On Saturday Tennessee Basketball travels to take on in-state rival Memphis, can the Volunteers continue their momentum? Here are three keys to victory.
On Saturday a red-hot Tennessee Basketball team travels to face their in-state rival Memphis a FedEx Forum. The No. 3 Volunteers are 7-1 and are coming off a thrilling 76-73 win over then No. 1 Gonzaga at the Air Force Reserve Jerry Colangelo Classic.
The win cements Coach Rick Barnes’ team as a legitimate national championship contender and coming off an SEC regular-season title and a heartbreaking one-point loss to Loyola (IL) in the NCAA Tournament, Tennessee is out to show that last season wasn’t the apex of their success.
For Memphis, the highlight of their offseason was hiring its most famous basketball alumnus, Penny Hardaway as the Tigers new head coach. The Tigers are 5-4 and have played just one true road game (Nov. 13 at LSU) and won’t play another one until the opening of conference play on Jan. 6. Their best win came over South Dakota State, but have struggled against higher-level competition like Texas Tech, Charleston and Oklahoma State.
This will be Tennessee’s first true road game of the season, but given that they have already faced No.1 Gonzaga, a No. 2 Kansas team they took to overtime, and Louisville on neutral floors, doing battle in enemy territory for the first time, against their biggest rival shouldn’t rattle this veteran-led squad.
For Tennessee to get over their last potential speed bump before conference plays, here are three keys that will lead Tennessee to a win over their rival and keep them riding high into the new year.