Tennessee basketball to join blue blood, new blood at Mohegan Sun
Three schools that were prominent high-profile opponents of Tennessee basketball during the programs rise under Rick Barnes will now join the Vols at a tournament in the 2021-2022 season. Two of them are among the elites of the college basketball world.
Mike Wilson of the Knoxville News Sentinel reported Wednesday that a source confirmed UT will take part in the Hall of Fame Tip-Off at Mohegan Sun Casino & Resort Uncasville, Conn. next season, which generally takes place one of the weekends around the Thanksgiving holiday. Joining them will be the North Carolina Tar Heels, Villanova Wildcats and Purdue Boilermakers.
Technically, this is still not official, as there is still no confirmation from the event itself online. However, Wilson’s confirmation comes a year and a half after college basketball insider Jon Rothstein tweeted out the same report, so it’s safe to assume it’s happening.
Sources: North Carolina, Villanova, Purdue, and Tennessee will headline the 2021 Hall-of-Fame Tip Off at Mohegan Sun.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) November 13, 2019
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There is plenty of recent history between Tennessee basketball and these schools. All of them played the Vols in the 2017-2018 season, the first year Rocky Top reached the NCAA Tournament with Barnes at the helm.
That season, an unranked UT upset the the No. 18 ranked Purdue Boilermakers in the Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament around Thanksgiving 2017, which was seen as the program’s arrival under Barnes. A day later, they lost by nine to the No. 5 ranked Villanova Wildcats. They then lost by five to the No. 7 ranked North Carolina Tar Heels nearly a month later.
Obviously, Villanova won the title that year. One year before that, UNC won the title, and the Vols lost to them that year as well. They fell by two on the road. In 2019, Rocky Top fell to Purdue in overtime in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament but would have won in regulation if not for a late, controversial foul call.
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Simply put, the Vols have connections with all of these schools. UNC is a blue blood and the flagship school of the state Barnes is from. Villanova is a new blood. Purdue marked the arrival and the end of the Grant Williams era with Tennessee basketball. As a result, this tournament should be intriguing.