Tennessee Basketball’s non-conference slate has some thrilling opportunities ahead for the new-look Vols as they prepare for the SEC schedule.
UT will kick things off with an exhibition game against Duke in Knoxville before in-season matchups against Rutgers, Houston, Syracuse, Illinois, and Louisville.
One of those matchups stands out above the rest to ESPN’s Jeff Borzello, though.
According to Borzello, Tennessee’s most important non-conference game takes place in Sin City during the Players Era men’s tournament against former tournament foe Houston. While the matchup does hold weight as a rematch of last year’s Elite Eight game that saw Tennessee’s tournament elimination, Borzello simply believes it’ll be the best test for the Vols’ newcomers.
“Rick Barnes’ post-Zakai Zeigler coaching career gets underway this season, with this game one of the scheduled highlights of the Players Era,” Borzello writes. “How will Nate Ament handle Houston’s physicality and defense? Will Ja’Kobi Gillespie get the best of Milos Uzan at the point guard spot? Is Tennessee’s defense going to be in the top five nationally for the sixth year in a row?”
All good questions that will be answered this fall. This particular matchup will take place on Nov. 25 in Las Vegas, NV.
Borzello projects four new starters in the Vols’ lineup after the departure of Zeigler, Jahmai Mashack, Chaz Lanier, and others. In addition to returning starter Felix Okpara, who has looked mightily improved through summer workouts in Knoxville, he also projects Ament, Gillespie, Louisiana Tech transfer Amaree Abram, and Vanderbilt transfer Jaylen Carey in the Vols’ starting five.
Borzello has Tennessee as the No. 23 team in his early Top 25 rankings.
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Here’s a look at what Tennessee Basketball’s non-conference schedule looks like:
- Oct. 26 – vs Duke (Exhibition in Knoxville)
- Nov. 3 – vs Mercer
- Nov. 8 – vs Northern Kentucky
- Nov. 12 – vs North Florida
- Nov. 17 – vs Rice
- Nov. 20 – vs Tennessee State
- Nov. 24 – vs Rutgers (Player’s Era Tournament, Las Vegas)
- Nov. 25 – vs Houston (Player’s Era Tournament, Las Vegas)
- Nov. 26/27 – TBD (Player’s Era Tournament, Las Vegas)
- Dec. 2 – at Syracuse (ACC/SEC Challenge)
- Dec. 6 – vs Illinois (Music City Madness, Nashville)
- Dec. 16 – vs Louisville
- Dec. 21 – vs Gardner-Webb
- Dec. 30 – vs South Carolina State
