The 2019-20 basketball season hasn’t gone how either Tennessee or Vanderbilt hoped at the beginning of the year, but the two will still bring plenty of fire on the court when they face-off on Tuesday night.
The Vols (14-11, 6-6 SEC) welcome in the Commodores (9-16, 1-11) for the second match-up between the in-state foes this season. Tennessee ran away with a 66-45 victory in Nashville a month ago, and they ended Vanderbilt’s three-point shooting streak in the process. The Commodores were 0-of-25 from three in the contest, snapping a 1,080-game streak of making at least one three-pointer. Vandy had made a three in every game since the implementation of the three-point line in college basketball until their loss to the Vols.
Since that game, Tennessee has gone just 3-5 and are coming off a close 63-61 loss on the road to South Carolina on Saturday. Vanderbilt managed to earn a shocking 99-90 victory over LSU two weeks ago, but they’ve lost every other game they’ve played since last taking on the Vols.
Tennessee has owned Vanderbilt as of late, with the Vols winning five-straight contests against the Commodores and beating their mid-state rival in seven of the last eight meetings between the two schools.
Freshman guard Josiah-Jordan James returned to action for the Vols on Saturday against South Carolina after missing the last four games due to a hip/groin injury. James came off the bench and played 30 minutes, totaling nine points, five assists, and three rebounds. Starting junior forward Yves Pons is dealing with tendinitis in his knee, but he’s expected to play on Tuesday. Pons is averaging 11.2 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 2.6 blocks per game. He leads the SEC with 65 blocks on the season.
Take a look at everything you need to know for today’s match-up. If you can’t make it to the game, here’s how you can watch or listen to tonight’s Tennessee vs. Vanderbilt game.
Tip-Off: 6:30 Eastern, February 18th, Thompson-Boling Arena (Knoxville, TN)
TV: SEC Network (Tom Hart, Andy Kennedy, Alyssa Lang)
Streaming Online: ESPN.com/watch or the ESPN app
Radio: Vol Network
Line: Tennessee (-12.5)
