Tennessee basketball will face Duke in a preseason exhibition game at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center on Oct. 26, the program announced Friday. Tipoff is at 7 p.m. ET and the broadcast details are not yet official.
“We have so much respect for Jon Scheyer and for the Duke basketball program,” Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes said in a statement. “It is an exciting opportunity for our players and our fans to host the Blue Devils here in Knoxville for a high-level exhibition game. We are confident this matchup will benefit both teams and really help prepare us for the upcoming season.”
Duke is coming off a trip to the Final Four in Scheyer’s third season as head coach and the Blue Devils project to be national title contenders again next season.
After signing the No. 1 recruiting class in the country, Bart Torvik ranks Duke No. 2 in his preseason rankings. The Blue Devils signed four top 50 recruits including Cameron Boozer— the No. 3 player in the country. The exhibition game will pit Tennessee five-star freshman Nate Ament, who chose the Vols over Duke, against the Boozer twins and Duke’s highly touted freshman class.
Tennessee has faced Duke 16 times in program history with the series split 8-8. The last matchup came in the 2023 NCAA Tournament when the Vols defeated Duke 65-52 in the Round of 32.
The exhibition game will not be apart of Tennessee’s season ticket package. Tickets for upper-deck seating begin at $20 while tickets for lower-bowl seating begin at $35.
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Rick Barnes and the Vols have played challenging exhibition games in past years including matchups with Gonzaga, Michigan State and Indiana. But this is the first year that they’ll play two premier opponents in exhibition games. The NCAA relaxed its rules about exhibition games back in January, now allowing teams to play two each season.
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.
