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ESPN College GameDay headed to Knoxville next weekend for Texas Longhorns at Tennessee Volunteers

Stephen Samraby: Steve Samra01/21/23SamraSource
ESPN College GameDay
(Photo by Lance King/Getty Images)

ESPN College GameDay is headed to Knoxville next weekend, looking to be on-hand for the Texas Longhorns traveling to take on the Tennessee Volunteers.

The news was announced during Saturday’s program, as Seth Greenberg, Jay Bilas, LaPhonso Ellis and company are headed to hangout with Smokey next weekend.

Moreover, it should be a fascinating contest as the Longhorns and the Volunteers face each other in the Big 12/SEC Challenge.

At the moment, both squads are 15-3 on the season, with Texas ranked No. 7 in the nation to Tennessee’s No. 9 ranking. Of course, whoever wins next weekend’s showdown will be ready, willing and able to move up.

Texas is led by guard Marcus Carr and his 17.1 points per game, while the Volunteers have guard Santiago Vescovi and his 12.9 points per game at the forefront. Both will be essential to their team’s operation if they’re to be victorious.

Alas, time will tell who ends up celebrating next weekend, but Texas and Tennessee will be a tremendous Saturday showdown, and a great College GameDay for ESPN.

ESPN College GameDay crew debates if Tennessee should be a projected No. 1 seed

Continuing, Seth Greenberg of ESPN College GameDay made the case for the Volunteers as a projected No. 1 seed.

“I’m going to be hanging out with Smokey next week, so I’m going with Tennessee,” Greenberg said. “And I’m going with Tennessee because they can play big, they can play small.

“We know Tennessee’s an elite defensive team, but offensively is where they’ve improved. Santiago Vescovi when healthy is an elite shooter. Obviously you’ve got Josiah-Jordan James, he’s coming off the bench. Zakai Zeigler‘s coming off the bench when this Tennessee team is healthy. They can protect the rim, they can score in the paint, they can shoot the three, they can turn you over, they can rebound the basketball.”

The Volunteers have only three losses this season, to Colorado, then-No. 9 Arizona on the road and Kentucky.

Given the way the rest of the slate looks for the Vols, Greenberg likes their chances of joining the projected No. 1 seeds by season’s end.

“You talk about schedules, look at this, their schedule remaining — at home, they’ve got Alabama. They only play Alabama once this year,” Greenberg said. “They’ve got Texas in obviously the SEC/Big 12 Challenge at home. Arkansas at home. Auburn they go home and away. Their schedule sets up in terms of the home games they play to have a chance, maybe they get one more loss.

“You’re playing in the SEC, as long as it’s the right loss, they could play their way in. But they are more than a worthy No. 1 seed because of their size, their length, their athleticism and their ability to play fast, slow, big and small.”