After the conclusion of the first-round slate on Wednesday, Tennessee’s potential opponent in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament this week has begun to narrow down.
No. 4 Tennessee will take on the winner of No. 13 Texas and No. 5 Texas A&M as the longtime rivals duke it out for the chance to take on the Volunteers on Friday afternoon.
The Longhorns reached Thursday’s game with a 79-72 win over No. 12 Vanderbilt on Wednesday afternoon. Four of Texas’s five starters recorded double-digit scoring figures in the win, led by Tre Johnson and Tramon Mark’s 19 points each. Vanderbilt guard Jason Edwards led the Commodores with 20 points, but Texas still led for nearly the entire game.
The Aggies, meanwhile, reached Thursday with a single-bye in the tournament as one of the 5-8 seeds. Texas A&M finished one spot behind Tennessee in the SEC standings with an 11-7 conference record this season.
Tennessee will enter Friday’s contest with a win over their opponent across the court, regardless of who it is. The Vols took two conference trips to the Lone Star State this season and came away with two victories.
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On Jan. 11, Tennessee bounced back from a blowout loss at Florida with a 74-70 win at Texas the following Saturday. Tennessee guard Zakai Zeigler led the Vols with 16 points, but it was a key 24 combined points from Jordan Gainey and Darlinstone Dubar (12 each) off the bench that helped Tennessee find the victory.
Then, on Feb. 22, Tennessee returned to Texas for a matchup with the No. 7 Aggies that saw the Vols take a critical 77-69 win on the road. Tennessee guard Chaz Lanier hit a season-high 30 points in the win, including 22 points in the first half with the game’s first nine straight points for the Vols.
Fanduel has Texas A&M as a 6.5-point favorite heading into the game on Thursday, but the Longhorns did take the lone regular-season matchup against the Aggies in Austin in late January by one point.
No. 13 Texas and No. 5 Texas A&M will battle in second-round action on Thursday afternoon around 3:30 p.m. ET with the opportunity to play Tennessee on Friday on the line. Stay tuned to Rocky Top Insider for more on Tennessee’s Friday opponent as the tournament continues.
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