Tennessee basketball’s final non-conference game of the year is against Texas, and it will mark the first time Rick Barnes has faced his former employer since the Longhorns fired him and Tennessee hired him back in 2015.
Texas is 13-5 (3-3 in the Big 12), and, to this point, shares some overall similarities with this Vols’ team beyond just the schools’ initials.
Both teams have underachieved a bit relative to their preseason expectations, limped their early conference schedules and since rebounded with multiple-game winning streaks. Texas has a top-10 defense, doesn’t shoot the 3 exceedingly well and has bolstered it’s win-loss record with dubs against largely inferior teams while faring sub-standard against more quality opponents.