Live Updates: No. 11 Tennessee Basketball vs. Virginia in Baha Mar Championship
It’s Tennessee Basketball game day … and it will be a late night in The Bahamas. The 11th-ranked Vols (4-0) face Virginia (3-0) in the opening round of the Baha Mar Championship Thursday night, scheduled for a 9:30 Eastern Time start on CBS Sports Network.
Follow along of all the live updates before, during and after the game on The General’s Quarters
No. 13 Baylor and No. 22 St. John’s are on the other side of the four-team bracket. Thursday’s losing teams will meet on Friday in a 7 p.m. ET consolation game on CBS Sports Network, with the championship game to follow at 9:30 p.m. ET.
Virginia is ranked No. 76 overall in the KenPom.com ratings, coming in at No. 46 on defense and No. 129 on offense. The Vols are No. 6 overall, ranked No. 4 on defense and No. 18 on offense.
Tennessee’s last trip to The Bahamas was a good one. In November 2022, the Vols beat Butler, USC and Kansas over at three-day span to win the Battle 4 Atlantis Championship.
No. 11 Tennessee vs. Virginia: How To Watch
Start Time: Thursday, 9:30 p.m. Eastern Time
TV: CBS Sports Network
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 70, Virginia 60 (83% Vols win)
The Line: Tennessee -10.5
A Closer Look: The Virginia Cavaliers
Former Virginia head coach Tony Bennett shocked the college basketball world when he suddenly retired on October 17, less than three weeks before the start of the regular season.
Ron Sanchez, who came to Virginia as the program’s associate head coach last season, was named the interim head coach and has led his team to a 3-0 start with wins over Campbell, Coppin State and Villanova.
Virginia is coming off a 23-11 season and a 67-42 loss to Colorado State in the First Four in Dayton. Bennett led the Cavaliers to the 2019 national championship, one year removed from becoming the first No. 1 seed in NCAA Tournament history to lose to a No. 16 seed, falling to UMBC 74-54.
Top 10
- 1Hot
Neyland does Gator Chomp
Vols fans celebrate Florida win
- 2
OSU trolls Cignetti
Buckeyes tell IU to 'Google it'
- 3Trending
Connor Stalions x Bryce Underwood
Photo ignites social media
- 4
Florida dunks on Ole Miss
Gators take Rebels hoop, put UF sticker on it and dunk
- 5
Florida upsets Ole Miss
Major College Football Playoff implications
Virginia hasn’t been out of the first round of the NCAA Tournament since winning the title, losing to Furman as a No. 4 seed in 2023, missing the tournament in 2022 and losing as a No. 4 seed to Ohio in 2021.
Series History: Tennessee vs. Virginia
Tennessee is 5-8 all time against Virginia in a series that dates back to 1917. The two teams played five times between 1917 and 1958, then didn’t play again until 1981.
Tennessee won the last meeting, 87-52 at Thompson-Boling Arena in December 2013. The Vols got 21 points from Jordan McRae, 20 from both Jarnell Stokes and Josh Richardson and 14 more from Antonio Barton.
It came a year after an ugly 46-38 loss at Virginia, where the Vols just 25.9% from the floor and 15.8% from the 3-point line. Trae Golden scored a team-high 11 points and Kenny Hall had eight, with the two combining to make seven of Tennessee’s 15 made shots.
Tennessee beat Virginia 77-74 in the second round of the 2007 NCAA Tournament to advance to the Sweet 16. Chris Lofton scored 20 points, JaJuan Smith had 16 and Wayne Chism scored 13.
