Tennessee basketball vs. Kansas in Maui Invitational: Score prediction, scouting report

Tennessee basketball has one more game in the Maui Invitational.

The No. 8 Vols (4-1) face No. 1 Kansas (4-1) in the third-place game Wednesday (2:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2).

UT and KU won openers against Syracuse and Chaminade, respectively. Tennessee lost 71-67 to No. 2 Purdue on Tuesday in the semifinals. Kansas lost to No. 5 Marquette 73-59 in the final game Tuesday.

Here is what to know about the matchup:

Tennessee can notch its best finish in Maui

Tennessee can notch its best finish in its Maui Invitational history with a win Wednesday. The Vols have never finished better than fourth in the tournament. They finished fourth in 2004, the first appearance in program history. The Vols beat Stanford, lost to North Carolina and Texas, which was coached by Barnes.

The Vols lost to Wisconsin and Oregon before beating Chaminade to claim seventh place in 2016, Barnes’ second season. Tennessee finished seventh in 2011 as well, losing to Duke and Memphis before topping Chaminade.

It’s Tennessee and Kansas again in a holiday tournament

Tennessee and Kansas have been frequent foes in recent seasons. The teams are are meeting for the fifth time in the past six seasons and the third time in a holiday tournament.

UT topped Kansas 64-50 in the Battle 4 Atlantis title game last season, its second straight win against the Jayhawks. The Vols beat KU 80-61 in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge in Knoxville in Jan. 30, 2021.

Tennessee lost 74-68 to Kansas in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge on Jan. 25, 2020. It lost 87-81 in overtime in the NIT Season Tip-Off championship game in November 2019.

Hunter Dickinson is having a huge start at Kansas

Hunter Dickinson transferred to Kansas from Michigan in the offseason and is off to an elite start for the Jayhawks. He was averaging 24.3 points and 12.0 rebounds through four games, including a 27-point, 21-rebound display against Kentucky in the Champions Classic.

Dickinson had 27 points and 11 rebounds for Michigan against the Vols in their Sweet 16 loss in Indianapolis in March 2022.

UT also has faced Kansas guard Kevin McCullar when he was at Texas Tech. McCullar had eight points and 10 rebounds in a 57-52 Texas Tech overtime win at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 7, 2021.

Score prediction

Tennessee 74, Kansas 67: The Vols beat the Jayhawks again, their third straight win against Kansas to claim third place in the Maui Invitational. Here’s betting the Vols get bounceback games from Zakai Zeigler and Santiago Vescovi.

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