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Ja’Kobi Gillespie scores 34 in No. 21 Tennessee’s 85-71 win over Texas

Ja'Kobi Gillespie scores 34 in No. 21 Tennessee's 85-71 win over Texas | iNFOnews.ca
Tennessee guard Ja'kobi Gillespie (0) shoots past Texas guard Tramon Mark (12) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, in Knoxville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Ja’Kobi Gillespie scored 34 points to lead No. 21 Tennessee to a 85-71 victory over Texas on Tuesday night.

J.P. Estrella scored 11 and DeWayne Brown II and Jaylen Carey each added 10 for the Volunteers (11-4, 1-1 in Southeastern Conference).

The Longhorns (9-6, 0-2) were led by Tramon Mark with 20, Camden Heide scored 16 and Simeon Wilcher added 10.

Tennessee dominated the paint, outscoring Texas 44-18 down low.

The Vols struggled at the free-throw line (12 of 23) in their loss to Arkansas on Saturday but against the Longhorns they hit 21 of 29.

The Longhorns had no answer for Gillespie in the first half. He hit 8 of 10 shots from the field, including 3 of 4 3-pointers, and had 22 points as Tennessee led, 48-33 at halftime.

This game was the 1,274th game of Rick Barnes’ career as a head coach, moving him past Bob Knight for sole possession of 10th place on the career list.

Barnes spent 17 of his 39 seasons, from 1998 to 2015, as the head coach at Texas.

Three of Barnes’ Tennessee assistants — Gregg Polinsky, Bryan Lentz and Steve McClain — were on his staff in Austin.

When Tennessee lost its SEC opener to Arkansas, the Vols dropped to No. 21 in The Associated Press poll. It extended their streak of being listed in the poll to 89, which is second to Houston’s (115). However, it ended their streak of being in the Top 20 at 66.

Texas came into the game averaging 88.6 points, the Longhorns’ best since they averaged 92.9 in 1994-95.

UP NEXT

Texas: The Longhorns will stay on the road Saturday when they visit Alabama.

Tennessee: The Vols will play at Florida on Saturday.

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Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

Ja'Kobi Gillespie scores 34 in No. 21 Tennessee's 85-71 win over Texas | iNFOnews.ca
Texas center Matas Vokietaitis (8) has his shot blocked by Tennessee forward Nate Ament (10) and center Felix Okpara (34) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, in Knoxville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)
Ja'Kobi Gillespie scores 34 in No. 21 Tennessee's 85-71 win over Texas | iNFOnews.ca
Tennessee forward Jaylen Carey (23) drives past Texas forward Lassina Traore (23) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, in Knoxville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)
Ja'Kobi Gillespie scores 34 in No. 21 Tennessee's 85-71 win over Texas | iNFOnews.ca
Tennessee forward Dewayne Brown II (6) dunks the ball during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Texas, Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, in Knoxville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)

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The Associated Press

Al Lesar

The Associated Press is an independent global news organization dedicated to factual reporting. Founded in 1846, AP today remains the most trusted source of fast, accurate, unbiased news in all formats and the essential provider of the technology and services vital to the news business. More than half the world’s population sees AP journalism every day.

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