The high-profile nature of the Tennessee-Duke exhibition basketball game in Knoxville this October has just increased. According to a news release from Tennessee Athletics on Friday morning, the game in Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center has officially been sold out.
The sellout happened in a matter of minutes after the tickets went on sale.
The preseason exhibition game between the Volunteers and the Blue Devils will take place Oct. 26 at 7:00 p.m. ET.
This will be the first time that Tennessee and Duke have squared off since their meeting in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in Orlando, FL, in March 2023. Tennessee and head coach Rick Barnes eliminated the Blue Devils, 65-52, in Jon Scheyer’s first season with the program in 2022-2023.
“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.”
The Vols’ October preseason matchup against Duke will kick off a thrilling non-conference slate for Tennessee. Here’s a look at what that looks like:
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
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The news of the sellout is incredibly noteworthy, even though it’s not an official game that’ll count on the regular season win-loss record. For one, it foreshadows just how insane an environment TBA at FCC will be on that day, especially considering it’ll also be the Tennessee debut for future stars such as Ja’Kobi Gillespie and Nate Ament.
On the other hand, though, it’s right in the middle of football season. Even though the football team will likely be dominating the news wire as the calendar flips to November, the basketball team is going to draw some massive headlines for a sold-out game against a Final Four-caliber team like Duke. It’s no surprise to see Tennessee’s fans jump into action to grab all the tickets so quickly. It’s a testament to just how excited the fanbase seemingly is for this preseason game.
The game will take place just one day after Tennessee Football’s road contest against Kentucky in Lexington.
This will be Tennessee’s fourth straight sellout in the Food City Center, dating back to last season’s win over Vanderbilt on Feb. 15. Tennessee sold out its arena eight times in each of the last two seasons, which is a single-season program record.
Tennessee will begin the season on Nov. 3 against Mercer in Knoxville. The Vols’ SEC opener will come on Jan. 3 in a road contest at Arkansas, while the home conference slate kicks off on either Jan. 6 or 7 against the Texas Longhorns in the Food City Center.
For a look at some of the major renovations that Tennessee Athletics has made to the arena this offseason, click here.
