KU basketball vs. Tennessee at Battle 4 Atlantis: Probable starters, tipoff time, TV
.JPG "Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes, left, hugs Kansas head coach Bill Self, right, following an NCAA college basketball game in Lawrence, Kan., Saturday, Jan. 25, 2020. Kansas defeated Tennessee 74-68. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)")
THE DETAILS
When: 6:30 p.m. Central, Friday
Where: Imperial Ballroom at Atlantis resort, Paradise Island, Bahamas
TV: ESPN
Radio: WHB (810) in Kansas City; KFH (1240 AM, 97.5 FM) in Wichita
PROBABLE STARTERS
P | No. | Tennessee | Ht. | Yr. | PPG |
F | 2 | Julian Phillips | 6-8 | Fr. | 12.0 |
F | 13 | Olivier Nkamhoua | 6-9 | Sr. | 9.8 |
F | 33 | Uros Plavsic | 7-1 | Sr. | 2.8 |
G | 4 | Tyreke Key | 6-2 | Sr. | 11.0 |
G | 25 | Santiago Vescovi | 6-3 | Sr. | 9.6 |
P | No. | Kansas | Ht. | Yr. | PPG |
F | 24 | KJ Adams | 6-7 | Soph. | 6.3 |
F | 10 | Jalen Wilson | 6-8 | Jr. | 24.3 |
G | 15 | Kevin McCullar | 6-6 | Sr. | 10.2 |
G | 4 | Gradey Dick | 6-8 | Fr. | 16.8 |
G | 3 | Dajuan Harris | 6-1 | Jr. | 9.2 |
About No. 22 Tennessee (4-1)
Tennessee, which was picked to finish third behind Kentucky and Arkansas in the 14-team ACC preseason poll, defeated Butler (71-45) and USC (73-66, OT) to reach the finals of the Battle 4 Atlantis. ... Prior to this tournament, Tennessee beat Tennessee Tech (75-43) and FGCU (81-50) and lost to Colorado (78-66). … A victory on Friday would give the Vols their 22nd win over a ranked opponent during the eight-year Rick Barnes era and their 10th top 10 triumph during that span. … Tennessee has won four in a row over top 10 opponents …
The team’s leading scorer is Josiah-Jordan James (13.7 ppg, 10 of 19 threes), who has played in three of five games. He has had left knee soreness… Freshman Julian Phillips, who averages 12.0 ppg, scored 25 points in the semifinal win over USC. … Senior guard Santiago Vescovi through five games has recorded a team-high 15 steals. …
Barnes has a 154-82 record in eight seasons at Tennessee. He is 8-21 all-time vs. KU (7-19 at Texas, 1-2 at Tennessee). … The Vols finished fifth at the Battle 4 Atlantis in 2013 and then in third place under Barnes at the event in 2017. … Tennessee is trying to win its first holiday tournament title since November 2010, when Scotty Hopson and current 76ers standout Tobias Harris led the Vols to the NIT Season Tip-Off championship, defeating VCU and No. 7 Villanova at Madison Square Garden.
About No. 3 KU (6-0)
KU leads the all-time series against Tennessee 4-2. The last meeting was KU’s 80-61 loss in the Big 12/SEC Challenge on Jan. 30, 2021, in Knoxville, Tennessee. KU defeated the Vols 74-68 in the challenge on Jan. 25, 2020, at Allen Fieldhouse. KU also won 87-82 in overtime in the NIT Season Tip Off on Nov. 23, 2018, in Brooklyn, New York. … KU coach Bill Self is 5-2 all-time vs. Tennessee (4-2 at KU, 1-0 at Tulsa). …
KU has competed in the Battle 4 Atlantis once before. In November of 2013 KU defeated Wake Forest 87-78 in the first round, then lost to Villanova 63-59 in the semifinals. KU won the third place game over UTEP 67-63. …
KU is 6-0 for the seventh time in Self’s 20 seasons at KU — and for the first since 2019. … KU has won 17 consecutive games dating to last season. That ties for the fifth longest winning streak in the Self era. … KU’s overtime win over Wisconsin in the Battle 4 Atlantis semifinals extended the Jayhawks’ win streak to seven games against Big Ten opponents, dating back to Dec. 10, 2016 vs. Nebraska. … KU has won three straight overtime contests, beginning with a 94-91 double overtime win vs. Texas Tech on Jan. 24, 2022. …
Kansas has kept all six of its opponents under 40% shooting, marking the longest stretch to start a season since the beginning of the 2009-10 season (first seven games). … The Jayhawks have secured at least 10 offensive rebounds in five of their six games. … Jalen Wilson has scored 146 points, which is the most by a KU player through the first six games since at least the 1996-97 season. … In the Self era, Kansas has a 30-7 in-season tournament record with 10 tourney titles, including six straight from 2014-19.
