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Thursday, November 12, 2026Nov 12

Several basketball Vols captivated by Settlers of Catan game

Grant Williams, Brad Woodson and Lucas Campbell play Settlers of Catan on a road trip during the 2017-18 season.
Grant Williams, Brad Woodson and Lucas Campbell play Settlers of Catan on a road trip during the 2017-18 season. Grant Williams, Brad Woodson and Lucas Campbell play Settlers of Catan on a road trip during the 2017-18 season.

DALLAS – The most important game of Tennessee’s basketball season awaits when the No. 3 seed Volunteers face 11th seed Loyola-Chicago at 6:10 p.m. EDT Saturday in the second round of the NCAA tournament at the American Airlines Center.

If nervousness will be an issue for the Vols, there were no signs of it Friday afternoon as they practiced and then had a locker-room debate over the Settlers of Catan craze that has enamored part of the team since December.

The board game is a favorite of leading scorer Grant Williams, who purchased it at Walmart in December. Not everyone understands why.

“I wouldn’t touch that game with a 10-foot pole,” redshirt freshman John Fulkerson said.