Tennessee basketball would be foolish to discontinue series with Memphis | Adams

Correction: Next year's UT-Memphis basketball game will be played in Nashville.

 Meaningful non-conference basketball games shouldn’t be taken for granted in college basketball. They aren’t that easy to come by.

Tennessee’s schedule is more compelling than most. The Vols already have played Washington, Florida State, and VCU. And the UT-Memphis matchup on Saturday at Thompson-Boling Arena should be the highlight of UT’s early-season home schedule.

It’s also a steep step up from Tennessee’s most recent home opponent: Florida A&M, which the Vols beat 72-43. Imagine the impact that will have on the NCAA tournament selection committee.

The Memphis game really could mean something three months from now when the committee begins to select and seed. The Tigers are 8-1 and feature the nation’s No. 1 2019 recruiting class.

Better yet, they’re tied with Tennessee at No. 17 in the USA TODAY coaches top-25 poll. Better still, Memphis and Tennessee have a history — the kind of history that will make UT fans raise their voices louder than usual Saturday. In fact, the arena noise should have a Kentucky-like decibel count.

Memphis coach Penny Hardaway will register highest on the boo barometer. So high, in fact, that the reception for Kentucky coach John Calipari might seem almost warm.

Following UT’s victory over the Tigers in Memphis last season, Hardaway accused UT players of approaching his team “with fists balled and talking trash” when the competition became chippy.

Tennessee coach Rick Barnes acted as though Hardaway was seeing things and accused the Tigers of flopping.

Determined to have the last word, Hardaway said at a press conference: “Rick Barnes get the (expletive) out of here.”

Never mind that the coaches have been playing nice in their comments this week. Fans have a lifetime memory when it comes to insults of their favorite team.

How often can fans looks forward to a December college basketball game with the passion and vengeance UT’s faithful will have for Memphis?

That’s just one reason why it’s troubling when Barnes says, as he did at a brief media gathering Tuesday, that he didn’t know about the future of the series. Even worse, he told Jimmy Hyams of WNML radio in November that the series might not be continued beyond next season’s game in Nashville.

Tennessee and Memphis shouldn’t play every season. They should play twice a season, once in Knoxville and once in Memphis. Granted, that might not make room for Florida A&M, but UT fans could live with that.

Tennessee vs. Memphis has the potential to become the SEC’s second best non-conference rivalry behind only Kentucky-Louisville.

You have two good basketball towns and two good programs. Barnes has established himself as one of the sport’s best coaches, and Hardaway jolted the blue bloods of college basketball when he signed the nation’s No. 1 class.

You couldn’t ask for more from mid-December basketball.

John Adams  is a senior columnist. He may be reached at 865-342-6284 or john.adams@knoxnews.com. Follow him at: twitter.com/johnadamskns.