Vols Prepare For First Road Game as They Top SEC Season Against Mizzou

(utsports.com) COLUMBIA, Mo. – The seventh-ranked Tennessee basketball team opens up conference play and leaves Knoxville for the first time this season when it travels to No. 12 Missouri for a Wednesday night bout. Tipoff from Mizzou Arena is slated for 9 p.m. ET on SEC Network.

Last time out, UT dominated USC Upstate, 80-60. Tennessee was led by junior Victor Bailey Jr. who poured in a season-high-tying 18 points on a career-high-tying eight made field goals. Bailey currently leads the Vols in scoring and his .500 (30-60) field goal percentage ranks ninth in the SEC heading into conference play.

A victory on Wednesday would give the Vols their third consecutive victory at Mizzou Arena and make UT 3-3 in SEC openers during the Rick Barnes era.

A victory would also leave coach Barnes just three wins shy of tying Phog Allen and Don Haskins for 20th on the all-time Division I wins list.

Up next, the Vols will return home for a Saturday showdown with Alabama. The opening tap from Thompson-Boling Arena is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET on ESPN2.

THE SERIES
• Tennessee leads its all-time series with Missouri 9-7, dating to 1961. The Tigers own a 5-3 advantage when the series is contested in Columbia.
• The Volunteers have won three straight games against Mizzou—their longest win streak of the series.
• Vols head coach Rick Barnes is 4-1 in head-to-head meetings against teams coached by Cuonzo Martin.
• Tennessee has never opened SEC play against Missouri.

A WIN WOULD…
• Give the Vols three straight victories at Mizzou Arena.
• Make the Vols 3-3 in SEC openers during the Barnes era.
• Leave Rick Barnes three wins shy of tying Phog Allen and Don Haskins for 20th on the all-time Division I wins list.

LAYUP LINES
• Tennessee has won 78 percent of its games as a ranked team during the Rick Barnes era (61-17).
• Tennessee leading scorer Victor Bailey Jr. is the son of a Mizzou gridiron great.
• Tennessee assistant coach Kim English was a 1,500-point scorer and an All-Big 12 performer during his collegiate playing career at Mizzou from 2008-12. The Tigers won 107 games during the NBA Draft pick’s career.
• Cuonzo Martin coached the Vols for three seasons from 2011-14.
• Tennessee’s starting lineup this season has featured five left-handers. A survey of all Division I SIDs yielded no other team that has started five southpaws this year.
• The Vols celebrated Christmas together on campus, as the athletics department assisted in bringing families to Knoxville.

DEFENSE WINS
• Tennessee is tied with Ole Miss for the NCAA lead in scoring defense, allowing just 52.7 points per game.
• According to KenPom, the Vols rank third nationally and first in the SEC in adjusted defensive efficiency, allowing only 87.0 points per 100 possessions so far this season. College teams average close to 70 possessions per game.
• The Vols are forcing 17.7 turnovers per game while converting those turnovers into 19.7 points per game. Tennessee’s turnover margin stands at +7.5 (ninth nationally).
• Reigning SEC Defensive Player of the Year Yves Pons has 80 blocks in his last 37 games.
• Only once this season has a team made at least five consecutive field goal attempts against the Vols (Cincinnati made five).

ABOUT MISSOURI
• Missouri is off to a perfect 6-0 start this season and ranked No. 12 in both major polls. The Tigers have claimed early-season victories over then-21st-ranked Oregon, 83-75, and then-sixth-ranked Illinois, 81-78. Mizzou’s most recent win was a tight, one-point home affair, as the Tigers took down Bradley, 54-53.
• Fourth-year head coach Cuonzo Martin has Missouri off to its best six-game start since his arrival in Columbia in 2017. Martin’s squad returns four of its five regular starters and its top seven scorers from last season, as Mizzou hopes to capitalize on its experience to push forward following back-to-back 15-win seasons.
• Thus far, junior Xavier Pinson has led the way for Missouri in the scoring category, averaging 14.3 points per game, with his two largest scoring outputs coming in those victories over Oregon (22 points) and Illinois (17 points). Pinson has also dished out a team-high 3.7 assists through six games.
• In the frontcourt, Jeremiah Tilmon has shined. The senior from East St. Louis, Illinois, ranks fourth on the team in scoring with 8.2 points per game, and his 7.8 rebounds per game not only leads Mizzou, but ranks eighth in the SEC.
• On the defensive end, Dru Smith has been extremely active, ranking second on the team in blocks (0.7 bpg) and first in steals (1.8 spg). His 1.8 steals per game also ranks sixth in the SEC heading into conference play.
• The University of Missouri offers more than 300 degree programs in 13 academic major divisions, but may be best known for its Missouri School of Journalism. The program was founded in 1908 by Walter Williams as the world’s first journalism school.