Tennessee basketball at No. 3 Kansas: Vols live stream, time, TV, radio
In the 2020 SEC/Big 12 Challenge, Tennessee basketball visits the Kansas Jayhawks. Here is our Volunteers preview in Lawrence, Kan.
A decade has passed since Tennessee basketball pulled off that memorable upset over the No. 1 ranked Kansas Jayhawks when they were down to walk-ons due to suspensions. Since then, KU has beaten the Vols twice, including in an overtime game last year.
Now, the Vols have another matchup against the elite program led by Bill Self. At 12-6 and on a two-game winning streak, they visit the No. 3 ranked Jayhawks, who are 15-3, as part of the SEC/Big 12 Challenge for 2020.
The game comes on the heels of Kansas suspending both of its backup post players due to a brawl that broke out in their 81-59 win over the Kansas State Wildcats earlier in the week. Here is all the information you need for Tennessee basketball’s matchup.
Tennessee Volunteers at No. 3 Kansas Jayhawks (SEC/Big 12 Challenge)
When: Saturday, Jan. 25 at 4 p.m. ET
Where: Allen Fieldhouse; Lawrence, Kan.
TV: ESPN
Live stream: WatchESPN
Radio: Vol Network; Jayhawk Radio Network
Listen online: UTSports; KUAthletics
Rocky Top is playing its fourth game with Uros Plavsic. The team went from having Lamonte Turner back in December to having Plavsic and Santiago Vescovi less than a month later. After losing to the Georgia Bulldogs their first game with him, they have won back to back games over the Vanderbilt Commodores and Ole Miss Rebels, and they held both teams to under 50 points.
On the other hand, Kansas is on a three-game winning streak, but they did recently lose at home to the Baylor Bears. Meanwhile, they lost on the road to the Villanova Wildcats and at a neutral court to the Duke Blue Devils. All of those are ranked teams, so these guys have no bad losses, but they have proven to be beatable anywhere.
Kansas’s brawl with Kansas State leaves them short-handed down low. David McCormack and Silvio De Sousa are the only two guys off the bench who can play the post. De Sousa suffered a 12-game suspension due to the fight, but McCormack got two games. He’s more valuable, averaging seven and a half points and just under five rebounds in over 16 minutes a game.
As a result, the only post player for them in this game will be their star center, Udoka Azubuike. Tennessee basketball will likely try to exploit that with John Fulkerson and the emergence of Plavsic and Olivier Nkamhoua. Yves Pons can be a force too with his athleticism.
Rick Barnes is tied with Tom Izzo for the most wins against Self, as they each have seven. However, Self largely owned Barnes when he was with the Texas Longhorns in the Big 12, so this matchup certainly favors Self. A win here would be huge for the Vols, though, as they continue to try to build an NCAA Tournament resume.
Up next for them is a home game against the Texas A&M Aggies, then they have a brutal stretch with back to back road games against the Mississippi State Bulldogs and Alabama Crimson Tide before returning home to hoe the No. 15 ranked Kentucky Wildcats. Simply put, the upcoming slate is about to really test them, and it starts with this game.