On Dec. 13, 1968, Tennessee defeated Oklahoma 55-49 in the now-defunct Volunteer Classic held inside the Stokely Athletic Center.
That has been the basketball history between the Volunteers and Sooners until now.
Tennessee and Oklahoma will play for the first time as Southeastern Conference counterparts Saturday (noon Eastern on ESPN), when the No. 4 Vols (19-4, 6-4 SEC) challenge the Sooners (16-6, 3-6) inside the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman. Vols 10th-year coach Rick Barnes is quite capable of providing directions in and around that facility, having faced Oklahoma 40 times during his 17 seasons at Texas that preceded his current stint in Knoxville.
Barnes led the Longhorns to a 21-19 record in that former Big 12 rivalry.
This season’s Sooners raced out to a 13-0 record by compiling nonconference triumphs over Arizona, Louisville, Georgia Tech, Oklahoma State and Michigan, and they were among the last three undefeated Division I men’s basketball teams this winter along with Tennessee and Florida. Though they have taken some lumps in league play, including losing 98-70 at top-ranked Auburn on Tuesday, they’ve also had impressive wins, most notably last weekend’s 97-67 rout of visiting Vanderbilt.
“I have no doubt in my mind that they will be as competitive as any team we play this year,” Barnes said Friday in a news conference.
Oklahoma boasts one of the nation’s top freshmen, with guard Jeremiah Fears averaging 15.9 points per game. The 6-foot-4, 182-pounder from Joliet, Illinois, will be looking to rebound from the blowout at Auburn, when he went just 1-of-8 from the floor and committed five turnovers.
“He’s got good size and sees the floor well,” Barnes said. “Their staff has done a good job of putting him in the positions he needs to be in to be effective.”
The Vols are seeking their fourth consecutive 20-win season — they have won at least 25 games each of the past three — and will be on the road for the first time since their 53-51 loss at Auburn on Jan. 25. Four of Tennessee’s next five games will be away from the Food City Center, which includes Tuesday’s date at Kentucky.
Tennessee gets its midweek break between next Saturday’s home game against Vanderbilt and a Feb. 22 trip to Texas A&M.
“You’ve got to do what you’ve got to do,” Vols senior forward Igor Milicic Jr. said. “We’re not going to cry about it. We’re not going to be complaining about having to go on the road.
“We get to experience new arenas and hostile environments, but at the end of the day, we’ve got to play our ball.”
Hard to forget
The Sooners are in their fourth season under Porter Moser, who is still seeking his first NCAA tournament appearance with the program.
Moser came to Norman after a successful run at Loyola Chicago that was highlighted by a surprise run to the 2018 Final Four. In the round of 32 that year, Loyola eliminated Tennessee 63-62 on a Clayton Custer jumper with three seconds remaining.
Barnes was asked Friday what he remembered about that game.
“An uncontested shot at the elbow. That’s what I remember,” Barnes said. “They got an elbow jumper, and we didn’t contest it.”
Happy for Caldwell
Before discussing Saturday’s showdown, Barnes was asked about Tennessee women’s basketball coach Kim Caldwell racking up the biggest victory of her first season with the No. 19 Lady Vols’ 80-76 downing of No. 5 Connecticut inside the Food City Center on Thursday night.
“It’s so exciting, because they’ve been so close in some of those games,” Barnes said. “It’s just a great win over obviously a great program. The rivalry between UT and UConn has been special, and to keep it going, you need to win. It was just a great win for the Lady Vols and for all of us.
“I’m really happy for her, and I loved her comment after the game that she just wanted to go home and see her baby boy.”
Another sellout
Tennessee announced Friday that next weekend’s home game against Vanderbilt has sold out.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com.