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Tennessee basketball: Comparing Vols to last Rick Barnes team that reached No. 1

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TN - DECEMBER 22: Head coach Rick Barnes of the Tennessee Volunteers reacts to a play during the first half of the game against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at Thompson-Boling Arena on December 22, 2018 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - DECEMBER 22: Head coach Rick Barnes of the Tennessee Volunteers reacts to a play during the first half of the game against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at Thompson-Boling Arena on December 22, 2018 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images
Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images /

2. How different are the 2009-2010 Texas Longhorns from Tennessee Basketball?

The Vols beat a No. 1 ranked opponent.

Yes, this matters. Tennessee basketball’s win over the Gonzaga Bulldogs was their fifth win over a No. 1 team in school history. It was Rick Barnes’s first. At the same time, this is only the second season Barnes or the Vols have been ranked No. 1. So all put together, there is more to be excited about with this team than the Longhorns in 2010.

By the time they had reached No. 1, Texas had beaten two Top 10 teams in the North Carolina Tar Heels and Michigan State Spartans. But that UNC team stumbled into the NIT, and neither team was ranked No. 1. And that leads to our next difference.

Texas was undefeated when they reached No. 1.

By not being battle-tested, Texas was likely not prepared to handle that first loss to the Kansas State Wildcats. They were 17-0 to that point. Tennessee benefitted heavily from that early loss to the Kansas Jayhawks.

On top of that, they are way more battle-tested, as we mentioned. Playing Gonzaga and even the Louisville Cardinals was enough to do that for them. As a result, they should be ready for the brutal end of season schedule facing them.

Tennessee has a much easier schedule ahead than Texas did.

Despite a tough end of season schedule and being more battle-tested before reaching No. 1, the Vols’ immediate schedule after this ranking is enough for them to ride the wave at the top a bit. They may lose to the Vanderbilt Commodores on Wednesday. But it’s more likely they win their next seven, and that’s enough to build confidence as a No. 1 team without the pressures of going undefeated since they already have a loss.

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