All for Tennessee
Fansided

Tennessee basketball: Memphis game in Nashville moved to 2021-2022

By Caleb Calhoun

NASHVILLE, TN - APRIL 09: Bridgestone Arena is bathed in blue light on April 09, 2020 in Nashville, Tennessee. Landmarks and buildings across the nation are displaying blue lights to show support for health care workers and first responders on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images)
NASHVILLE, TN - APRIL 09: Bridgestone Arena is bathed in blue light on April 09, 2020 in Nashville, Tennessee. Landmarks and buildings across the nation are displaying blue lights to show support for health care workers and first responders on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

The Tennessee basketball Volunteers and Tigers at Bridgestone Arena have a new date set.

As the schedule continues to be finalized for 2020-2021, it looks like Tennessee basketball won’t be making up its scheduled game with the Memphis Tigers at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn. this year. That game is now moving to next season.

Reports came out Monday that a new date was set for that showdown. The 28th meeting in this rivalry between the two schools on opposite sides of the state will now take place on Saturday, Dec. 18, 2021. It will still be a neutral site game in Nashville, though.

According to the article on UTSports, the reason for the postponement was due to the idea from both programs that the game should be played in a sold-out arena. Obviously, due to the pandemic, Tennessee basketball and Memphis would not be able to do that this year.

Rick Barnes and Penny Hardaway renewed this rivalry in the 2018-2019 season. Next year’s matchup will be the third in a three-game deal the two agreed to, with one game in Memphis, one in Knoxville and one in Nashville.

So far, the two have split their meetings, with the road team winning both times. UT beat Memphis at the FedEx Forum in 2018, and the Tigers rebounded to win at Thompson-Boling Arena in 2019.

That 2018 matchup was the first between the two schools since 2013, as then-Tiger head coach Josh Pastner had decided to end the series. At the time, they had played each other every year from the 2005-2006 season to the 2012-2013 season, even facing off twice in the 2011-2012 season. Rocky Top leads the all-time series 15-12.

Next. Ranking 10 Vol basketball coaches to last five years. dark

In 2019, the two schools met with both teams in the top 25 for only the second time ever. The first was the famous No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup in Memphis in 2008, when Tennessee basketball pulled off a 66-62 win to earn its first No. 1 ranking in school history the next week.

Home/Vols Basketball