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How To Watch: No. 1 Tennessee Basketball at Texas

IMG_3593by:Grant Ramey•about 9 hours•

GrantRamey

Texas Basketball, Moody Center | Texas Athletics
Texas Basketball, Moody Center | Texas Athletics

No. 1 Tennessee is back on the road at Texas Saturday night, looking to rebound from the 73-43 drubbing the Vols took at No. 8 Florida on Tuesday. Tipoff at the Moody Center in Austin is scheduled for 6 p.m. Eastern Time on ESPN.

Tennessee (14-1, 1-1 SEC) shot just 12-for-56 from the field at Florida, going 4-for-29 from the 3-point line. It was a 19-point deficit by halftime, after the Vols made just four shots from the field in the first half and went 0-for-14 from the 3-point line.

Texas (11-4, 0-2) lost 80-60 at Texas A&M in its first game as an SEC program. The Longhorns trailed No. 2 Auburn by as many as 21 points at home on Tuesday before losing 87-82.

No. 1 Tennessee at Texas: How To Watch

Start Time: Saturday, 6 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 69, Texas 65 (65% chance to win)

The Line: Tennessee -6.5

Where Tennessee is ranked after the loss at Florida

Tennessee spent the last month ranked No. 1 after its perfect 14-0 record to start the season. The Vols will drop on Monday when the Associated Press Top 25 and Coaches Poll are updated.

Meanwhile, Tennessee dropped one spot in the NET to No. 3 overall, with a 3-1 Quad 1 record, a 1-0 Quad 2 record and a combined 10-0 record in Quad 3 and Quad 4 games.

The Vols dropped to No. 6 in the KenPom ratings. They’re now ranked No. 3 in adjusted defensive efficiency, giving up 86.3 points per 100 possessions, and are ranked No. 35 in adjusted offensive efficiency, scoring 116.2 points per 100 possessions. 

Tennessee vs. Texas: Series History

This is the fourth straight season Tennessee has played Texas. The Vols beat the Longhorns 62-58 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament last March in Charlotte and won 82-71 in the Big 12-SEC Challenge in Knoxville in January 2023.

Rick Barnes made his return to Austin in January 2022, with Tennessee losing 52-51 in the final season of the Frank Erwin Center, where Barnes spent 17 years as head coach of the Longhorns. 

This season’s Texas team is 4-3 over its last seven games, dating back to a home loss against UConn on December 8. The Longhorns are No. 42 in KenPom defense and No. 45 in KenPom offense. 

Texas is led by five-star freshman Tre Johnson, a 6-foot-6, 190-pound guard from Garland, Texas. He’s averaging 19.3 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.7 assists in 30.9 minutes per game, shooting 49.6% from the floor and 42.4% from the 3-point line.

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