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How to watch, stream, listen: Vols vs. Kansas in Battle 4 Atlantis Championship Game

IMG_3593by:Grant Ramey•11/25/22•

GrantRamey

Olivier Nkamhoua and Julian Phillips celebrate against USC in the Battle 4 Atlantis (Tennessee Athletics)
Olivier Nkamhoua and Julian Phillips celebrate against USC in the Battle 4 Atlantis (Tennessee Athletics)

For the third time in three days, it’s Tennessee basketball game day. This time the Vols are playing for the Battle 4 Atlantis championship, facing No. 3 Kansas in a 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time start on ESPN.

Tennessee (4-1) advanced with a 71-45 win over Butler on Wednesday and a 73-66 win over USC in overtime on Thursday. Kansas (6-0) beat North Carolina State in the first round and won in the final second over Wisconsin in the semifinals.

The Vols and Jayhawks have met six times since 2009, with Kansas winning four. Friday night’s game will be the fourth time the two teams have met during the Rick Barnes era. Kansas beat Tennessee in the NIT Season Tip-Off in Brooklyn in November 2018. A home-and-home in the Big 12-SEC Challenge was split, with Kansas winning at Allen Fieldhouse in 2020 and Tennessee winning in Knoxville in 2021.

“Obviously I’ve known Bill (Self) a long time,” Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said on Thursday. “We competed against each other in the Big 12 and his teams are sound and he’s always loved having that inside guy he can play through. I think they’re like us— they’re still looking for that identity all the way across. Big win for them today. 

“His teams are going to guard. They always do. They  take care of the ball. I think it’ll be a quick game. I think it’ll be up-and-down. I think they like to run and we like to run. Both teams have had to grind it out to get to where we’ll be playing tomorrow.”

Tennessee Basketball: How to watch, stream and listen

Tipoff Time: 7:30 p.m. ET, Friday

Location: Imperial Arena (3,500)

TV: ESPN

Streaming: WatchESPN.com or ESPN app

Radio: WNML-FM 99.1 in Knoxville. The Vol Network radio broadcast (Brian Rice– play-by-play – Bert Bertelkamp, color commentator) can be heard on local affiliates across the state of Tennessee.

Closer Look: Kansas in the Battle 4 Atlantis

No. 3 Kansas escaped a Wisconsin upset bid in the first semifinal game on Thursday when Bobby Pettiford grabbed an offensive rebound and threw it off the glass with 0.2 seconds left, lifting the Jayhawks to a 69-68 win over the Badgers.

Jalen Wilson finished with 29 points and 14 rebounds for Kansas (6-0). The Jayhawks 18 points, nine rebounds and three assists from Kevin McCullar Jr. 

Injury Notes: Josiah-Jordan James (knee soreness) day-to-day

Josiah-Jordan James did not play against Butler or USC due to what Tennessee described as knee soreness. Barnes said on Thursday that James is day-to-day.

James missed the preseason while coming back from the offseason knee procedure. He returned to the court in the season-opening win over Tennessee Tech on November 7 and had played in each of the first three games this season. 

Entering Wednesday’s game, James was leading the Vols in scoring (13.7 points per game) and rebounding (6.0) while averaging 23.7 minutes per game.

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