Tipoff Time, Broadcast Details Set For Tennessee Basketball Versus Virginia In NCAA Tournament
Photo By Andrew Ferguson/Tennessee Athletics
The tipoff time and broadcast details are set for Tennessee basketball’s NCAA Tournament matchup against Virginia in the Round of 32. Tipoff between the six-seed Vols and three-seed Cavaliers is at 6:10 p.m. ET. Andrew Catalon, Steve Lappas and Evan Washburn are on the call for TNT.
It’s the first of two games in Philadelphia on Sunday night. Two-seed UConn versus seven-seed UCLA tips off at approximately 8:45 p.m. ET.
Virginia is in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2024. The Cavaliers survived a scare against Wright State 82-73 in the opening round of the tournament on Friday afternoon. Virginia trailed at halftime and for much of the second half before Jacari White’s 26 points propelled the Cavaliers past the Raiders.
Ryan Odom is in his first season as Virginia’s head coach, leading the Cavaliers to a 30-5 (15-3 ACC) record. They played a relatively soft non conference schedule, dropping just one game.
Virginia lost its ACC opener at Virginia Tech on New Years Eve. Since then, Virginia has lost just three games— two against Duke and one against North Carolina. The Cavaliers have faced three teams that Tennessee has this season, beating Texas, Louisville and Virginia.
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Tennessee is back in the Round of 32 for a fifth straight year after dominating Miami (Ohio) 78-56 on Friday evening. The Vols played one of their best halves of the season, jumping out to a 51-32 halftime lead and then cruised from there.
“Really everything that we did well today stemmed from our defense,” Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes said postgame. “It really did. It got us in a flow. We felt like we could spread them out a little bit and get some of those lobs we were getting early and felt like we could make the right read. It would be hard for them to get up there and get them but a good all around game.”
With the win, Tennessee is now 23-11 (11-7 SEC) on the season. The Vols are looking to advance to the Sweet 16 for a fourth straight season which would extend the program record. It’s not the first time these two teams have met under these circumstances. Five-seed Tennessee defeated four-seed Virginia 77-74 in the Round of 32 of the 2007 NCAA Tournament.
Tennessee basketball opened as 1.5-point favorites over Virginia according to the DKSportsbook. The over/under is set at 137.5. KenPom predicts Tennessee to earn a 70-69 victory.
