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Tennessee basketball in two of Dickie V’s top non-conference games

By Caleb Calhoun

Dick Vitale asks for your support during the press conference at the 16th Annual Dick Vitale Gala held at the Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota, Friday evening May 7, 2021.Flsar 050921 Sp Gala 01
Dick Vitale asks for your support during the press conference at the 16th Annual Dick Vitale Gala held at the Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota, Friday evening May 7, 2021.Flsar 050921 Sp Gala 01 /
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It’s no secret that Tennessee basketball has a brutal non-conference schedule this year, and that’s on top of a tough SEC schedule given how much better the conference is getting. Still, the Vols’ slate outside of the league is drawing attention.

In a list of everything to be excited about for the 2021-2022 college basketball season by Dick Vitale of ESPN, two of UT’s non-conference games made the analyst’s list of top 16 non-conference games to watch this year. One is when the Vols visit the Texas Longhorns. The other is when they face the Villanova Wildcats.

Texas hosts Tennessee basketball in January as part of the SEC/Big 12 challenge. Meanwhile, UT faces Villanova as part of the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament in Connecticut in November. Here’s what Vitale said about each of them.

"Rick Barnes returns to Austin to face his former team.…In the other first-round meeting of the Hall of Fame event, Vols diaper dandy point guard Kennedy Chandler is up against an experienced foe in Collin Gillespie and the Wildcats."

Another game to make Vitale’s list was the North Carolina Tar Heels against the Purdue Boilermakers, which is the other Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament game in Uncasville, Conn. the weekend before Thanksgiving. UT will face one of those teams the day after facing Villanova, depending on who wins and loses each of those games.

Of course, Vitale could have picked from lots of non-SEC games the Vols are playing in this year. After all, they still have an imposing matchup against the Memphis Tigers now, which could be a battle of two top 10 teams. Vitale missed that one, as he was there in 2008 when UT-Memphis was a No. 2 vs. No. 1 matchup.

There are plenty of other imposing foes for Rocky Top as well, including the Colorado Buffaloes, the Arizona Wildcats and the Texas Tech Red Raiders. It’s safe to say that Barnes didn’t run from any talent this year, and he never really does.

Simply put, Tennessee basketball has a loaded schedule, and that’s something that should serve them well come NCAA Tournament time. However, navigating it with such a young team could prove to be very tricky.

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