Tennessee basketball heads up to the Mecca to face Miami in the first of two Jimmy V Classic games on Tuesday night.
The Vols are the newly minted No. 1 team in the country and are looking to stay unbeaten on the season in their first of two critical matchups this week.
Here’s everything to know about the matchup between power five foes.
More From RTI: What Tennessee Basketball Said About Being The New No. 1 Team In The Country
How To Watch — No. 1 Tennessee (8-0, 0-0 SEC) vs Miami (3-6, 0-1 ACC)
- Start Time: 6:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. CT
- Location: Madison Square Garden
- Stream ESPN. PxP: Dan Shulman. CC: Jay Bilas. Sideline: Jess Sims
- Online Streaming: WatchESPN
- Radio (Knoxville): The Vol Network/The Vol Network App
Betting Lines
- Tennessee -16.5 Miami
- Over/under: 144.5
- Tennessee -16 Miami
- Over/under: 146
Probable Starters
Miami (via UM Game Notes):
What Tennessee HC Rick Barnes Said About The Hurricanes
On facing a Miami team that’s been good offensively
“Well, I think every game I get excited to see if we can carry over what we’ve tried to do in practice. And we know that Miami— I’ve known Jim Larranega a long time, a terrific coach. And they’ve struggled, but every coach knows it just takes a 40-minute game to turn things around and get you going in the right direction. And he’s been around a long time, a lot of experience. And he’ll have his guys ready and he’s always been— his team’s offensively have always been explosive. I would say they’re a team that plays offense as opposed to running offense. They really play it. And he puts five guys out there that, he has a great unique way of putting guys in positions where they can be effective.”
Team Statistics (via KenPom)
Tennessee:
Miami:
Tennessee:
Points: Chaz Lanier — 18.8 PPG, 47.3 FG%, 47.7 3PT%
Rebounds: Igor Milicic — 7.1 RPG, 5.1 DRPG, 2 ORPG
Assists: Zakai Zeigler — 7.9 APG, 3.5 TOPG, 33 MPG
Miami:
Points: Nijel Pack — 14.1 PPG, 46 FG%, 37.5 3PT%
Rebounds: Brandon Johnson — 8 RPG, 6 DRPG, 2 ORPG
Assists: Nijel Pack — 4.6 APG, 1.3 TOPG, 30.9 MPG
Last Five Games
Tennessee:
- 96-70 win versus Syracuse
- 78-35 win versus UT Martin
- 77-62 win versus Baylor (Bahamas)
- 64-42 win against Virginia (Bahamas)
- 103-68 win versus Austin Peay
Miami:
- 66-55 loss versus Clemson
- 76-73 loss versus Arkansas
- 83-79 loss versus Charleston Southern
- 77-70 loss against VCU (Charleston)
- 80-74 loss against Oklahoma State (Charleston)
Prediction
In its first game as the new No. 1 team in the country, Tennessee heads up to New York City to face a struggling Miami. The Hurricanes have lose five straight games but led late in the second half of home losses against Clemson and Arkansas last week.
Miami has some talented players and its offensive numbers have been good this season. Tennessee has to be locked in on the defensive end but they rarely have any issues with that.
The Hurricanes are truly terrible on the defensive end. If there was ever a game for Tennessee to overcome the Spalding Legacy shooting woes in the Jimmy V Classic games, this is the one.
Tennessee 80, Miami 62
