The Official #1 Tennessee vs. West Virginia Game Thread, 4:00 PM ET, ESPN

#1
YankeeVol

YankeeVol

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#1
#1 Tennessee Volunteers: 17-1 (6-0 SEC)

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vs.

West Virginia Mountaineers: 9-10 (1-6 Big 12)

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GAME 19 | TENNESSEE vs. WEST VIRGINIA - Jan. 26, 2019 | 4:05 p.m. ET | | Thompson-Boling Arena (21,678)


Line: UT -14.5
O/U: 150


TV: ESPN
Radio: Vol Network
Satellite Radio: Sirius: 84, XM: 84
Online: WatchESPN.com


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#2
#2
THE SERIES

Tennessee trails the all-time series with West Virginia, 3-5, dating to 1958. This is the 196th meeting.

The Mountaineers have a 2-1 edge when the series is played in Knoxville.

Tennessee is 13-18 all-time against current members of the Big 12 Conference.
 
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#3
#3
A WIN WOULD...

Extend Tennessee's win streak to 14 games. That would be UT's longest win streak since the 1922-23 campaign, when the Vols opened the season with 14 straight victories from Jan. 8 through Feb. 20.

Stretch the Vols' home win streak to 20 games, dating to last season (this is the longest home win streak of the Barnes era).

Give UT an 11-game win streak in regular-season SEC games.

Give Tennessee a 4-1 record in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge.
 
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#4
#4
STORYLINES

Tennessee is aiming for its third straight win in the annual SEC/Big 12 Challenge.

This is Tennessee's best start to SEC play since it won its first eight league games in 1981-82.

The Volunteers received 48 of 64 first-place votes in this week's AP Top 25 poll. This is the second week in history that Tennessee has been ranked No. 1.

Wednesday at Vanderbilt, Grant Williams' 23-of-23 effort at the free-throw line marked the most makes without a miss in a Division I game since Oklahoma State's Arlen Clark went 24-for-24 60 years ago on March 7, 1959.

This is Rick Barnes' longest win streak since he led Texas to a 17-0 start to open the 2009-10 season.

The Vols have shot 50 percent or better in 13 games this season (and 10 of their last 13).

Tennessee has yet to face a double-digit deficit this season.
 
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#5
#5
LAYUPS

Grant Williams leads the SEC in scoring (20.3 ppg), ranks second in field-goal percentage (.569), ninth in assists (3.6 apg) and eighth in rebounding (7.5 rpg).

Admiral Schofield is the SEC's fifth-leading scorer (16.7 ppg), and is shooting .420 from 3-point range.

Williams and Schofield both earned a spot on the 25-man Wooden Award Midseason Watch List.

Point guard Jordan Bone owns the sixth-best assist/turnover ratio (3.83) in Division I and ranks 17th in the country in assists per game (6.4 apg).

Kyle Alexander is the SEC's third-leading rebounder during conference play, as he averages 9.2 rebounds per game.

During league play, SEC Sixth Man of the Year candidate Jordan Bowden ranks second on the team and eighth in the SEC with 16.3 points per game
 
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#6
#6
ABOUT WEST VIRGINIA

Tennessee is competing in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge for the fifth time, hosting West Virginia on Saturday, Jan. 26, to cap off its 2018-19 regular-season non-conference slate.

All-time, the Vols are 3-5 against West Virginia, including a 1-2 mark in Knoxville. The programs haven't met since Nov. 23, 2007, when the seventh-ranked Vols defeated the Mountaineers, 74-72, at the Legends Classic in Newark, New Jersey.

The matchup between the Vols and Mountaineers (9-10, 1-6 Big 12) pits two of the top active coaches in Division I in terms of career victories. West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins ranks fourth with 782 wins, while Rick Barnes ranks seventh with 678 triumphs during his career.

West Virginia lost its best player, junior forward Sagaba Konate (13.6 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 2.8 bpg), to injury in December. However, junior guard James Bolden and senior forward Esa Ahmad have stepped up in his absence.

Bolden leads the team in scoring (12.8 ppg), assists (2.6 apg) and steals (1.1 spg). He is second on the team in 3-pointers with 29 makes on the year.

Ahmad is an all-around player, leading the team in rebounding (5.6 rpg) and ranking second in scoring (12.3 ppg), assists (1.8 apg), steals (0.9 spg) and blocks (0.7 bpg).

Derek Culver (10.9 ppg, 8.3 rpg) missed the first part of the season before returning to the hardwood in December. The freshman forward also has helped to fill the missing role of Konate in the post while shooting at a 53-percent clip from the floor.
 
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#7
#7
SEC/BIG 12 CHALLENGE HISTORY

The Big SEC/Big 12 Challenge is in its sixth year. Tennessee is 3-1 in the event, as the Vols did not take part in the inaugural challenge.

Through five years, the SEC trails the challenge, 21-29.

Last season, UT posted a convincing 68-45 road win at State (1/28/17).

Tennessee's all-time record against current members of the Big 12 stands at 13-18. Fourth-year UT head coach Rick Barnes—who spent 17 seasons coaching in the Big 12 before transitioning to Knoxville prior to the 2015-16 campaign—owns a 159-95 record against current Big 12 teams and is 8-4 in his career against West Virginia.
 
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#24
#24
I was gonna drive down from Morgantown for this game, but ultimately decided a couple of weeks ago that it might not be too competitive. Hope I'm correct.
 
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