Tennessee basketball opens up Rick Barnes’ 11th season as head coach on Monday night when they host Mercer in a non conference matchup. The Vols split preseason matchups against Ohio State and Duke before getting the show started for real on Monday night.
Here’s everything to know about the matchup from broadcast details to betting odds to a look at the Mercer Bears.
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How to Watch — No. 18 Tennessee (0-0, 0-0 SEC) vs. Mercer (0-0, 0-0 SoCon)
- Start Time: 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT
- Location: Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center
- Watch: SEC Network+. PxP: Myan Patel, CC: Steve Hamer, Sideline: Sarah Detwiler
- Online Streaming: Watch ESPN
- Radio (Knoxville): The Vol Network/The Vol Network App
- Vol Network radio crew: PxP: Mike Keith, CC: John Wilkerson
Betting Odds
- Tennessee -28.5 Mercer
- Over/under: 143.5
- Tennessee -26 Mercer
- Over/under: 146
Probable Starters
Tennessee (via UT Game Notes)
Mercer
- No projected starters listed in game notes
How They Fared Last Season
Tennessee:
- 30-8 (12-6 SEC) record
- Elite Eight appearance
- Season ended with loss against Houston
Mercer:
- 14-19 (6-12 SoCon) record
- Lost in second round of SoCon tournament
- Finished 8th out of 10 teams in SoCon regular season
Where They Land In Preseason Rankings
Tennessee:
- AP Poll: No. 18
- Coaches Poll: No. 17
- KenPom: No. 9
- Bart Torvik: No. 13
- EvanMiya: No. 15
Mercer:
- AP Poll: N/R
- Coaches Poll: N/R
- KenPom: No. 239
- Bart Torvik: No. 267
- EvanMiya: No. 256
Stat Leaders (Last Season)
Tennessee:
Points: Ja’Kobi Gillespie (Maryland) — 14.7 PPG, 45.3 FG%, 40.7 3PT%
Rebounds: Felix Okpara — 6.4 RPG
Assists: Ja’Kobi Gillespie (Maryland) — 4.8 APG, 1.9 TOPG, 31.6 MPG
Mercer:
Points: Brady Shoulders — 5.8 PPG, 42.1 FG%, 33.3 3PT%
Rebounds: Brady Shoulders — 5.9 RPG
Assists: Brady Shoulders — 1.2 APG, 1.0 TOPG, 25.2 MPG
Prediction
Tennessee should roll with ease in this game against a completely new look Mercer team. The SoCon coaches picked Mercer to finish eighth in the conference this season after they finished eighth in Ryan Ridder’s first season as head coach.
The Vols have been excellent at taking care of inferior non conference opponents during Rick Barnes’ tenure and there should not be any focus or look ahead concerns for Tennessee in its season opener.
The bigger questions for me in this game is what Tennessee’s rotations look like— especially at shooting guard and in the front court— and how glued together the Vols’ defense is. There’s a lot of new faces playing together for the first time and that was a concern in the exhibition loss against Duke.
Tennessee wins and rolls in its 2025-26 season opener.
Tennessee 90, Mercer 58
