Jay Bilas calls Texas one of 11 teams who can win national championship
The 2022-23 college basketball season is approaching the most important part of the sport’s calendar, with February conference games the only period of time standing between March Madness. As a result, there’s been enough data for college basketball experts to make determinations about who the real contenders to win the NCAA Tournament are.
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During ESPN’s College GameDay on Saturday, Jay Bilas described Texas as one of his 11 teams who can win the national championship. UT was one of two Big 12 teams and also one of two teams from Texas to make the list.
The Longhorns are currently 17-3 and 6-2 in the Big 12 conference. They are ranked No. 10 in the AP Poll, No. 8 in the NET rankings with a 6-3 record in Quadrant 1 games, and No. 9 in advanced analytics metric KenPom.
Texas faces one of the other 10 teams on Bilas’ list on Saturday in the No. 4 Tennessee Volunteers. College GameDay is at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tenn. ahead of the 5 p.m. Central matchup.
The other Big 12 team on Bilas’ list is the No. 9 Kansas Jayhawks. Led by star forward Jalen Wilson, KU is 16-4 and 5-3 in Big 12 play.
Fellow Texas program Houston, the No. 3 team in the AP poll, is also on Bilas’ list. The future Big 12 program is 19-2 and 7-1 in the American Athletic Conference.
Bilas also mentioned No. 1 Purdue, No. 2 Alabama, No. 8 UCLA, No. 6 Arizona, No. 13 Xavier, No. 19 UConn, and No. 7 Virginia as fellow national title contenders.
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Texas vs. Tennessee: How to watch, odds, predictions from ESPN, KenPom
Tip-off: 6 p.m. ET
Location: Knoxville, Tenn.
Channel: ESPN
Vegas odds
Tennessee is a 7.0-point favorite over Texas on Saturday, according to VegasInsider.
ESPN BPI prediction
Predicted winner: Tennessee
Predicted point differential: 11.1
Win probability (for Tennessee): 84.6%
Matchup quality: 84.5
ESPN’s College Basketball Power Index (BPI) is a tool that measures team strength and uses that to predict outcomes of future performances. ESPN’s BPI has the game ranked as the 12th highest-rated game on Thursday’s slate in terms of matchup quality.
KenPom prediction
Predicted final score: Tennessee 72, Texas 64
Win probability (for Tennessee): 78%
More on Texas vs. Tennessee
Despite both teams being ranked in the current top 10 in the polls, most of the projections for this game have Tennessee as a sizable favorite. The Volunteers have played exceptionally well at home this year and enter Saturday’s meeting riding a three-game winning streak. Tennessee has also won eight of its last nine contests.
Texas, meanwhile, has had to deal with the midseason loss of coach Chris Beard following his arrest stemming from a domestic violence charge.
The Longhorns have managed to do quite well even so, and they enter Saturday’s game having won five of the last six, with the lone loss in that stretch to a ranked Iowa State squad. Texas is currently tied atop the Big 12 standings with a 6-2 league mark.
