Tennessee will look to avenge Tuesday’s loss to Florida with a second-straight SEC road game on Saturday night.
Rick Barnes’ squad will head to the Lone Star State for a matchup with the Texas Longhorns, who are looking for the upset bid this weekend to capture its first SEC win in program history. The Vols are 14-1 on the year with a win over Arkansas and a loss to Florida while Texas is 11-4 this season with two-straight losses against Texas A&M and Auburn.
Tennessee’s Rick Barnes was the head coach at Texas for 17 years from 1998 to 2015 and made the tournament every season except for one during his time in Austin. Barnes and the Vols have squared off against Texas in each of the last three years with Tennessee holding the 2-1 advantage including a win in the NCAA Tournament last spring.
The Vols will look to bounce back from their first and only loss of the season on Tuesday in Saturday night’s conference showdown from Austin. Here’s everything to know about the game:
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How to Watch — No. 1 Tennessee (14-1, 1-1 SEC) at Texas (11-4, 0-2 SEC)
- Start Time: 6:00 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m. CT
- Location: Moody Center – Austin, TX
- Watch: ESPN/ESPN App
- Online Streaming: WatchESPN
- Radio (Knoxville): The Vol Network/The Vol Network App
Betting Lines
- Spread: Tennessee -6.5 (-108)/Texas +6.5 (-112)
- Moneyline: Tennessee (-275)/Texas (+220)
- Total: Over 132.5 (-115)/Under 132.5 (-105)
- Spread: Tennessee -6.5 (-110)/Texas +6.5 (-110)
- Moneyline: Tennessee (-278)/Texas (+225)
- Total: Over 133.5 (-110)/Under 133.5 (-110)
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What Tennessee HC Rick Barnes Said About Texas
On what stands out about Rodney Terry’s Texas team
“A lot. His teams have always played hard. They’re going to fight you, they’re gonna guard you. He does a good job getting the guys that he wants shots to get those guys shots and we know, obviously know that even though I think he would consider himself a man (defense) coach, you know, I’ve got great respect for Frank Haith and him being beside me for many years. We felt last year, going into the NCAA Tournament, they would be willing to go zone, which they did but just great respect for his staff. I mean, a lot of love there because we spent many, many hours together through the years and happy at the success they’re having. But I was thinking this morning, how many different tie-ins we all have within the league with each other. It’s almost like the SEC and some ways, it’s just so many people’s lives have touched each other through the years and great blessing from God, but happy with where they are and what they’re doing, but got to compete. And I know full well they’re going be ready to do that.”
On if going to Texas a few years ago makes this feel like any other trip
“I’ve been in the new building last year when I went back to see my daughter. I met a dear friend, Bill Duvall there, just to give him a hug and I saw the Moody Center before the game. I didn’t stay for the game, but I was just there. But this will be the first time I was playing there. So it’ll be different in terms of, I mean, when I think about going back to Texas, I think of the Erwin Center, where we were for 17 years. But I mean, I know where it is, know all that stuff, but, yeah, to me, I’m sure I’m going see a lot of people that are still there that I know, but that’s part of it. But the fact is, and we’ve got to go a day early because of the weather conditions. So that’ll be a little bit different that we’re kind of getting out of rhythm a little bit, but that’s what we have to do.”
On if there’s an advantage in the fact that Texas played a 40-minute game after Tennessee was able to sub guys out late in the game
“I don’t know. Everybody’s got their own team and what they’re doing. You do what you’re doing and again, we were looking at it as a way, can we get better right now? We know we need to get some other guys minutes. We were trying to do a little bit of that, but still. we don’t ever think it’s over until it’s over. That’s what my point is about Zakai. If he’s down 20 with four minutes to go, he thinks he can still find a way to bring it back. And it’s not that, it’s just that, some guys were sitting because they just weren’t getting things done and we owe it to the other guys to give them a chance to see what they can do.”
On how this Texas team is different from what its been the last three seasons, it seemingly being more reliant on the three-point line
“They can shoot the ball. I don’t think there’s any question they can do that, but I think they are different. They’ve got an explosive, one of the very best players in the country. I see oftentimes people are putting his numbers up against (Kevin Durant’s), which is impressive that anybody would even be on the same line with him because of what he did as a freshman, I’m not sure it’s ever been done the way he did it, certainly at the time he did it. But again, I mentioned that Rodney does a good job and getting guy shots, and when he gets a guy that gets it going, he’s going to feed it to him.”
Probable Starters
Tennessee:
Texas:
Team Statistics (via KenPom)
*Coming Soon*
Individual Stat Leaders
Tennessee:
Points: Chaz Lanier – 19.6 PPG, 43.6 FG%, 75.6 FT%
Rebounds: Igor Milicic Jr. – 8.8 RPG, 6.5 DRPG, 2.3 ORPG
Assists: Zakai Zeigler – 7.5 APG, 3.2 TOPG, 34.0 MPG
Texas:
Points: Tre Johnson – 18.4 PPG, 46 FG%, 85 FT%
Rebounds: Arthur Kaluma – 8.3 RPG, 6.7 DRPG, 1.6 ORPG
Assists: Julian Larry – 4.1 APG, 1.9 TOPG, 21.7 MPG
Tennessee Last 5:
- 1/7 – Loss at Florida 73-43
- 1/4 – Win over Arkansas 76-52
- 12/31 – Win over Norfolk State 67-52
- 12/23 – Win over MTSU 82-64
- 12/17 – Win over Western Carolina 84-36
Texas Last 5:
- 1/7 – Loss against Auburn 87-82
- 1/4 – Loss at Texas A&M 80-60
- 12/29 – Win over Northwestern State 77-53
- 12/19 – Win over New Orleans 98-62
- 12/15 – Win over Ark-Pine Bluff 121-57
Prediction:
This is a big one for Tennessee for a number of reasons, the main being that the Vols are looking to avenge their first loss of the season after a blowout against Florida in Gainesville on Tuesday. It’s one thing to bounce back at home in front of your own fans but it’s another thing to have to do so on the road in front of a Saturday night environment. Add in another Rick Barnes return trip to Austin and there are a few key variables to this game.
I don’t expect Tennessee to have the team-wide shooting woes that they did against Florida. The Vols didn’t have a single scorer step up against the Gators and will need someone to do so on Saturday. For this game, though, I’m looking at Chaz Lanier and Zakai Zeigler. Lanier got his first taste of SEC action against Arkansas and put up a season-high 29 points but plummeted to just 10 points against Florida. It looked like the moment may have gotten to Lanier in Gainesville so I expect a more locked-in mentality from the Vols’ leading scorer.
Zeigler, combined with Jahmai Mashack and Jordan Gainey, have to step up as senior leaders on the team, which is well within reason based on their actions over the years. Tennessee needs Lanier to get going but also needs to provide him with other offensive output, whether that be from one of the other seniors or Igor Milicic Jr.
Tennessee, on paper, is the better team. Will the Vols still look rusty from their miserable trip to Gainesville or will Tennessee be able to bounce back on the road? I’m picking the latter but I don’t know how pretty it’ll be.
Tennessee 68, Texas 60
