Tennessee basketball is entering week two of the SEC schedule with its game against Texas. The Longhorns started conference play with two losses, while Tennessee split its first week with one win and one loss.
The Vols two games looked like two different teams in its first two games. They handled business against Arkansas and dominated its way to a 76-52 win. The Vols followed that performance with a complete dud, getting embarrassed by Florida and losing 73-43 in its first road game of the conference schedule.
After splitting the first two, Tennessee comes into its third SEC game as the favorite. Tennessee was underdogs against Florida, but the Vols will be 5.5-point favorites against Texas, and the over/under is set at 135.5 points, according to Fanduel.
Rebounding on the road
The BasketVols looked like the football program going on the road, which is notorious for laying eggs in primetime road games in the Josh Heupel era. It will be hard to win on the road this year in the SEC, and Tennessee will face another challenge on the road with Texas on deck.
Tennessee is going to have to find easy, high-percentage shots early and make them to build some early momentum. Tennessee only made four shots in the first half against Florida; if they repeat that effort, it might be another long night for the Vols.
Texas isn't nearly as talented as Florida, but the Longhorns are plenty good enough to take advantage of Tennessee's poor offense if the Vols lay another dud. Texas took Auburn and Texas A&M down to the wire but were unable to pull out the win, so they are dying for their first conference win of the year.
Tennessee has one big advantage over the Longhorns—bench production. Texas has struggled to get production from its bench, while Tennessee has proven to go eight or nine deep. The Vols can rely on any of those players, depending on the night.
It's unrealistic to expect everyone to play their best in every game, but Tennessee can't afford to have everyone struggle on both ends of the court the way they did against Florida. Tennessee has plenty of depth, and Rick Barnes will have to use it to manufacture momentum and get the Vols going throughout the first half.
Tennessee has also quickly proven that the team that dominates the rebound advantage will likely dominate the game. To get back on the right track, they have to come into this game with an emphasis on the boards.
Expect another close game, Texas's third straight. Neither of Tennessee's SEC games has been close, so we will likely see how the Vols respond when the game comes down to the wire. However, if it results similarly to previous close non-conference games, the Vols will pull away in the final minutes.
Tennessee and Texas are scheduled to tip off at 6:00 PM ET on Saturday night as part of ESPN's full college basketball slate. The Vols and Longhorns will be broadcast on ESPN and streaming in the ESPN App from the Moody Center in Austin, Texas.