For the second-straight season and just the third time in program history, Tennessee is playing in the Elite Eight.
Tennessee is set to take on Houston for a trip to the Final Four in the 2025 NCAA Tournament on Sunday afternoon. It’s the second-straight year the Vols are playing the one-seed as a two-seed in the Elite Eight, and it’s the first time in 30 years these two programs have played each other in men’s basketball. It’ll be a battle of two of the most stifling and physical defenses in the country, so you’re out of luck if you’re hoping for a high-scoring game to decide who gets to go to the Final Four.
Just like the last three rounds, I want to provide a “by the numbers” look at the Vols’ NCAA Tournament game against Houston in the Elite Eight. Here are some fun facts and interesting statistics as two-seed Tennessee gets set to take on one-seed Houston with a trip to the Final Four on the line.
More From RTI: Scouting The Houston Cougars Ahead Of The Elite Eight Matchup
0
Tennessee will face a one-seed for the seventh time in their NCAA Tournament history when they take on Houston, and it’s the only seed line the Vols have never beaten in the Big Dance that they’ve played (UT has never played a 16-seed). The Vols are 0-6 all-time against No. 1 seeds, losing most recently last season to one-seed Purdue in the Elite Eight, 72-66. The list of one-seed defeats include to Notre Dame in 1979, Virginia in 1981 and 1982, Louisville in 1983, Ohio State in 2007, and Purdue in 2024.
78
Since the NCAA Tournament started doing seeding, one-seeds and two-seeds have faced off 78 times. One-seeds hold the historic edge with a 43-35 record against two-seeds.
6
This will be the sixth time Tennessee and Houston have played each other in men’s basketball, but it’s the first time the two programs have played since the 90s. The Vols are 3-2 all-time against the Cougars, winning the last two meetings in 1994 and 1995. A lot has changed in the 30 years since these two teams last played, though.
21
Rick Barnes and Kelvin Sampson are pretty familiar with each other. The two coached against each other in the Red River Rivalry in men’s basketball for over half a decade from 1998-2006 when Barnes was at Texas and Sampson was at Oklahoma. Sunday’s Elite Eight match-up will be the first time the two go against each other in the NCAA Tournament, but it will be the 21st time they’ve coached against each other overall. Barnes is just 8-12 against Sampson all-time, but his Texas squads won six of the last nine meetings between the two before Sampson left OU to become Indiana’s head coach.
1,558
Not only have Barnes and Sampson coached against each other nearly two dozen times, but they’ve both been coaching for a combined nearly 80 years. The two enter into Sunday’s contest with a combined 1,558 wins, with Barnes totaling 836 wins and Sampson 722. Sampson likely would have a lot more if not for committing major recruiting violations and being slapped with a show-cause after just two seasons at Indiana.
Both Barnes and Sampson have won 100-plus games at three different schools. Barnes has 108 at Providence, 232 at Tennessee, and 402 at Texas. Sampson has 103 at Washington State, 279 at Oklahoma, and 297 at Houston.
3
This will mark just the third time the Vols have faced a Big 12 team in the NCAA Tournament. Houston is a relatively new addition to the Big 12, but they’ve taken to the conference quite nicely in their two seasons there, going a combined 34-4 in Big 12 play. Tennessee is 1-1 against the Big 12 teams they’ve faced in the NCAAT, beating Texas in the second round last year before they joined the SEC and losing to Oklahoma State in the first round in 2009.
39.8
Though Houston is known for their suffocating and aggressive defense, they actually possess a highly efficient offense this season and are the top three-point shooting team in the country. As a team, the Cougars have made 39.8 percent of their threes this year, and they’ve made 40.3 percent of their threes in the NCAA Tournament so far. Tennessee has been surprisingly susceptible beyond the perimeter on defense lately, allowing teams to shoot 37.5 percent from three in the NCAA Tournament.
2
Sunday’s game against the Vols will only be the second time all season that Houston has faced a defense that ranks similarly to them in KenPom’s defensive efficiency. Tennessee’s defense ranks 3rd on KenPom, which means this Elite Eight match-up will only be Houston’s second game all season against a top-10 KenPom defense. Their other one came against an Auburn defense ranked 8th in defensive efficiency and resulted in a 74-69 loss for the Cougars. Three of Houston’s four losses this season have come against defenses ranked in the top 30 on KenPom.
Tennessee, meanwhile, is taking on the No. 1 KenPom defense in Houston. However, this will be the seventh time this season the Vols have faced a top-10 KenPom defense, and they’ve gone 3-3 in those contests.
15
This will mark the sixth time this season that Houston has played a top-15 three-point defense. Houston is 3-2 in those match-ups this season, losing to Auburn and Alabama but beating West Virginia twice and defeating Gonzaga in the NCAA Tournament. The Vols currently rank fourth in the country in opponent three-point percentage (28.5%).
73
Both of these defenses are absolute machines, so I don’t expect very many points to actually get scored. However, if one of these teams somehow manages to eclipse the 73-point mark, you can almost guarantee they’re winning. All four of Houston’s losses this season have come when they’ve allowed 73 or more points to an opponent, and they’re 2-4 when doing so. Six of Tennessee’s seven losses have come under the same parameters, and UT is 3-6 when allowing at least 73 points.
On the flip side, Houston has only managed to score 73 or more points themselves in just under half their games (18 out of 37). That has more to do with Houston’s pace than their offensive capability, though. The Vols have scored at least 73 points 25 times.
65
Here is a more realistic number to keep in mind. Houston has held their opponent to 65 or fewer points in 29 of the 37 games they’ve played this season. Tennessee has held a team to 65 points or less in 23 of their 37 games.
20
Houston does a pretty good job of not getting whistled for an abundance of fouls despite being a very aggressive defense. When they do get called for a lot of fouls, though, they’ve struggled to win. All four of the Cougars’ losses this season have come when they’ve been called for 20 or more fouls. It’s only happened eight times all season, but Houston is 4-4 when they total 20 or more team fouls. The Vols are 10-1 this season when their opponent is whistled for 20 or more fouls, with the only loss coming against Florida in the SEC Tournament title game.
10
Because of how brutal both these defenses are to play against, the number of total possessions in their games are some of the lowest in the nation. Both teams have an average opponent possession length of 18.7 seconds according to KenPom, which is in the top-15 for longest defensive possession lengths. Tennessee averages just 67.2 possessions a game (323rd in D1) while Houston averages just 65.5 (358th), and both teams’ adjusted tempo on KenPom ranks in the bottom 15.
But here’s the number I want to highlight in this section: According to KenPom, these teams have combined to play 10 games all season with more than 68 total possessions. Both teams have played five games apiece that eclipsed the 68 possession total, and for Houston, three of those came in overtime games. Tennessee has had one game since the start of 2025 total more than 68 possessions (75 against Alabama), and Houston has had two in that same stretch, but both were overtime contests.
12
LJ Cryer gets a lot of the headlines for Houston on offense and can be a very dangerous scorer. But the true X-factor for Houston’s offense might be Milos Uzon. When Uzon scores at least 12 points in a game, the Cougars are 18-0 this season. All four of their losses this season have come when Uzon has scored 10 or fewer points. Unfortunately for Tennessee, Uzon has been very consistent with his offense lately, scoring 12 or more points in 12 of his last 16 games while shooting a blistering 54.7% from three in that span. Houston has won all 16 of those games.
18
Like I said before the Kentucky game, I’ll keep repeating this stat till it isn’t true. Tennessee is perfect when Chaz Lanier scores 18 or more points, going 21-0 this season. But here’s an update: The Vols are 23-1 when he scores 17 or more, too. Lanier scored 17 against Kentucky in Tennessee’s Sweet Sixteen win, which means the only loss the Vols have this season when he scores at least 17 is still their one-point loss to Vanderbilt on the road. Ironically, the lasting memory from that loss was a missed free throw in the closing seconds by Lanier.
3
With his 18-point, 10-assist showing against Kentucky, Zakai Zeigler notched his third points-assist double-double in the NCAA Tournament in his career. Before Zeigler, no Vol had ever totaled even one points-assist double-double in the NCAA Tournament. Zeigler now has 13 points-assists double-doubles in his career, by far the career record for a Vol. Tennessee is 11-2 when Zeigler earns a points-assists double-double, including 3-0 in the NCAA Tournament when he does.
