After not meeting since the 2012-13 campaign, Tennessee and Memphis have agreed to a three-game contract featuring showdowns in each of the next three seasons.
The Volunteers will travel to face the Tigers at the FedEx Forum on Dec. 15, 2018. In 2019-20, Memphis visits Knoxville for a clash at Thompson-Boling Arena on a date yet to be determined. The contract concludes with an in-state, neutral-site meeting at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena in December 2020.
Tennessee leads the all-time series with Memphis 14-11, dating to 1969. The programs met annually from 2006 through 2013. The Tigers won the most recent meeting, posting a 85-80 triumph on Jan. 4, 2013 at Thompson-Boling Arena.
The Vols own a 7-4 advantage when the series is played in Knoxville. When the teams meet in Memphis, the series is tied, 6-6. The series also is tied when contested at neutral sites, 1-1.
The most memorable game in the series took place at the FedEx Forum on Feb. 23, 2008. The Tigers were ranked No. 1 in the country, and the Vols were ranked No. 2. In a nationally televised thriller—which drew 5.28 million viewers and was the most-watched men’s college basketball game in ESPN history at the time—Tennessee prevailed, 66-62, and went on to earn the program’s first-ever No. 1 national ranking.
Tennessee (26-9, 13-5 SEC) won the regular-season SEC Championship this season and spent 14 straight weeks in the AP Top-25 poll. Under the direction of third-year head coach Rick Barnes, who earned SEC Coach of the Year honors, the Vols advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. With only one senior on its roster this season, UT is expected to return the bulk of this year’s team next year.
Memphis finished with a 21-13 (10-8 AAC) record this season and hired former Tigers great and NBA All-Star Anfernee “Penny” Hardaway as the program’s new head coach on March 20.
Other non-conference opponents for the Volunteers next season include Georgia Tech and Wake Forest—both in Knoxville. Tennessee also will join Kansas, Louisville and Marquette in New York City for the NIT Season Tip-Off at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center.
-UT Athletics
