The Official #6 Tennessee @ #7 Texas A&M Game Thread, 12:00 PM ET

#1
YankeeVol

YankeeVol

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#1
#6 Tennessee Volunteers: 21-5 (8-5 SEC)
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#7 Texas A&M Aggies: 20-6 (9-4 SEC)
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GAME 27 | TENNESSEE at TEXAS A&M - Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025 | 12 p.m. ET | Bryan-College Station, Texas | Reed Arena (12,989)


Line: UT -1.5
O/U: 130.5

TV: ESPN / Watch
Radio: Vol Network / Listen / Live Stats
Satellite Radio: SiriusXM: 160 & 191
Online: WatchESPN.com


Texas A&M Game Notes

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#2
#2
THE MATCHUP

• After they were unranked for the first 11 series meetings, this is the ninth time in the last 10 the Volunteers are ranked. They were 6-2 in the prior eight.
• This is the third time Tennessee is facing a ranked Texas A&M team, including its first time playing a top-20 Aggies side. Just one prior series meeting, a 68-63 road defeat on 2/21/23, featured both teams in the AP top 25, but neither were in the top 10.
• UT's 86-51 home win over Texas A&M on 2/24/24 in the most recent meeting between the two sides was the largest margin of victory either way in series history.
• Rick Barnes' 43 matchups with Texas A&M are his most versus any foe. His 32 wins over the Aggies are his second-most, trailing just his 33 against Texas Tech.
• Coming off a 21-15 (9-9) campaign in 2023-24 that included an NCAA Round of 32 bid, the Aggies were fifth in the SEC preseason poll.
• Senior guard Wade Taylor IV, a Preseason First Team All-SEC pick, leads Texas A&M with 14.9 ppg and 4.5 apg.
 
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#3
#3
NEWS & NOTES

• The Volunteers' last non-home victory over Texas A&M was a 65- 50 decision on 3/13/22 in Tampa, Fla., in the SEC Tournament final, giving Tennessee its fifth such crown and first since 1979.
• This is UT's fourth AP top-eight matchup in SEC play this season. It had six such previous clashes in program history, with two each in 2018-19, 1980-81 and 1967-68.
• The Volunteers are playing before noon local time for the second time in 15 days. They earned a 70-52 victory in an 11 a.m. CT tip 2/8/25 at Oklahoma. UT is 5-7 in Rick Barnes' tenure when tip-off is before noon local time.
• Texas A&M is one of 14 schools Rick Barnes has defeated with three different teams, alongside Appalachian State, Mercer, Miami (four), Missouri, North Carolina, UNC Asheville (four), NC State, Seton Hall, South Carolina, Wake Forest, West Virginia, Western Carolina and Wofford.
• Texas A&M is the seventh AP top- 15 team Tennessee is playing in a nine-game span, including the third ranked in the top seven.
• With 827 DI wins, Rick Barnes is one behind John Calipari for the most among active coaches and for a top-10 all-time position.
• Zakai Zeigler has 659 assists, fifth-most in SEC history. He is five behind Alabama's Terry Coner (664 from 1983-87) for fourth. In addition, Zeigler's 187 assists this year put him five shy of Johnny Darden (192 in 1977-78) for fifth on UT's single-season list.
• Felix Okpara (47) is three blocks away from the 13th 50-block season in UT history, while Chaz Lanier (86) is three made 3-pointers from No. 10 on the program's single-season list (89).
• The Volunteers have earned a top- 10 position in 32 of the 37 AP Poll releases over the last two seasons, including a top-eight spot in 28 of the past 31 releases.
• Tennessee's 192 victories over the last eight seasons (2017-25) rank co-ninth in DI, alongside Liberty. Only Gonzaga (234), Houston (230), Duke (208), Kansas (208), Purdue (201), Saint Mary's (195), San Diego State (195) and Auburn (194) possess more.
 
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#4
#4
TOP-TIER TRIUMPHS

• Tennessee is 40-41 (.494) against AP top-25 foes under Rick Barnes, including 24-14 (.632) in its past 38 such games (since 1/22/22).
• The Volunteers are 34-33 (.507) versus AP top-20 teams in Barnes' tenure, including 20-10 (.667) in their last 30 such affairs (since 1/22/22).
• UT is 26-26 (.500) against AP top-15 teams in the Barnes era, including 19-9 (.679) in its last 28 such games (since 12/22/21).
• The Vols own a 14-15 (.483) record versus AP top-10 foes under Barnes, including a 12-9 (.571) mark in their last 21 such contests (since 3/2/19) and a 9-6 (.600) tally in their last 15 (since 12/22/21).
• UT is 10-9 (.526) against AP top-five opponents in Barnes' tenure, including 6-4 (.600) in its last 10 such affairs (since 2/15/22). It is 8-2 (.800) versus AP top-five SEC teams, including 7-1 (.875) in its last seven such outings (since 3/2/19).
 
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#5
#5
SHOOTING TO SUCCEED

• Over the last four seasons (2021-25), Tennessee is 44-8 (.846) when hitting double-digit 3-pointers in a game, including 27-3 (.900) at home.
• During Rick Barnes' first six seasons on Rocky Top, 2015-16 to 2020-21, Tennessee was a strong 20-12 (.625) in such games, including 12-3 (.800) at home, but the last four years have been even better.
 
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#6
#6
A SUPERB SIGN

• Tennessee is 131-15 (.897) under Rick Barnes when holding its opponent to 39.0 percent or worse field- goal shooting, including 72-8 (.900) when its foe shoots 35.0 or below. The Volunteers are a perfect 26-0 (1.000) in Barnes' tenure when holding their opponent to a field-goal clip of 30.0 or under.
 
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#8
#8
I don't like vols chances if Okpara misses today given how important protecting the paint and cleaning up the boards are against TAM. If Okpara plays the game comes down to rebounds and how many fouls TAM gets.
 
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#11
#11
Okpara’s availability and how the game’s officiated are my 2 biggest keys today. Need rebounding and rim protection. If the refs are calling fouls on every wild drive in the paint then that hurts us also. A&M’s style is designed around guard penetration and offensive rebounding. Unless they get crazy hot from 3, if we stay in front of their guards and limit them to one shot and we will have a great chance to win. JMO
 
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#12
#12
Vols fan in Aggieland. The consensus is that the Aggies had a bad game against Mississippi State, and should bounce back today, much like Tennessee against Florida. First one to 50 wins the game.
 
#15
#15
walkenvol said:
Okpara’s availability and how the game’s officiated are my 2 biggest keys today. Need rebounding and rim protection. If the refs are calling fouls on every wild drive in the paint then that hurts us also. A&M’s style is designed around guard penetration and offensive rebounding. Unless they get crazy hot from 3, if we stay in front of their guards and limit them to one shot and we will have a great chance to win. JMO
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Agreed. If the refs are calling it close then it will be a foul fest. Both teams get very physical in the paint. Really need Okpara out there for rim protection and I bet he will. He’s been dealing with this issue for 3 weeks but has played any way. I assume he will today too
 
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#19
#19
I don't expect a win but will be pleasantly surprised if so. A&M should win this game at home. These tough road games against really good opponents are the reason why you can't afford to lose to KY at home. Furthermore, letting the vandy and Auburn games slip away on the road took away what would have been a nice buffer to protect against other road losses. Oh well, Vols are capable but haven't played well enough on the road to feel good about it.
 
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#20
#20
Clad in Big Orange said:
I don't expect a win but will be pleasantly surprised if so. A&M should win this game at home. These tough road games against really good opponents are the reason why you can't afford to lose to KY at home. Furthermore, letting the vandy and Auburn games slip away on the road took away what would have been a nice buffer to protect against other road losses. Oh well, Vols are capable but haven't played well enough on the road to feel good about it.
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You can never feel comfortable with their Jekyll and Hyde shooting technique.
 
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