Tennessee basketball will no longer face Michigan in an exhibition game this season, Volquest’s Grant Ramey first reported Wednesday morning and a source confirmed to RTI. The Vols were working to schedule an October exhibition matchup in Ann Arbor to give Rick Barnes’ 11th team a road challenge before season begins.
It’s unclear who Tennessee will replace Michigan with in its preseason slate. The Vols have already scheduled a home exhibition matchup against Duke on Oct. 26 at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center. The plan was for the Duke game to be Tennessee’s second exhibition after they already faced Michigan.
Tennessee will almost certainly schedule an exhibition game to replace the Michigan matchup but It’s unclear whether they could find another power five opponent to face on the road.
Michigan is entering its second season under head coach Dusty May and is one of the favorites to win the Big 10 this season. Most preseason rankings have the Wolverines in the top 10 while some have them as high as the top five.
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Tennessee’s non conference schedule includes matchups against Rutgers (Las Vegas), Houston (Las Vegas), at Syracuse, Illinois (Nashville) and Louisville. The Vols will play another opponent in the Players Era Tournament in Las Vegas. That opponent will likely be a quality power five opponent.
The Vols underwent a major roster overhaul this offseason, losing four of its starters from last season and five of its top six rotational players. The Vols do return key front court pieces Felix Okpara and Cade Phillips as well as JP Estrella who missed last season due to injury. Rick Barnes and his staff also went out and landed Vanderbilt power forward Jaylen Carey out of the transfer portal.
In the backcourt, Tennessee returns reserve guard Bishop Boswell but made major additions to its roster through the transfer portal and recruiting ranks. The Vols landed Maryland point guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie and Louisiana Tech shooting guard Amaree Abram.
Out of the prep ranks, Tennessee added five-star wing Nate Ament, four-star wing Amari Evans, four-star center DeWayne Brown, French wing Clarence Massamba and three-star point guard Troy Henderson to its roster.
Tennessee projects as a top 25 team again next season and has the potential of a top 10 team if things come together well.
