How to Watch, Listen: Tennessee-Colorado
The No. 13 Tennessee Vols enter their seventh game of the season with a 5-1 record and on a three-game win streak. After losing to Villanova in Connecticut, the Vols have bested a ranked North Carolina team, Tennessee Tech and Presbyterian. Most recently, Tennessee knocked off the Blue Hose in their biggest blowout win of 42 points in Thompson-Boling Arena.
Colorado presents a different challenge the Vols have not seen all year, though, as it will be their first actual road game of the season.
Following Saturday's game, the Vols will head directly to New York City in preparation for the Jimmy V Classic against Texas Tech. Tip-off in Madison Square Garden is set for 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 7.
The Vols tip-off against Colorado on Saturday at 2 p.m. ET. For how to watch and listen to the Vols first matchup out west and more on the Buffaloes, see below.
How to Watch
-FOX Sports 1, online at FOXsports.com or on any mobile device through the FOX Sports app. Jacob Tobey (play-by-play) and Sed Bonner (analysis) will have the call
How to Listen .
-Local Vol Network affiliate. Bob Kesling and Bert Bertelkamp calling the action. The broadcast is also available on channel 138 on Sirius, channel 191 on SiriusXM and channel 962 on the SiriusXM app.
Series with Colorado
-UT leads its all-time series with Colorado, 3-0, dating to 1980. Prior to last year's UT season-opener, the programs had not met since 1981.
-Last year's clash came together less than 72 hours before tipoff. See "Last Meeting" note below.
-Colorado head coach Tad Boyle was Tennessee's administrative assistant/director of basketball operations under head coach Jerry Green during the 1997-98 season. That team finished 20-9 and earned an NCAA Tournament berth.
-Saturday's game will be just the second game the Vols have ever played in The Centennial State. Tennessee logged a 64-63 win in Boulder on Dec. 8, 1981.
-To complete this current three-game series contract, Tennessee and Colorado will meet for a neutral-site showdown next season at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena.
Colorado Notes
-Colorado head coach Tad Boyle is in his 12th season as the Buffaloes head coach. During the 1997-98 season, Boyle served as an assistant at Tennessee on the staff of former Vols' coach Jerry Green.
-Boyle has compiled a 239-145 record as Colorado's head coach. The Buffaloes have logged 22 wins over ranked opponents during his tenure.
-Also on Colorado's staff is former Mississippi State and Southeast Missouri State head coach Rick Ray. Tennessee compiled a 4-1 record against Ray during his time at Mississippi State.
-Of Colorado's eight games this season, only two have come against major conference teams—a pair of Pac-12 conference games against Stanford and UCLA. The Buffaloes defeated Stanford, 80-76, on Sunday before falling to No. 5 UCLA on Wednesday, 73-61.
-The Buffaloes' other loss came to Southern Illinois on Nov. 19 in the Paradise Jam, 67-63.
-Sophomore forward Jabari Walker, who was named to the 2020-21 Pac-12 All-Freshman Team as well as selected as an honorable mention on the 2021-22 preseason All-Pac-12 team, is leading the Buffaloes in scoring (14.9 ppg) and rebounding (9.5 rpg) through eight games.
-Just behind Walker in scoring is senior forward Evan Battey, a preseason All-Pac-12 team selection who is averaging 13.5 points per game.
-Colorado has kept the same starting five in each of its eight games this season—Walker, Battey, senior guard Elijah Parquet, sophomore guard Keeshawn Barthelemy and sophomore forward Tristan da Silva.
Last Time Out With the Buffaloes
-In its first game in 276 days, the 12th-ranked Tennessee basketball team took down Colorado in a tight defensive affair, 56-47, to open the pandemic-affected 2020-21 season on Dec. 8, 2020.
-The game was played on a Tuesday evening, and it came together (out of necessity due to COVID cancellations) on the previous Saturday, less than 72 hours before tipoff.
-Tennessee saw a balanced effort across the board, with nine of 10 Vols who saw action getting on the score sheet, while Jeriah Horne led Colorado with 15 points and 11 rebounds.
-John Fulkerson and Santiago Vescovi led the Big Orange in scoring with 11 points apiece, while Yves Pons was a beast on the boards, pulling in a team-high 10 rebounds. Vescovi also added a game-high five assists.
-Sophomore Josiah-Jordan James had the most balanced game for the Vols, tallying eight points—knocking down all four of his attempts from the charity stripe—six rebounds, three assists and three steals.
-Redshirt junior Victor Bailey Jr., who made his debut with Tennessee after sitting out the 2019-20 season as a transfer from Oregon, earned the start and was explosive in the early going, draining his first three shot attempts to score eight first-half points
-Tennessee's freshman duo of Keon Johnson and Jaden Springer combined for 10 second-half points and was key to the Vols pulling away late.
-The Vols came roaring out of quarantine, opening the night on a 12-2 run through the game's first four minutes. James and Fulkerson led the way with five and four points, respectively, during that early stretch.
-The Buffaloes responded to UT's initial punch, coming within as few as four points with less than a minute to play in the half. However, Tennessee's stifling defense and a timely 3-pointer from Vescovi took the Vols into the locker room with a 31-24 lead.
-Tennessee's starting lineup featured five left-handers in Bailey Jr., Fulkerson, James, Pons and Vescovi.
All stats and information provided by UT Athletics Communications
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