We have finally reached the week of the year dedicated to matchups between the Big 12 and the SEC. The two conferences produce several tournament challengers, but the Longhorns may have the biggest opportunity of any participating team.
The No. 10 Texas Longhorns travel to face the No. 4 Tennessee Volunteers in what could define where Texas lands in the NCAA Tournament bracket. The Longhorns already have resume boosting wins over Gonzaga and TCU, but another nonconference victory over a top 10 team would go a long way toward a Top 3 seed.
Tennessee brings back many of the same characters from Texas’ 52-51 win last season in Austin. Santiago Vescovi, Zakai Zeigler, Josiah Jordan-James and Uros Plavsic would figure to have a significant role in the outcome of the game.
The above players, though solid, don’t necessarily create matchup problems Texas faces in Big 12 play. Plavsic certainly has a decided height advantage on Longhorns bigs. Even so, Rodney Terry’s team could secure a huge road win over Tennessee.
Here’s a look at the matchups set for Saturday.