposition to 35.4 percent from the field. Which leads UT to holding the line at 53.1 ppg on defense, which ranks sixth nationally, also second in the SEC behind Mississippi State. A big contribution to those stats is the seventh-ranked Turnovers Forced Per Game average of 20.14.
 
For his defensive efforts on the year, Vescovi ranks 36th in the nation with 18 steals, delivering a 21st-ranked 2.57 steals per game average.

LAST SEASON FOR THESE TEAMS
Alcorn completed the 2021-22 season as the SWAC Regular Season Champion with a 17-17 overall record and 14-4 SWAC mark, reaching the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) for the third time (previously 1979 & 1985). Tennessee made it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament after defeating Texas A&M to win the SEC Tournament Championship. UT finished the year ranked second in the SEC on a 14-4 conference record, and 27-8 overall mark.

Alcorn Head Coach Landon Bussie is in his third season and has a record of 26-35 with the Braves (26-35 career). Tennessee Head Coach Rick Barnes is in his eighth season leading the and has a record of 156-82 (760-396 career).

KEY PLAYERS TO WATCH FOR THESE TEAMS
ALCORN
Soph. Guard Byron Joshua: 11.6 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 2.6 apg, 1.6 spg, .378 FG%, .346 3FG%
Soph. Guard Dominic Brewton: 11.6 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 2.1 apg, .357 FG%
Jr. Forward Dekedran Thorn: 7.6 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 12 3pt FG
Grad Guard Trevin Wade: 7.4 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 2.0 apg, 1.7 spg, .370 FG%

TENNESSEE
Sr. Guard Santiago Vescovi: 12.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 3.4 apg, 2.6 spg, 20 3FG, .351 FG%
Fr. Forward Julian Phillips: 10.9 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 2.0 apg, .364 FG%
Grad Guard Tyreke Key: 10.7 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 1.4 apg, .380 FG%,
Sr. Forward Olivier Nkamhoua: 9.6 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 1.9 apg, 1.0 bpg, .522 FG%

A LONG, WILD ROAD IT'S BEEN
The Alcorn Braves have yet to see a home game in the 2022-23 season, and they won't again until the start of 2023, with the first contest in the Davey L. Whitney Complex set for the SWAC opener against Jackson State on Jan 2.
 
In the meantime, the Braves opened up on their lone in-state competition to date at Ole Miss, traveling to meet Wichita State in Kansas five days later, and then making a quick turnaround to Nacogdoches, Texas to face Stephen F. Austin. With less than a week at home, the road next landed them in El Paso, where they scrapped out three games against UTEP, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and CSU Bakersfield in four days, with Thanksgiving wedged in between. Immediately after closing the Jim Forbes Classic, it was off to Arizona with another date against Arizona in two days' time; then on to Phoenix for Grand Canyon just two days later.
 
Now heading into the matchup in Knoxville, the Braves have tracked across over 4,500 miles (that's a trip-and-a-half across the continental United States), with this being the ninth game in the 27 days since the beginning of the 2022-23 season.

TOUGH OPPOSITION
Regardless of the rigors of the road, the selection of opponents for the 2022-23 Braves present their own challenge, as Alcorn ranks No. 2 in non-conference strength of schedule according to the latest Warren Nolan rankings.
 
UPSETTING THE ORDER
The Braves drew attention right out of the gate with their aggressive style of defense, and immediately gave Ole Miss a run for it. At their next stop in Wichita State's Charles Koch Arena, the Braves took the next step and outscored the Shockers by 12 in the second half to knock off their American Athletic Conference opposition. Down to Texas and Alcorn led for 27 minutes to take the road victory over Stephen F. Austin – opening the year at 2-1 for the first time since the 2013-14 season. Alcorn put everything they had into taking UTEP to double overtime, but the Miners came out ahead. Facing off with the Pac-12's Sun Devils on a short turnaround, the Braves led late into the opening half, but couldn't sustain it. And finally, Alcorn showed the fortitude to nearly make one of the biggest NCAA comebacks at Grand Canyon (rallying from 30-down), tying the game late but running out of steam after fighting their way back for over 20 minutes.
 
Braves Notable News
Defending 2021-22 Achievements
The Alcorn Braves earned the SWAC Regular Season Championship for the first time since 2002 (17 total regular season titles) after notching a 14-4 league record, earning the top spot in the conference tournament seeding. The Braves were bumped out of the field by the eventual winner in the final, two-time champion Texas Southern. For their efforts on the year, Head Coach Landon Bussie was named SWAC Coach of the Year in just his second season with the squad after turning around a 6-13 team from his first season. In year two, the Braves stared down losses in 11 of the first 12 games, but rebounded to finish 17-17 on the year. Prior to taking the ASU helm, Bussie served six seasons at Prairie View A&M serving as an assistant coach. After the 2021-22 season, Bussie was selected to coach in the inaugural HBCU All-Star Game during Final Four week in New Orleans.

Alcorn is Invested in Program Consistency
Alcorn Athletics announced on Oct. 27 that President Felecia M. Nave and Director of Athletics Raynoid Dedeaux have completed an agreement for a contract extension of Head Coach Landon Bussie beyond his current deal and through 2026.

"This shows the commitment they've made to me and the men's basketball program. Hopefully, we can continue to have success in leading the program, and we can make all our administration, student-athletes and alumni proud of the work we do here each and every day. I'm excited about where we're going, and I'm happy to be a Brave," Bussie said. 

Expertise Added to Coaching Staff
During the months leading up to the 2022-23 preseason, Bussie and the Alcorn Braves fortified their coaching staff with the announced hires of two coaches in August 2022.
 
The program first announced assistant coach Ben Mandelbaum was joining Alcorn after serving the previous two seasons as the associate head coach for the men's basketball program at Lander University in Greenwood, South Carolina. Mandelbaum spent two seasons at Tallahassee Community College in Tallahassee, Florida.
 
Just one week later, ASU raised the bar higher with the announcement of adding veteran coach Cyrus "Cy" Alexander to the staff. A former head coach with 391 career wins across 26 years leading notable HBCU programs such as North Carolina A&T, South Carolina State and Tennessee State. Some of Alexander's distinctions include, but are not limited to, MEAC Coach of the Year and Palmetto State Coach of the Year. He has also been named to the Catawba and South Carolina State Hall of Fames, respectively. In 1996, he was named American Sports Wire National Coach of the Year.
 
CATCH THE BRAVES LIVE AT THE WHITNEY IN 2022-23
Season Tickets for the 2022-23 Alcorn men's and women's basketball teams at the Davey L. Whitney Health and Physical Education Complex are now available for purchase at https://alcornsports.myimpacttickets.com/basketball. Season tickets for the home SWAC competitions are $76.25, while single-game admission is $12.65 in advance.

UP NEXT
Closing up a long series of trips, the Braves catch a little downtime, but head back out next week for their 10th game in Carbondale at Southern Illinois on the Saturday, Dec. 10. The first opportunity to catch the Braves in the Davey L. Whitney Complex is Jan. 2 in the SWAC opener vs. Jackson State.

Follow Alcorn State Men's Basketball on Twitter (@Alcorn_St_MBB) for all of the latest news and updates. For all Alcorn State Athletics news, follow us on Twitter (@BravesSports), Instagram (@AlcornSports) and YouTube (Alcorn State Sports).