A top-10 showdown and a Rick Barnes reunion on tap as Texas takes on No. 4 Tennessee

Danny Davis, Austin American-Statesman
·1 min read
5

No. 10 Texas at No. 4 Tennessee

5 p.m. Saturday, Thompson-Boling Arena (Knoxville, Tenn.)

TV/radio: ESPN/104.9

About the series: Texas leads 4-3. The Longhorns recorded a 52-51 win in Austin last year as part of the same Big 12/SEC Challenge that these two teams are participating in this weekend.

About the Longhorns: Texas is 2-0 against top-10 teams in the Associated Press poll. Earlier this season, UT earned 93-74 and 72-67 wins over No. 2 Gonzaga and No. 7 Creighton. ... Fifth-year forward Brock Cunningham scored a career-high 15 points in Tuesday's 89-75 win over Oklahoma State. ... This is the best 20-game start for Texas since it also went 17-3 over the first 20 games of the 2010-11 campaign. ... Carr has scored at least 20 points six times this season. Tennessee has allowed only three 20-point performances this season.

About the Volunteers: Barnes compiled a 402-180 record as Texas' head coach from 1998 to 2015. Terry was an assistant coach for him during nine of those seasons. ... Zeigler was placed on the watch list for the Naismith defensive player of the year award this week. Tennessee has the No. 1 scoring defense in the country. ... Phillips is the reigning SEC freshman of the week. ... Tennessee draws 17,519 fans per game, the fifth-best average in the nation. Tennessee has gone 9-1 at home, and the Volunteers were last beaten in Knoxville by a nonconference opponent during the 2019-20 season.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas men's basketball preview: Horns, Vols set for nonconference tilt