It’s pointless mid-season conference challenge time, and this evening we’ll see Kansas travel to Knoxville to take on the Volunteers of Tennessee.

Kansas enters the contest with a ranking of #15 by the AP, while Tennessee comes in at #18. KenPom has the Jayhawks at #18 and the Vols at #19, so on paper, this looks to be a good one.

Kansas leads the overall series against Tennessee by a 4-1 count. However, the Vols only win in the series also came in their only home game (to date) against Kansas. The most recent meeting between the two programs was a 74-68 KU win in Lawrence in January of 2020.

The Jayhawks are coming off a lackluster 59-51 home win over TCU, while the Volunteers come in off a 56-53 home win over Mississippi State.

Here are the essentials:

The Numbers

(15) Kansas: 11-5, 5-4 Big 12

(18) Tennessee: 11-3, 5-2 SEC

Line: Tenn -3.5

How to Watch

Saturday, Jan 30, 5:00 p.m. CST

Knoxville, TN: Thompson-Boling Arena

TV: ESPN

- Bob Wischusen (Play-by-Play), Dick Vitale (Analyst)

Radio: Jayhawk Radio Network

- Brian Hanni (Play-by-Play), Greg Gurley (Analyst)

Online Streaming: www.espn.com/watch or the ESPN app (requires cable subscription)

Fun Facts

Since 2007, KU is 9-4 in these conference challenge events, including 5-2 so far in the SEC-Big 12 challenge.

Kansas is just 4-3 against ranked opponents so far this season.

Tennessee is coached by Rick Barnes, who is glad this game isn’t being played in Allen Fieldhouse. Barnes is 7-21 all-time as a coach against Kansas.