NCAA Basketball: Kansas Jayhawks vs Tennessee Volunteers- Possible Lineups and Predictions

Published 01/30/2021, 12:00 PM EST

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USA Today via Reuters

NCAA Basketball action will see a massive clash when two ranked opponents face off against each other in a cross-conference battle. The Kansas Jayhawks prepare to face the Tennessee Volunteers. Currently, both team’s fortunes have been looking down.

The Tennessee Volunteers are 11-3 on the season and rank 18 on the AP Poll. While they were a solid top-10 team, they fell to some bad losses. One was a massive 23-point loss to the Florida Gators, which was followed up with a loss to the Missouri Tigers.

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The Kansas Jayhawks were flying high as one of the top-five teams in the country. However, they fell on a shocking three-game losing streak, which has made their title aspirations look very bleak. They lost to the Oklahoma State Cowboys, Baylor Bears, and Oklahoma Sooners in that run.

Both teams could really do with a win to re-establish themselves amongst the elite this season. So who takes this win?

NCAA Basketball: Do the Volunteers prove themselves against elite competition?

The Volunteers need to find the magic that helped them open this season with seven straight wins. While the two consecutive losses may be an aberration, Tennessee has to go out of their way to make sure that they can put the Jayhawks out. Otherwise, they may fall further down the rankings.

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USA Today via Reuters

Even though the Jayhawks have slipped up a little, they are still elite. An eight-point win against the unfancied TCU Horned Frogs has proven that Kansas still needs some time to rebound from their horrendous run of games prior to that win. However, facing the Volunteers may be the jolt of energy that the team needs.

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The Jayhawks will be lining up with Marcus Garrett, Ochai Agbaji, Christian Braun, Jalen Wilson, and David McCormack. The Volunteers will be lining up with Josiah-Jordan James, Keon Johnson, Santiago Vescovi, John Fulkerson, and Yves Pons.

For our prediction, we will go with the Volunteers. While the Jayhawks may still be the better team on paper, we have to take a flyer on the Volunteers. Their form is marginally better than Kansas, and they should be able to add to their current struggles.

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Written by:

Ishaan Bhattacharya

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Ishaan Bhattacharya is an NBA, NCAA Basketball, and Combat Sports writer at EssentiallySports. Currently, Ishaan is pursuing a Post Graduate Degree in Journalism from Xavier's Institute of Communication. Previously, Ishaan has written for The Indian Express, The Quint, Sportskeeda, and WrestleClub.
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