The Texas Longhorns may be Southeastern Conference basketball newcomers, but they are a very familiar foe to Tennessee.
When the top-ranked Volunteers visit Texas on Saturday (6 p.m. Eastern on ESPN), it will mark the fourth UT-versus-UT encounter in four seasons. The teams were paired for the Big 12/SEC Challenge during the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons, splitting those contests, and Tennessee prevailed 62-58 last March during an NCAA tournament round-of-32 game in Charlotte, North Carolina.
“After you play teams from one year to the next, they get new players, but their play style is the same,” Tennessee senior guard Jordan Gainey said Thursday in a news conference. “Last year, we didn’t make shots against them, but our defense really paved the way. Defense and rebounding helped us win that game.
“We have to rely on that every single night.”
Tennessee’s NCAA tourney triumph over Texas was by no means an instant classic, as the two teams combined to make 42 of 120 shots (35.0%) from the floor.