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Tennessee Basketball: Vols could be favorites next go around against Gonzaga

By Billy Williford

DALLAS, TX - MARCH 17: Members of the Tennessee Volunteers team huddle before the game against the Loyola Ramblers during the second round of the 2018 NCAA Tournament at the American Airlines Center on March 17, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
DALLAS, TX - MARCH 17: Members of the Tennessee Volunteers team huddle before the game against the Loyola Ramblers during the second round of the 2018 NCAA Tournament at the American Airlines Center on March 17, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /
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Rick Barnes has never been afraid to schedule any team. That trend continues as Tennessee basketball and Gonzaga will meet again in the 2018-19 season.

Related Story: 4 qualities grad-transfer Khwan Fore brings to the Vols

Tennessee basketball is coming off one of the best seasons in the past decade. The Vols finished the season with a 26-9 overall record.

Paired with 26-9 overall record, the Vols were good enough to be Co-Regular Season SEC Champs and received a two seed in the SEC Tournament. Having the two seed helped them claw their way to the Championship Game where they got beat by the Kentucky Wildcats.

Thanks to the report from Jon Rothstein, a basketball insider for CBS Sports, Tennessee basketball will headline with 2018 Jerry Colangelo Classic. The Vols will play the Gonzaga Bulldogs on December 9th, despite official tip-off times still being determined.

This should come as no surprise to Vol fans, since Rick Barnes has been the coach, Tennessee has played tough non-conference schedules. On the docket for the 2018-19 season is Georgia Tech, Memphis, and Wake Forest.

Tennessee will also be apart of the NIT Season Tip-off at the Barclays Center on November 21 and 23. The three other teams apart of the four-team field include Kansas, Louisville, and Marquette.

But, back to the Gonzaga game. Tennessee basketball and Gonzaga have played twice in the past three seasons. In both match-ups, the Bulldogs were the favorites as the Vols and Rick Barnes were in their rebuilding stage.

The two previous meeting against the Zags, Tennessee was undermanned and still learning how to play under Barnes. Yet, still gave two respectable games. In 2015, the Bulldogs won 86-79. And, again a season later, the Zags won 86-76.

However, next year could be a different story. Tennessee is going to have to take a different approach to next season’s games as they will no longer sneak up on any team. In fact, most teams are going to give Tennessee their best shot next season.

Gary Parrish from CBS Sports has his “way too early top 25” for college basketball rankings where he has Tennessee ranked fourth in the nation. Kansas, Duke, and Villanova are the only teams above the Vols.

Gonzaga, on the other hand, receives the 6th overall ranking from Parrish. The December 9th meeting will be early enough in the season that both teams will more than likely still be ranked in the top ten.

The Vols have all their pieces returning besides James Daniel III and maybe Admiral Schofield. However, we would be very surprised if we don’t see Schofield back on Rocky Top next season.

With basically the entire team returning and adding transfer guard Khwan Fore, Tennessee basketball should be favorites over most teams next season and could be favorites over Gonzaga on December 9th.

Next: Vols 5 key strengths heading into the summer

Quite of a turnaround from the first day Barnes stepped on campus. Watch out for the Vols to make some serious noise next season.

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