Vols Gear Up For Showdown Against Texas in Second Round of the Big Dance

March 22, 2024

Rick Nyman,

(utsports.com) CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Coming off a dominant rout of Saint Peter’s in the Round of 64 Thursday night, the sixth-ranked and No. 2 seed Tennessee men’s basketball team is set to take on No. 7 seed Texas in the NCAA Tournament’s second round Saturday night at Spectrum Center in Charlotte. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET.

Fans can catch Saturday’s game between the Vols (25-8) and Longhorns (21-12) on CBS and News 12.

Brian Anderson (play-by-play), Jim Jackson (play-by-play) and Allie LaForce (analyst) will have the call.Thursday saw Tennessee defeat the Peacocks of Saint Peter’s, 83-49, earning a first-round NCAA Tournament vicotry for the third consecutive season. The Vols led wire-to-wire at Spectrum Center and got a game-best 23 points from fifth-year guard Dalton Knecht, who entered the top five on the program’s single-season scoring list. The triumph also served as the 200th for head coach Rick Barnes in his Tennessee tenure, making him the 19th coach ever to hit that number at two Division I schools.THE MATCHUP• Tennessee is 4-4 all-time against Texas, including 3-2 over the last five matchups. This is the third straight season the sides have met and the first postseason affair ever between the two.• Rick Barnes, who served as the head coach at Texas for 17 years (1998-2015), is 3-3 in games between Texas and Tennessee. He went 2-2 with the Longhorns and is 1-1 with the Volunteers.• Texas head coach Rodney Terry worked for Rick Barnes as an assistant from 2002-11, while assistant coach Frank Haith did so from 2001-04 and fellow assistant Chris Ogden did so from 2008- 16 (seven years at Texas, one at Tennessee). All three are among the 13 former Barnes assistants who became head coaches.• Texas, which tied for seventh in the Big 12, is making its fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and has its third 20- win season in a row.• Graduate student guard Max Abmas, a Second Team All-Big 12 selection, leads Texas with 17.0 ppg and 4.2 apg.