Tennessee basketball score vs. Louisiana: Live updates for Vols in NCAA Tournament

The No. 4-seeded Vols (23-10) face No. 13-seeded Louisiana (26-7) on Thursday (9:40 p.m. ET, CBS) in Orlando, Florida, as part of the East Region. Duke is the No. 5 seed and Oral Roberts is the No. 12 seed and the potential second-round matchup for the Vols if they beat the Ragin' Cajuns.

PREDICTIONS:Why Tennessee basketball can – and can’t – reach March Madness’ Final Four.

OFFENSE:Santiago Vescovi is an off-ball magician. Inside the mind of the Tennessee basketball guard.

The Ragin' Cajuns have high-scoring forward Jordan Brown leading the way with 19.4 points per game. The 6-foot-11, 225-pound Brown was a 2018 McDonald's All-American.

What time, channel is Tennessee basketball game on?

Tennessee plays Louisiana at approximately 9:40 p.m. ET Thursday on CBS.

FINAL: Tennessee survives, 58-55. That's all you need to do in the NCAA Tournament, but it's going to take a better effort to beat Duke on Saturday.

23.1 seconds left: Kobe Julien hits a couple free throws, and the Vols lead is 56-53.

2:31 left: Jalen Dalcourt 3-pointer on a must-have for Louisiana to stay within distance. Vols lead 54-48.

3:46 left: Tennessee forces a turnover into the final TV timeout. Then, some extracurricular staring and speaking results in technical fouls on UL coach Bob Marlin and the Tennessee bench.

5:43 left: Mashack happy to take open mid-range jumpers. He has another, now with 8 points. Vols by 7.

7:19 left: Louisiana on a 13-0 run, as Plavsic has the ball stolen away from the low post and Kobe Julien hits a 3-pointer on the other end. Tennessee 48, Louisiana 43.

Vols haven't scored in 4 minutes, 41 seconds. Santiago Vescovi has 3 points. That needs to change.

UL has hit 4 of 8 3-pointers in the second half, 3 by Julien.

13:54 left: OMG Olivier Nkamhoua with a big-time dunk off an offensive rebound. Vols cruising.

14:17 left: Vols shooting 51%, while UL is at 32% and has not made a 3-pointer.

16:07 left: A 6-0 run for the Vols and a 37-23 lead for Tennessee. Getting closer to out of reach for the Ragin' Cajuns.

HALFTIME: Vols 30, Louisiana 19. UT gets a Nkamhoua 3 and a Plavsic baseline lob off an inbounds pass to run the lead to 11 just before the half.

11-0 run for the Vols in the final four minutes of the half. Plavsic leads the Vols with 7 points. He may need to play more in the second half. This game would likely be out of hand if not for Tennessee's 12 turnovers. UL shooting 29%.

2:06 left: Vols have to have a guard make shots when Vescovi is not in the game. Of late, it's been Mashack. He has six points in the first half. It's not much, but it's enough in this game. Vols lead 25-19.

4:12 left: Jordan Brown, who has 12 points, just picked up his second foul while jostling with Plavsic for a rebound. He had just tied the game with a hook shot on the other end.

19-all. Vols haven't scored in 6 minutes, 31 seconds. Vescovi picked up his second foul at 12:38.

5:14 left: Tyreke Key just ran down a loose ball under his defensive basket, then turned it over to a UL player under the basket, forcing an Awaka foul. FTs good. Vols lead down to 19-17.

5:55 left: Vols haven't scored in 5 minutes. UL just had its first made basket in a while. Vols lead 19-15. Time for some coffee.

7:58 left: If you like turnovers and deflected passes, this is the game for you. Vols have six made field goals, 7 turnovers, still lead by 6.

9:34 left: Turnover No. 6 for the Vols. UT defense doing work on the other end, but the lead should be larger. Vols up 19-13.

11:44 left: Good response by the Vols, who go on their own 7-0 run. Tyreke Key with four points off the bench. Interesting lineup in the game before the media timeout, with Tobe Awaka, Key, Mashack, Julian Phillips and Jonas Aidoo.

14:44 left: UL on a 7-0 run, and a Josiah-Jordan James turnover leads into the first media timeout. Louisiana 11, Tennessee 10.

Jordan Brown appears to be the real deal and has six points. Vols with three turnovers during that segment. That can't continue.

17:38 left: Plavsic has 3 early points, and the Vols lead 8-4.

20:00 left: Vols and Ragin' Cajuns. Let's do this.

Pregame: Vols and Ragin' Cajuns playing for a date with Duke

The Duke Blue Devils steamrolled over Oral Roberts in the first game of the evening in Orlando. Duke's frontcourt is going to be a problem for pretty much everyone in the tournament.

Speaking of frontcourt, Uros Plavsic is in the starting lineup for the Vols alongside Santiago Vescovi, Jahmai Mashack, Josiah-Jordan James and Olivier Nkamhoua.

Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at [email protected] 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.