WHERE: Madison Square Garden

WHEN: 6:00 p.m.

WATCH IT ON: ESPN

SERIES HISTORY: The Red Raiders have faced the Volunteers just once on the hardwood, with Texas Tech posting an, 88-71, victory in Knoxville on Dec. 3, 1953.

CURRENT FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK ODDS: Tennessee -4.5 (OVER/UNDER): 139

The Volunteers are, 6-1, this season and have six returning players on their roster from last year. Tennessee has wins over UT Martin, 90-62, East Tennessee State, 94-62, North Carolina, 89-72, Tennessee Tech, 80-69, Presbyterian, 86-44, and Colorado, 69-54. Their only loss this season came in a neutral site game against Villanova, 71-53, in the Cheez-It Hall of Fame Tip-Off.

Tennessee was picked to finish fourth in the SEC Preseason Media Poll and are currently ranked 13th in the AP Top 25 Poll and 15th in the Coaches Poll. The Vols’ are, 7-8, all-time at Madison Square Garden and have a, 15-19, record against the current members of the Big 12 Conference.

Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes is in his seventh season at the helm and has a record of, 129-74, and is, 61-46, in SEC conference play. He’s led the Volunteers to three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances and made the Sweet Sixteen in 2019. Barnes was head coach at the University of Texas for 17 years and made the NCAA Tournament 16 times with the Longhorns. Barnes was, 33-4, against the Red Raiders during his career at Texas and is, 5-2, at Tennessee in the Big 12/SEC Challenge.

The Volunteers are averaging 80.1 points on 47.3 percent shooting and are shooting 36.2 percent from three-point range. They’re eighth in college basketball and lead the SEC with 18.9 assists per game. Tennessee is also 12th in assist-to-turnover ratio and leads the SEC with a 1.63 mark.

The five-star, true freshman point guard has made an immediate impact for the Volunteers this year. Chandler leads Tennessee in scoring and assists, putting up 16.1 points per game and dishing out 4.7 dimes per contest. His assists have led to 79 points for the Vols’ offense this year. Chandler’s is 20th in the nation with 2.43 steals per game and plays an aggressive brand of defense. He was one of 20 players and the only true freshman named to the preseason watch list for the Bob Cousy Award, given to the nation’s top point guard. Chandler was also named to the Wooden Award and Lute Olson National Player of the Year preseason watch lists. He was a McDonald’s and Sports Illustrated All-American last season at Sunrise Christian Academy in Kansas.

The junior shooting guard from Uruguay made the switch from being the Vols’ primary ball-handler the last two seasons to playing more off the ball this year. Vescovi has thrived in his new role and is second on the team in scoring and assists, averaging 15.1 points and 3 dimes per game. He leads Tennessee with 21 three-pointers and made a career high 6 threes in the season opener against UT-Martin. Vescovi was named to the 2021 Hall of Fame Tip-Off All-Tournament Team and averaged 20 points, 7.5 boards, and 3.5 three-pointers in two games against Villanova and North Carolina. He led the Vols’ last season in minutes played, assists and three-pointers made and was second in the SEC with a 1.6 assist-to-turnover ratio.

The super-senior power forward needs just four more appearances this season to break the UT record for career games played and needs only 74 points to reach the 1000-point career milestone. Fulkerson is averaging 8.5 points and 6 rebounds this season. He has good court vision for a big man and is third on the team with a 2.8 assists per game average. His 1.2 blocks per game is second on the team, and he provides solid rim protection for their starting unit. Fulkerson was named to the 2021 preseason All-SEC first team by the league’s coaches and received second team All-SEC honors for his efforts a season ago. He was one of 20 players to be named to the preseason watch list for the Karl Malone Award, given to the nation’s top power forward.

The Jimmy V Classic is finally upon us with the Red Raiders and the Volunteers set to tip off in the first game of tonight’s double header at MSG. Tennessee is coming off a 14-point victory over Colorado in their first true road game of the season, and Texas Tech is looking to rebound from a 4-point loss on the road to Providence. The Vols’ freshman phenom Kennedy Chandler posted a season high 27 points, and Santiago Vescovi added 13 points in the road win over the Buffalos. The Tennessee backcourt of Chandler and Vescovi are leading the Volunteers in scoring and are averaging 31.2 points, 7.8 boards and 7.7 assists per game while shooting 40.6 percent from behind the arc. Tennessee is a guard heavy roster and with their top two leading scorers standing 6-foot and 6-foot-3 respectively, the length of the Red Raiders could give the Vols’ dynamic duo some fits. Texas Tech’s physicality and size advantage could be a challenge for the Tennessee backcourt on the offensive and defensive ends of the floor.

Something’s got to give:

The Red Raider defense is averaging 19.29 forced turnovers per game. They’re 11th in the NCAA and are forcing 7.69 more turnovers than the 11.6 the Volunteers commit per game.

Tennessee is averaging 80.1 points per game, 20.7 more than the 59.4 point average the Texas Tech defense has allowed opponents.

The Red Raiders are averaging 85.4 points per game, 23.4 more than the 62 point per game average the Vols’ have allowed to opponents.

Tennessee is shooting 47.3 percent from the field, 7.2 percentage points higher than the 40.1 percent shooting Texas Tech has allowed opponents this year.

The Red Raiders are shooting 49.2 percent from the field, 9.8 percentage points higher than the 39.4 percent shooting the Volunteers have allowed opponents.