The state of Tennessee is in disarray on the basketball court. At least, east of Memphis.
Tennessee (10-6, 2-2 SEC) and Vanderbilt (8-8, 0-3) face-off in Nashville on Saturday night, and both teams desperately need a win to try and turn around their seasons early in conference play. The Vols lost by 17 points to Georgia on the road on Wednesday, and UT has lost six of their last 11 contests after starting the season 5-0. Vanderbilt, meanwhile, has lost four-straight games and has yet to get a victory in SEC play.
The Commodores will be playing without the SEC’s leading scorer, Aaron Nesmith. The star forward was averaging 23 points a game but suffered a season-ending injury a week ago. Vanderbilt has lost by 19 to Texas A&M and by 20 to Arkansas in the two games they’ve played without Nesmith.
Tennessee, meanwhile, welcomed in another new addition to their active roster earlier this week when the NCAA finally officially cleared seven-foot Arizona State transfer Uros Plavsic. He played 17 minutes and added five points and three rebounds in the Vols’ loss to Georgia, his debut game for UT.
The Vols enter Saturday’s contest having won four-straight games against Vanderbilt, and they’ve beaten the Commodores in six of the last seven meetings between the two teams.
Take a look at everything you need to know for tonight’s match-up. If you couldn’t make the trip over to Nashville, here’s how you can watch or listen to tonight’s Tennessee vs. Vanderbilt game.
Tip-Off: 6:00 Eastern, January 18th, Memorial Gym (Nashville, TN)
TV: SEC Network (Kevin Fitzgerald and Dane Bradshaw)
Streaming Online: ESPN.com/watch or ESPN app
Radio: Vol Network
Line: Tennessee (-5)
