Longhorns to Host Vols for BIG12/SEC Challenge.

It was announced on Wednesday that the Vols will be playing the Texas Longhorns in this years BIG12/SEC Challenge.

The Vols will travel to Austin for Head Coach Rick Barnes first time back in the Frank Erwin center since his firing in 2015. The Longhorns will not be coached by his successor though as Shaka Smart left the program last year to become the HC at Marquette. Instead, on the sidelines will be former Texas Tech Head Coach Chris Beard who took the vacant position.

In the latest “too early college basketball rankings” both Texas and Tennessee are ranked in the top 20 with both programs having some buzz centered around them. Tennessee will be trying to bounce back from a pretty decent regular season that ended poorly in the post season, and Texas will try to rebound from a successful season where they won a BIG12 Tournament championship, but ended with them blowing a first round NCAA tournament game to Abilene Christian.

This will most likely be the marquee game of the annual BIG12/ SEC challenge as it should settle once and for all, who won the breakup between Coach Barnes and Texas.