Report: Tennessee to play Syracuse in 2023 Maui Invitational opener
The opening round matchups for the eight-team field for the 2023 Maui Invitational have been announced as Tennessee will take on Syracuse, according to College Basketball insider Jon Rothstein.
UT is set to make its fourth appearance all-time in the event as the 2023 field consists of the Vols, Syracuse, Gonzaga, Kansas, Marquette, Purdue, UCLA and Chaminade. Tipoff for the showcase will be November 20-22 with Tennessee and Syracuse reportedly playing on Monday, which is day one.
The 40th edition of the tournament will be played at the Lahaina Civic Center in Maui, Hawaii and each team will play three games.
Tennessee placed seventh in its last appearance at the Maui Invitational in 2016. In Rick Barnes second season in Knoxville, the Vols dropped two games to Wisconsin and Oregon before defeating Chaminade in the finale. UT also finished seventh in 2011 and fourth in 2004.
Complete Nonconference Announced
The Vols open the 2023-24 home schedule with an exhibition game against Lenoir-Rhyne on October 31 and will host Tennessee Tech on November 6 in the regular-season opener. They go to Wisconsin on November 10 and host Wofford on November 14, before playing three games in the Maui Invitation November 20-22.
Tennessee goes to North Carolina on November 29, the first game back after returning from Maui. They host George Mason on December 5, Illinois on December 9 and Georgia Southern on December 12.
The neutral-site game against North Carolina State is set for December 16 and a home date with Tarleton State is the final game before the Christmas break, scheduled for December 21. Tennessee hosts Norfolk State on January 2 in the final non-conference game on the schedule.
SEC Opponents announced, schedule not set
The SEC schedule has not yet been set, but opponents have been announced.
Tennessee will have home-and-homes with Kentucky, South Carolina and Vanderbilt. The Vols will host Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi State, Missouri, South Carolina, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt. They’ll play road games at Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Kentucky, LSU, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt.
The game at Wisconsin is the second in a home-and-home series that started at Thompson-Boling Arena in December 2019. The Vols were scheduled to play at Wisconsin in December 2020 before the COVID pandemic altered the 2020-21 basketball season.
Wisconsin won 68-48 at Thompson-Boling Arena on December 28, 2019. Wisconsin finished 20-15 last season, going 9-11 in Big Ten play before making a run to the NIT championship game, where the Badgers lost to North Texas.
Tennessee announced in December that a home-and-home with Illinois had been scheduled, starting in Knoxville this season. The Vols make the return trip to Illinois on December 14, 2024.
