Tennessee basketball begins play at the SEC Tournament in Nashville on Friday afternoon where they’ll face Texas for the second time this season.
The Longhorns have won two games in the last two days including a double overtime victory over Texas A&M on Thursday. Tennessee is playing its first game of the week after earning a double-bye. The winner advances to face either Auburn or Ole Miss in the semifinals.
Here’s everything to know ahead of the conference tournament matchup.
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How To Watch — No. 8 Tennessee (25-6, 12-6 SEC) vs. Texas (19-14, 6-12 SEC)
- Start Time: Approximately 3:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. CT
- Location: Bridgestone Arena
- Watch: ESPN. PxP: Dan Shulman, CC: Jay Bilas, Sideline: Jess Sims
- Online Streaming: Watch ESPN
- Radio (Knoxville): The Vol Network/The Vol Network App
Betting Lines
- Tennessee -9.5 Texas
- Over/under 134.5
- Tennessee -9 Texas
- Over/under: 135
Probable Starters
Tennessee (via last game):
Texas (via last game):
Team Statistics (via KenPom)
Tennessee:
Texas:
Individual Stat Leaders
Tennessee:
Points: Chaz Lanier — 17.9 PPG, 43.2 FG%, 40.5 3PT%
Rebounds: Igor Milicic — 7.3 RPG, 5.3 DRPG, 2 ORPG
Assists: Zakai Zeigler — 7.5 APG, 2.9 TOPG, 34 MPG
Texas:
Points: Tre Johnson — 20.1 PPG, 42.9 FG%, 39 3PT%
Rebounds: Arthur Kaluma — 7.8 RPG, 6 DRPG, 1.8 ORPG
Assists: Julian Larry — 3.2 APG, 1.7 TOPG, 21.2 MPG
Last Five Games
Tennessee:
- 75-65 win versus South Carolina
- 78-76 loss at Ole Miss
- 79-76 win versus Alabama
- 65-59 win at LSU
- 77-69 win at Texas A&M
Texas:
- 94-89 win against Texas A&M (2OT) (Nashville)
- 79-72 win against Vanderbilt (Nashville)
- 76-72 loss versus Oklahoma
- 87-82 win at Mississippi State (OT)
- 83-67 loss versus Georgia
Prediction
Tennessee is looking for a longer stay in Nashville then they had last season when Mississippi State torched the Vols in their opening game of the conference tournament.
They face a Texas team that should have heavy legs. The Longhorns beat Vanderbilt on Wednesday afternoon before upsetting Texas A&M in double overtime on Thursday. Heavy legs is not a good recipe against a Tennessee team with the nation’s best defense.
Those factors all point in Tennessee’s direction. But the Vols’ recent matchups against Texas and former Rick Barnes’ assistant Rodney Terry have all been low scoring tight affairs. Tennessee gets it done but they don’t do so in a big blowout fashion.
Tennessee 70, Texas 60
