The Volunteers are back in action.
After getting the midweek off, Tennessee is back in action tonight in Nashville. The Volunteers will be taking on the Vanderbilt Commodores in the always-tricky Memorial Gym. This group learned how tricky it could be last year, when Vandy nailed a three to beat Tennessee at the buzzer.
The Vols, now ranked fifth in the nation, will be looking for some payback tonight. Their reloaded roster features Dalton Knecht, who may be hotter than any other player in the country right now. 25 points in four straight, including outings of 36 and 39, have pushed Knecht into the National Player of the Year conversation.
Vanderbilt isn’t having the same success this year. They’re winless in SEC play and 5-13 overall — they might just be the worst power five team out there this year. Despite all of that, the ‘Dores have been decently competitive. They nearly knocked off Memphis on the road, then kept Alabama within three at home a couple of games later.
“Just dynamic backcourt play,” Rick Barnes said of Vanderbilt. “I mean, maybe as good a back court combination as there is in the league. And you all know the respect that I have from Coach Stackhouse and the way he builds his program, and he’s had some tough luck, obviously. But when I look at it, someone was asking me the other day about him and I was just talking about one, he has great schemes. Really a lot of really good schemes.”
KenPom ranks Vanderbilt a staggering 189th overall, while Tennessee has climbed up to No. 3 in the metric. KenPom projects a 17 point win for the Volunteers tonight.
How to watch Tennessee vs. Vanderbilt
Location: Nashville, Tennessee
TV Channel: SEC Network
Time: 6 p.m. ET
Streaming: Watch ESPN, ESPN App
Odds: Tennessee -13.5