KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The 19th-ranked Tennessee Volunteers hosted sixth-ranked Arizona on Wednesday in a top-25 showdown at Thompson Boling Arena. The Vols won, 73-77, giving Arizona its first loss of the season.
It was the Vols final game before conference play starts next week against Alabama on Wednesday, December 29.
Tennessee entered Wednesday’s game after an eight-day break of games following the cancellation of the Memphis game on Saturday due to COVID-19 issues within the Tigers program.
RELATED: Vols head coach Rick Barnes doesn't hold back on his thoughts about Tennessee-Memphis cancellation
It was the fifth all-time meeting between Tennessee and Arizona and the first since 1998.
The programs have not met in Knoxville since 1982.
Tennessee leads the all-time series with Arizona, 3-1, dating back to 1956. The Vols are 2-0 against the Wildcats in Knoxville.
UT assistant coach Justin Gainey was an assistant coach in Arizona from 2018-2020.
The Wildcats sit at 11-0 overall and is off to its best start to a season since 2014-15 when Arizona started 12-0.
"The way they're (Arizona) playing, they're playing really good basketball." Rick Barnes said.
"I've really enjoyed watching them. What I've watched of them, they play hard. They're not going to beat themselves. They mix their defenses. They know what they're looking for on the offensive end. So they're at a team that are very confident, and they should be, because of what they've done up to this point, there's no reason for them not to be."
After beginning the season unranked, Arizona was the No. 6 ranking in the AP Poll — its highest ranking since the second week of the 2017-18 season.
