Tennessee basketball at Texas: Live stream, broadcast info, line, odds, prediction
Rick Barnes returns to the place where he spent 17 years as a head coach, but this time he’ll do it while patrolling the sidelines for Tennessee basketball. The Vols will visit Austin Saturday to take on the Texas Longhorns in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge.
From 1998 to 2015, Barnes was head coach at Texas. He won three Big 12 championships, reached the NCAA Tournament 16 out of 17 times and made it to five Sweet Sixteens, three Elite Eights and a Final Four in 2003. However, he was fired in 2015, which is when the Vols hired him.
Texas is on its second head coach since firing Barnes. They are led by first-year head coach Chris Beard, who replaces Shaka Smart. Beard is there after five years with the Texas Tech Red Raiders that included a Big 12 title and national championship game appearance in 2019. Here is all the information you need for Tennessee basketball’s matchup.
Austin, Texas. 534. Saturday, Jan. 29. 15-5 (5-3). 8 p.m. ET. 14-5 (5-3). Frank Erwin Center. 467
Broadcast info
- TV: ESPN
- Live stream: WatchESPN
- Radio: Vol Network; Longhorn Radio Network
- Listen online: UTSports; TexasSports.com
Gambling odds according to WynnBET
- Line: Texas -3.5
- Over/Under: 126.5
- Moneyline: Texas -170; Tennessee +145
Rocky Top comes into this battle ranked No. 18 in the AP Poll and No. 20 in the Coaches Poll while on a three-game winning streak. They most recently had an ugly comeback win to beat the Florida Gators 78-71 on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Texas comes in three spots out of the top 25 in the AP Poll and right at No. 25 in the Coaches Poll. However, they are on a two-game winning streak and coming off a solid 73-50 road victory over the TCU Horned Frogs.
Despite that win, the Longhorns have struggled against elite teams this year. Six of Beard’s10 rotational players, including three of his five starters, are transfers. To be fair, the other four players are all returning starters, so there is some experience, but getting these guys to gel has been a bit complicated at times.
Smart left Texas after six-year run that included just three NCAA Tournament appearances and an NIT Championship. Last year, he did lead the Longhorns to the Big 12 Tournament Championship, but he has since taken the head coaching job with the Marquette Golden Eagles.
Although this is an SEC/Big 12 Challenge matchup, Tennessee basketball and the Longhorns will eventually face each other annually in conference play, as Texas and the Oklahoma Sooners are set to join the SEC by 2025. Assuming Barnes is still on Rocky Top, that means he’ll annually face his old program.
After this game, the Vols resume SEC play Tuesday, Feb. 1 against the Texas A&M Aggies. That will play SEC games the rest of the way. Texas, meanwhile, continues a tough slate of five straight top 25 games, starting with this one, then at Beard’s old team, Texas Tech on Tuesday, the Iowa State Cyclones next Saturday and finally the Kansas Jayhawks and Baylor Bears the following week.
Prediction
Wednesday was not a pretty run for Rocky Top. They committed far too many unforced turnovers and allowed Florida to score 17 points off them, which gave them the early lead. Texas is almost as good as Florida at generating steals, they are playing this game at home, and they are fully healthy. Oh, and they are starting to get on a roll.
Next. Remembering Vols' games vs. Barnes-led Texas. dark
That combined with the sense of urgency Texas has given what’s coming up is why they will likely beat Tennessee basketball. In fact, take Texas -3.5 on the spread. Their forced turnovers combined with the Vols’ second-half shooting to try to mount a comeback will result in this game also hitting the Over 126.5. The score will look something like this: Texas 71 Tennessee 65.