X
Skip to content

Vols, Longhorns Clash in Barnes’ Return to Texas

Tennessee on Three-Game Win Streak

Rick Barnes and the No. 18 Tennessee Volunteers travel to face his former team when they take on the Texas Longhorns in an SEC/Big 12 Challenge contest on Saturday night. The opening tip for this game is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET at Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas.

Tennessee (14-5) is coming off a home win over the Florida Gators on Wednesday night, improving its SEC record to 5-3. The Volunteers are tied with the Arkansas Razorbacks for third in the conference standings, a game behind the second-place Kentucky Wildcats and three games behind the first-place Auburn Tigers.

Marcus Carr drives Tennessee at Texas Picks
Chris Covatta/Getty Images/AFP

The Longhorns have won two straight after a two-game losing streak, topping the TCU Horned Frogs on the road on Tuesday night. Texas is 5-3 in Big 12 play, sitting in a tie for third place with the Texas Tech Red Raiders, a game behind the second-place Baylor Bears and 1½ games behind the first-place Kansas Jayhawks.

The college basketball lines have the Longhorns as 3½-point favorites at home, with the over/under for this non-conference contest set at 126½ points. If you bet online on the moneyline, you can get Texas at -165, while Tennessee is listed at +145.

Coming Back

This game is between two of the better defensive teams, but the subplot of Barnes coming back to the place he coached for 17 seasons for the first time is certainly significant as well. Barnes was let go in 2014-15 after an opening-round NCAA Tournament loss and refusing to fire members of his coaching staff.

“We look forward to these games every year,” Tennessee guard Josiah-Jordan James said about the return. “But this year is especially big for Coach. We know we want to go in there and play for each other but also go in there and do it for him, as he has left an amazing legacy at the University of Texas.”

For the Volunteers to make it a successful trip, they’re going to have to solve a Texas squad that is No. 1 in the country in scoring defense at 54.7 points per game. That means solid ball movement and taking open looks when they’re available.

Guard Santiago Vescovi will be counted on to have a big game, as he leads Tennessee with 14.6 points per game. Vescovi is shooting 39.6% from 3-point range and adding 4.6 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.8 steals per contest.

Guard Kennedy Chandler will also have to be at his best, as he paces the Volunteers with 4.9 assists and 2.2 steals per contest. Chandler is the only other double-figure scorer for Barnes with 13.5 points per game, but he also commits a team-high 2.7 turnovers per contest.

Turning It Up

The Longhorns lost two straight Big 12 games in mid-January, allowing an average of 72.5 points, but in the two games since, they’ve held their opponents to 50.5 points per game and gone 2-0. Texas needs to have its defense playing well, as it is scoring just 69.5 points an outing.

Forward Timmy Allen leads the offensive charge, averaging 11.9 points and 6.6 rebounds while shooting 53.3% from the field. He had 16 points and eight rebounds in Tuesday’s win over TCU and is capable of more, having averaged over 17 points per game in each of the last two seasons with Utah.

Another transfer, guard Marcus Carr, is scoring 11.0 points and dishing out 3.4 assists per game. He scored over 19 points per game with Minnesota last season, but with the Longhorns focused on defense, Carr is happy to step back his production in exchange for some wins.

Guard Andrew Jones is the third double-digit scorer for coach Chris Beard, averaging 10.1 points per game. The key for the Longhorns in this one will be avoiding turnovers, as Tennessee is 11th in the country in turnover margin at +4.8 per game.

Successful Return

The Volunteers are going to be motivated to win one for Barnes in his return to Austin. The Longhorns won’t make it easy, but we like Tennessee to pull the outright upset on the road.

When doing your college basketball betting, take Tennessee to win a close one.

Did you find this article interesting?

Comments (0)

Featured College Basketball Picks

Related News