Tennessee basketball will face off against NC State in a non conference game in Nashville next season, Jon Rothstein first reported and a source confirmed to RTI on Wednesday afternoon. The exact date for the game is not certain.
The matchup will pit Rick Barnes’ Tennessee program against his former top assistant Justin Gainey in his first season as the Wolfpacks’ head coach. However, the deal was signed for the two teams to face off before NC State hired Gainey, a source told RTI.
Gainey spent the last five seasons on Barnes’ staff at Tennessee including four years as the Vols’ associate head coach. The Vols won the SEC Regular-Season and SEC Tournament, made four trips to the Sweet 16 and three trips to the Elite Eight during Gainey’s time on staff.
After Mike Schwartz left to be the head coach at East Carolina following the 2021-22 season, Gainey became Tennessee’s “defensive coordinator.”
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The Vols have consistently been great on the defensive end under Barnes but ranked No. 1, No. 3 and No. 1, again, in KenPom adjusted defensive efficiency during Gainey’s three years as the “defensive coordinator.” They have taken a step back this year but still finished the season ranked 14th nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency.
Tennessee assistant director of player development Riley Collins followed Gainey to NC State to take an assistant coaching position.
Like most teams with a new coach, NC State is building nearly a completely new roster for next season. The Wolfpack have added a handful of high-level transfers to date including Santa Clara guard Christian Hammond and Hofstra point guard Preston Edmead.
Tennessee has yet to announce its non conference schedule for next season. However, the Vols will play a road game against Purdue, three games in the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas and one game in the ACC-SEC Challenge. In past seasons, Tennessee has typically played either six or seven power five opponents in non conference play.
This is the second straight season that Tennessee has played a non conference game in Nashville. Last season, the Vols lost to Illinois at Bridgestone Arena.
