Tennessee Basketball is using a sure-fire method to get its student section filled up and matching as quickly as possible this weekend – free merchandise. According to a post on social media, the Vols are giving away orange retro bomber jackets to the first 500 students through the Food City Center doors on Saturday morning before the Vols’ rivalry game against Kentucky at Noon.
The retro bomber jackets are primarily orange with orange and white striped collars and cuffs at the bottom and by the hands. It’s also got the script Vols logo on the left side of the chest and ‘Tennessee’ written out in block letters across the back.
These jackets are sharp, and something that goes pretty above and beyond the normal white or orange t-shirts that are often given out during promotions like this.
this beautiful retro bomber jacket to the first 500 students through the door on Saturday
claim your tickets now @RockyTopRowdies pic.twitter.com/R5aE4vobyC
— Tennessee Basketball (@Vol_Hoops) January 15, 2026
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Saturday will showcase the first of two meetings against Mark Pope’s Kentucky Wildcats this regular season. The second meeting will come on Feb. 7 in Lexington, in a game in which the ‘Cats are set to don throwback jerseys from the 1995-1996 season.
The Vols are 2-2 in SEC play so far, with home wins over Texas and Texas A&M and road losses to Arkansas and Florida. The Vols have a perfect 10-0 record in the Food City Center so far this season.
Kentucky, on the other hand, is 11-6 on the year and 2-2 in SEC play. The Wildcats dropped their first two conference games, at Alabama and home against Missouri, but have bounced back with a home win over Mississippi State and a road win over LSU.
Wednesday’s win over the Tigers came via a stunning buzzer-beater in Baton Rouge, completing an 18-point comeback on the road:
Malachi Moreno wins the game on a buzzer beater! pic.twitter.com/BuZDfI91iC
— Rare Rookies #BBN (@rarerookies) January 15, 2026
According to ESPN’s matchup predictor, Tennessee has a 67% chance of winning the game on Saturday. This hasn’t quite been the Year 2 under Mark Pope that Kentucky fans had been hoping for so far, but it is a rivalry game this weekend. There’s an old saying about throwing out the record books, after all.
Kentucky is scoring 83.1 points per game while giving up 69.7 points on average. Tennessee, meanwhile, is scoring 82.6 points per game while allowing an average of 68.1.
No. 24 Tennessee will host Kentucky at 12:00 p.m. ET this weekend in the Food City Center.
Stay tuned to Rocky Top Insider for live coverage of the game on Saturday in Knoxville.
