Tennessee basketball has the home edition of its in-state rivalry with Vanderbilt on Saturday.
The No. 9 Vols (18-6, 8-3 SEC) host the Commodores (7-17, 2-9) on Saturday (6 p.m. ET, SEC Network). It is the first time UT has faced a team twice in conference play this season.
Here is what to know about the matchup at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center:
Tennessee basketball’s Jordan Gainey and ‘lightning bolts’ off the bench
Jordan Gainey came off the bench to score 17 points against Arkansas on Wednesday, his second time tallying a high-scoring game in the past three. He had 18 points against LSU as a big-time scorer coming in.
“Coach calls lightning bolts, I think that’s a great word for it,” Vols assistant coach Gregg Polinsky said. “He comes down, even the first ball he shot from the corner after he’d made a couple of tough shots going in mid-range, I thought it was down. It looked great. He’s just been playing with a lot of confidence.”
Gainey was 2-for-3 shooting on 3-pointers at Arkansas, bouncing back from a tough game at Texas A&M. He went 3-for-6 on 3-pointers against LSU.
The junior transfer from USC Upstate has scored at least 10 points in four of the past seven games after a midseason dip in production.
“Just that he’s a threat makes him valuable,” Polinsky said.
Vanderbilt basketball has won two of its past four games
Vanderbilt guard Ezra Manjon hit a last-second shot in the middle of the paint Tuesday to beat Texas A&M 74-73 on Tuesday in Nashville. It marked Vanderbilt’s second win in its past four games. The Commodores lost their first seven games in SEC play before going 2-2 in the past four.
“Vanderbilt is playing better,” Polinsky said. “Coach (Rick Barnes) will say this, coach (Jerry) Stackhouse probably runs as good an offense as anybody in this league, at the high end.”
Vanderbilt got its first win in SEC play by beating Missouri 68-61 on Feb. 3. Missouri has not won in SEC play.
How Tennessee basketball won the first matchup with Vanderbilt
Dalton Knecht scored 32 points for Tennessee on Jan. 27 to lead the Vols to a 75-62 win at Vanderbilt. It was Knecht’s third 30-point game in a four-game stretch and he is still on that hot stretch with 10 straight games with at least 20 points.
The Vols had a lowly start against the Commodores in the first matchup.
Where Tennessee basketball stands in the SEC title race
Tennessee enters Saturday a game back of first-place Alabama and a half-game back of Auburn and South Carolina. The Tigers and Gamecocks are tied for second place after Auburn destroyed USC by 40 on Wednesday.
BRACKET: Where Tennessee basketball stands in updated March Madness bracket predictions
Auburn and South Carolina have played 12 games, while UT and Alabama have played 11 due to the teams having an open midweek date at different times.
Tennessee basketball score prediction vs Vanderbilt
Tennessee 86, Vanderbilt 72: Vanderbilt always plays Tennessee tough but the Vols are different in home games. The Vols keep pace in the SEC title race with an important home win.
Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.com and follow him on Twitter @ByMikeWilson. If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee basketball vs. Vanderbilt: Our score prediction is in
