No. 1 Tennessee will return to the court after the Christmas break for a New Year’s Eve showdown before SEC play begins just a few days later.
Rick Barnes’ Volunteers are 12-0 on the season and will host Norfolk State on Tuesday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. ET in the final non-conference game before SEC play begins next Saturday.
The Vols found their 12th win of the season with a comeback victory against MTSU in a Christmas Eve Eve battle from Knoxville as Tennessee rallied from a six-point halftime deficit for a comfortable 18-point win to head into the holiday break.
The Norfolk State Spartans are 8-6 overall this year but have struggled on the road with a 3-5 record.
Following the NYE non-conference clash in Knoxville, the Vols will officially begin SEC play on Saturday, Jan. 4, with an intriguing conference opener.
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The Vols will welcome No. 23 Arkansas (10-2) to the Food City Center at 1:00 p.m. ET next Saturday to kick off the SEC slate. That conference opener will not only represent John Calipari’s first trip to Knoxville since leaving Kentucky but will also serve as former Tennessee forward Jonas Aidoo’s return to Rocky Top after leaving through the transfer portal last spring.
Calipari was 10-11 against Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes during his time in Lexington but will look to write a new record with the Razorbacks starting on Saturday. While Arkansas isn’t on the same rivalry level as Kentucky for the Tennessee fanbase, it’s not hard to imagine that Vol fans will have plenty to shout about as soon as Calipari’s name is announced inside the arena.
Needing to rebuild a roster at Arkansas over the offseason quickly, Calipari turned to former Vol Jonas Aidoo as an incoming big man to help get things going in his first year in Fayetteville. The 6-foot-11 graduate senior signed with the Razorbacks on April 29 this past spring.
In 18 games at the Food City Center last season, Aidoo averaged 12.4 points per game on 51.9 percent shooting from the floor to go along with 7.5 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game.
Arkansas’s two losses this season are at the hands of Baylor and Illinois, two programs that Tennessee has toppled this season already:
- 11/9 – Baylor 72, Arkansas 67
- 11/22 – Tennessee 77, Baylor 62
- 11/28 – Illinois 90, Arkansas 77
- 12/14 – Tennessee 66, Illinois 64
Stay tuned to Rocky Top Insider for more Tennessee basketball news as the SEC slate quickly approaches.
