Coming from a 78-65 defeat at LSU Tigers last Saturday, Tennessee basketball returns home on Wednesday for another rescheduled clash. The Vols will host the South Carolina Gamecocks in Knoxville, Tennessee, at the Thompson-Boling Arena on Wednesday.
Ranked 19th in AP Poll and 20th in Coaches Poll, Rick Barnes’ team was hit by a minor problem with COVID, which forced the initial game to be postponed to Tuesday. However, this problem has been fixed and both teams are ready to go.
Frank Martin’s USC team heads to Rocky Top in a three-game losing streak, all at home. Most recently, they fell to Ole Miss Rebels, and lost to Alabama Crimson Tide and Mississippi State Bulldogs before that. Here is all the information you need for your Tennessee basketball game.
Matchup
South Carolina Gamecocks Basketball
5-9 (3-7)
Tennessee Basketball volunteers
14-5 (7-5)
Wednesday, February 17
9 pm ET
SEC Network
Tennessee -12; Above / Below 143.5
Live broadcast: WatchESPN
Radio: Vol Network; Gamecock Radio Network
Listen online: UTSports; GamecocksOnline
More of All for Tennessee
In its ninth year under Martin’s command, South Carolina is still struggling to return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since reaching the Final Four in 2017. Last year’s 18-13 team had a chance before the pandemic hit. This year, however, the loss of three starters was difficult to make up for, which is why this team is struggling.
However, these guys only lost 85-80 at LSU in January, playing them much harder than the Vols. In addition, his last victory was against the Florida Gators, a team that beat UT by 26 points. Simply put, they are still dangerous, and given the level of inconsistency with which the Vols play, they can definitely be upset if they are not careful.
Yves Pons getting healthy and John Fulkerson restoring his elite offensive production can help. Last year, Fulkerson scored 25 points in the 63-61 loss to the USC at the Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, SC, a crucial game with implications for March Madness at the time. Is this the team that gets you back into shape now? We will find out.
Tennessee’s next basketball game after this game will be a rematch with the Kentucky Wildcats at home on Saturday. South Carolina, for its part, will continue its difficult phase having to host the Missouri Tigers on the same day.