Tennessee basketball cancelation vs. Memphis hurts Tigers more than Vols

Honestly, Tennessee basketball may have dodged a bullet. It wasn’t a dodge in terms of having to play quality teams. The Vols and Rick Barnes are always willing to do that, as they will face the No. 8 ranked Arizona Wildcats next Wednesday.

However, they dodged a bullet not having to play a good team who isn’t good on paper, meaning winning the game would do nothing for them. That’s exactly what the Memphis Tigers are. Saturday’s game between the two at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn. was canceled due to a COVID outbreak within the Memphis program.

The cancelation happened one hour before tipoff. Sure, Tennessee basketball fans who made the trip and anybody who cares about this series is upset. They could be more upset based on a rumor Grant Ramey of GoVols247 hinted at with a tweet about Memphis players going out the night before, which may have caused this.

Even more upsetting to people who care about this series is that Rick Barnes said afterward, according to Ramey, that there is no way the game can be made up this year. Given the schedule of the two teams, he’s right. From a basketball sense, it’s not good that this game was canceled. This is the second straight year the game had to be canceled.

Let’s be clear, though. Memphis needed this more than the Vols. Based on the state of both programs this season, Penny Hardaway just lost a huge opportunity. After four straight losses, his team seemed to be getting back on track with a quality win Tuesday, dominating the No. 6 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide 92-78 at home.

That improved Memphis to 6-4 and suggested they could return to where they were in the preseason. Beating another top 20 team Saturday in the Vols would have given them the respect back that they think they deserve.

Without playing this game, though, their chances at quality wins to make up for that losing streak are diminishing. They now have to get ready for AAC play, and that just won’t present the same number of opportunities. Playing a team like Tennessee basketball was crucial for them.

On the other side, the Vols have plenty more opportunities at quality wins. We mentioned Arizona on Wednesday. They will also face the Texas Longhorns in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge in January. Then there is SEC play itself.

UT gets to face Alabama, the LSU Tigers twice, the Kentucky Wildcats twice, the Arkansas Razorbacks twice and the Auburn Tigers. That’s eight games against teams currently ranked in the top 25 plus their games against Texas and Arizona. So they have 10 games left against teams currently ranked.

As a result, Memphis hurt itself by having this game canceled due to protocols within its own program. Tennessee basketball doesn’t need this game, and based on what Hardaway’s team has done so far this year, the Vols had more to lose from it than gain.

Now, at 8-2, Rocky Top can focus solely on Arizona, and they have a little bit of extra time to prepare for the game. That’s a more intriguing matchup for them anyway, so if you’re worried about the program, don’t lose sleep over this one. Of course, if you made the trip to Nashville and had weekend plans around this, then yes, you should be upset.