Tennessee basketball: Vols face Memphis with way more questions than last year

As Tennessee basketball gets set to host its in-state rival, the Volunteers and Memphis Tigers both have way more questions than last year.

It’s cliche to point out that a December college basketball matchup between two top 25 teams is a great test for both schools. We already know that. But when Tennessee basketball and the Memphis Tigers meet on Saturday, both will have more questions than they had when they resumed their rivalry in 2018.

When they met last year in Memphis, it was clear where the programs were. The Vols were 7-1, No. 3 in the nation and six days removed from knocking off the Gonzaga Bulldogs, the No. 1 team in the nation. They were clearly a national championship-caliber team, which fans expected from them at the beginning of the year.

On the other side, Memphis entered the game with a 5-4 record in Penny Hardaway’s first year. They were always thinking about this year, with last year being a rebuilding season. Fans knew that at he start of the year as well, and it showed with a loss to the College of Charleston.

This year, though, the two teams meet with both being in the top 20, both having one loss, and both having no idea what they’ll look like in March. In Tennessee basketball’s case, the Vols already have two quality wins over the Washington Huskies and VCU Rams. But they also have a tough loss to the Florida State Seminoles.

With so much talent gone to the NBA, it’s hard to gauge just yet exactly where Rick Barnes’s young team stands. They have shown promise early, but questions about whether or not it’s legitimate or if they can even handle success are all big deals.

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Memphis, meanwhile, has that No. 1 recruiting class they are relying on, but we still don’t know if Hardaway is able to put it all together. Right now, they have an eight-point road loss to the No. 10 ranked Oregon Ducks, ugly wins over the Ole Miss Rebels and UAB Blazers, and what looks like one decent win over the N.C. State Wolfpack.

Then there’s the whole issue of James Wiseman, their top recruit not playing. Memphis can rest on that regardless of what happens in December, but the fact of the matter is Hardaway had a top 10 recruiting class without Wisemen. So he should still be facing some pressure to be able to compete with top teams before Wiseman comes back, and we don’t even know if UT is a top team.

Simply put, Tennessee basketball hosts Memphis with both teams trying to find out a lot about themselves. That’s what makes this a huge game. The loser could fall out of the top 25, and the winner could potentially leap into the top 10.

Oh, then there’s the other big question as to whether or not this series will even be played after the two teams meet in Nashville. After all, there wasn’t all this jawing back and forth between Barnes and Hardaway heading into last year’s game. That only came afterward, and it clearly hasn’t stopped since then.

To be fair, that’s a question that won’t be answered by playing this game. But how the teams and coaches respond to it all could end up being a big deal. So we may learn a little bit about that when they meet in this huge December matchup.