KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The FGCU men's basketball team (2-2) was unable to solve the 17th-ranked Tennessee Volunteers (2-1) on Wednesday night, dropping an 81-50 decision at Thompson-Boling Arena.  

Junior forward Zach Anderson (Apopka, Fla./Apopka HS) led the Green & Blue with 11 points. Anderson and sophomore center Andre Weir (Hollywood, Fla./Chaminade-Madonna College Prep/Richmond) each pulled down five rebounds, and graduate guard Caleb Catto (Cape Coral, Fla./Southwest Florida Christian Academy) dished three assists. Senior forward Dakota Rivers (Windermere, Fla./Windermere HS) came off the bench with seven points and four rebounds in 20 minutes. 

"Great, great lessons to be learned and to grow from," said FGCU head men's basketball coach Pat Chambers. "That was a top-10 team a week ago, and they taught us a lot. We have some blind spots we have to work on. We will keep building and keep getting better. We can't wait to get back at it at Gulf Coast Showcase next week."  

FGCU shot just 30.4 percent (14 of 46) from the field and made just 5 of 24 3-point attempts (20.8 percent). Tennessee, which won its 19th-straight home game, shot 49 percent from the field and got 18 points each from Olivier Nkamhoua and Josiah-Jordan James.  

Coming off a 44-point victory in its home opener against Ave Maria that saw a record 17 3-pointers made, FGCU aimed to capture its second top-25 win in program history (FGCU downed No. 8 Georgetown 78-68 during the 2012-13 Dunk City run to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16).   

And while Chambers' experience-laden team played with attitude and intensity for 40 minutes against Tennessee, shooting in the cavernous Thompson-Boling Arena proved a difficult task for the still-gelling Eagles.  

After an Anderson 3 made it 7-5 FGCU five minutes in, the Eagles struggled to overcome a 9-1 foul discrepancy and pesky Tennessee perimeter defense for the duration of the half. Catto beat the shot clock with a 3-pointer to end a 16-2 Vols run that saw FGCU go cold from the field for nearly six minutes. A pair of Anderson free throws cut the deficit to nine points shortly after, but Tennessee continued to stymie FGCU from the field for the final 4:47 of the half en route to a 37-20 advantage.

Senior guard Isaiah Thompson (Zionsville, Ind./Zionsville HS/Purdue) hit a jumper with 16:59 remaining that drew FGCU to within 18 points, but the Eagles would ultimately get no closer in the second half.  

FGCU returns to action Monday night in the 2022 Gulf Coast Showcase at Hertz Arena, taking on Northern Kentucky at 7:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast on FloHoops.  

For complete coverage of FGCU men's basketball, follow the Eagles on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook at @FGCU_MBB and online at www.FGCUAthletics.com. You can also sign up to have news on FGCU men's basketball and other programs delivered directly to your inbox by visiting www.fgcuathletics.com/email.   
 
INDIVIDUAL TICKETS, MINI PLANS AVAILABLE  
Tickets for the 2022-23 FGCU Basketball season are on sale now and can be purchased by going online to www.FGCUTickets.com or calling 866-FGCU-TIX. Group tickets can also be purchased for 10 or more people – making a memorable evening for families, businesses, or other organizations.  
  
E.A.G.L.E. CAMPAIGN  
IT TAKES A TEAM to achieve our newest goal - a $10 million campaign to address student-athlete needs in continued academic success, life skills, mental health, nutrition, and strength and conditioning as well as departmental needs in facility expansion and improvement as well as mentoring and leadership training for coaches and staff. The name embodies our mission and the purpose of the E.A.G.L.E. Campaign - Eagle Athletics Generating Lifetime Excellence. Join Our Team and pledge your gift today to help the Eagles of tomorrow!  
  
COACH CHAMBERS  
Pat Chambers was officially introduced as the fifth FGCU men's basketball head coach in March 2022 bringing a wealth of experience in college basketball highlighted by head coaching stints at Penn State and Boston University. Chambers spent nine years leading the Penn State (2011-20) program and two years as head coach at Boston University (2009-11). He has 192 career victories in that span including four 20-plus win seasons. Part of his career as a head coach was highlighted by leading the Nittany Lions to a No. 9 national ranking in 2019-20 which tied the program's best-ever ranking set in 1996. Prior to becoming a head coach, he spent five seasons as part of the Villanova staff helping the Wildcats to a Final Four (2009), two Elite Eight, and three Sweet Sixteen appearances during his tenure.  
   
#FEEDFGCU  
FGCU Athletics sponsors events in November and April to benefit the FGCU Campus Food Pantry (www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry) and the Harry Chapin Food Bank (www.harrychapinfoodbank.org), FGCU Athletics' charities of choice. For more information, including how to make a contribution, please visit www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.  
  
ABOUT FGCU  
FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 93 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 15-plus seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just 11-plus seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 46 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. In 2022, the men's golf team became the first program to earn an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament. Eight FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport - including women's basketball (No. 20, 2021-22), beach volleyball (No. 20, 2022) and both men's soccer (2018, 2019) and women's soccer (2018) as four of the most recent. In 2016-17, the Green & Blue posted a department-best sixth-place finish in the DI-AAA Learfield Directors' Cup and top-100 showing nationally, ahead of several Power-5 and FBS institutions. In 2018-19, the Eagles had an ASUN and state of Florida best seven teams earn the NCAA's Public Recognition Award for their Academic Progress Rate in their sport. FGCU also collectively earned a record 3.50 GPA in the classroom in the fall 2020 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for 26 consecutive semesters. The past six semesters (Fall 2019 – Spring 2022) saw another milestone reached as all 15 programs achieved a 3.0-or-higher cumulative team GPA. The Eagles also served an all-time high 7,200 volunteer hours in 2017 - being recognized as one of two runners-up for the inaugural NACDA Community Service Award presented by the Fiesta Bowl.