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How To Watch: Tennessee vs. Texas in SEC Tournament quarterfinals

IMG_3593by:Grant Ramey•03/14/25•

GrantRamey

Tennessee Basketball, SEC Tournament | Tennessee Athletics
Tennessee Basketball, SEC Tournament | Tennessee Athletics

The postseason is finally here for Tennessee Basketball. The Vols take on Texas in the SEC Tournament quarterfinal round Friday afternoon at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, scheduled for a 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time start on ESPN.

Tennessee (25-6) is the No. 4 seed in the SEC Tournament bracket and received a double-bye as a top-four finisher in the league standings.

Texas (19-14), the No. 13 seed, will be playing its third game in three days, advancing to face the Vols with a win over No. 12 Vanderbilt on Wednesday and a double-overtime win over No. 5 Texas A&M on Thursday.

The Longhorns have won as many games over the last two days as they won over the final month of the regular season, going 2-7 between home losses to Arkansas on February 5 and Oklahoma on Saturday.

How To Watch: Tennessee vs. Texas

Start Time: Friday, 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time

TV: ESPN

Streaming: ESPN App or WatchESPN.com

Radio: WNML-FM 99.1 in Knoxville. The Vol Network radio broadcast can be heard on local affiliates across the state of Tennessee.

KenPom Prediction: Tennessee 72, Texas 63 (79% chance to win)

The Line: Tennessee -9.5 (Total: 132.5)

Series History: Tennessee vs. Texas

Friday’s game will be Tennessee’s fifth against Texas over the last four seasons, with the Vols winning the last three.

Tennessee beat the Texas 74-70 on January 11 in Austin, the only meeting between the two teams this season. The Vols won 62-58 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season, won 82-71 in Knoxville in January 2023 and lost 52-51 in Austin in January 2022.

In Austin earlier this season, Zakai Zeigler scored 16 points and had eight assists, Chaz Lanier scored 10 and Jordan Gainey and Darlinstone Dubar scored 12 each off the bench to spark the Vols. 

Tennessee in the SEC Tournament during the Rick Barnes era

Tennessee is 11-7 in the SEC Tournament during the Rick Barnes era, winning at least one game in the conference tournament in six of the eight appearances under Barnes. 

The Vols won the SEC Tournament in 2022, the program’s first conference tournament championship since 1979. Tennessee played for the SEC Tournament title in both 2018 and 2019, losing to Kentucky in 2018 in St. Louis and to Auburn a year later in Nashville.

The Vols were one-and-done in the SEC Tournament a year ago, losing 73-56 to Mississippi State before going on an NCAA Tournament run to the Elite Eight. 

Tennessee lost in the quarterfinals to Missouri in 2023 went to the semifinals in 2021 before losing to Alabama. The Vols went 2-1 in the 2016 SEC Tournament, in the first year under Barnes, beating Auburn and Vanderbilt before losing to LSU in the quarterfinals as the No. 12 seed.

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