What we know about Tennessee's basketball schedule so far

Tennessee basketball officially added another game to its 2023-24 schedule this week, announcing the neutral-site game against North Carolina State, set for December 16 at the AT&T Center in San Antonio.

The Vols now have six dates on the official schedule this season, with NC State added to games against Wisconsin, Illinois and a tough Maui Invitational field. It has been reported that the Vols will host Wofford on November 14, but the game has not been officially added to the schedule at this point.

It’s also expected that Tennessee will play a road game in the new ACC-SEC Challenge and that the game will be played in November. So far, though, matchups and dates have not yet been announced.

Before the regular-season schedule gets here, Tennessee will play three exhibition games in early August during a 10-day tour and in October will scrimmage at Michigan State, after the Spartans scrimmaged behind closed doors in Knoxville last October.

Head coach Rick Barnes has also talked about the possibility of playing another neutral-site exhibition game for charity, like the Vols did against Gonzaga in Frisco, Texas, last fall.

“Our schedule we play,” Barnes said in April, “we’ll start the season with a scrimmage against Michigan State up there. Then we’ll talk about what we want to do after that with an exhibition game or another one of the games where we can maybe do a charity game. Then Maui and all that. It’s going to help these young guys early.”

Here’s a look at what we know so far about Tennessee basketball’s schedule this season:

November 10 — At Wisconsin 

Tennessee finally makes the return trip to Wisconsin. The Vols will play the Badgers on November 10 at the Kohl Center in Madison in the second game of 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.

“We’re looking forward to resuming this home-and-home series with Tennessee,” Wisconsin coach Greg Gard said when the game was announced in April. “Early season, marquee matchups like this are something that college basketball needs, and we are always looking to be part of games like this. 

“On top of that, being able to host games like this and bring quality competition to the Kohl Center in front of Badger fans is always a goal.”

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.

November 20-22 — Maui Invitational 

The Maui Invitational bracket has not yet been announced, but the eight-team field is loaded. Tennessee, which will play three games over the course of three days, will compete in Maui alongside Gonzaga, Kansas, Marquette, Purdue, Syracuse, UCLA and Chaminade.

Five of the eight teams are ranked in the top ten of ESPN’s Way Too Early Top 25 for the 2023-24 season. Kansas is ranked No. 1, ahead of Purdue at No. 3. Tennessee is No. 6, Gonzaga is No. 8 and Marquette is No. 10.

Tennessee last went to the Maui Invitational in 2016, losing to No. 16 Wisconsin on Day 1, then falling in overtime against No. 13 Oregon on Day 2. The Vols beat Chaminade on the third and final day at the tournament. 

December 9 — Illinois

Tennessee announced in December that a home-and-home with Illinois will start this season when the Vols host the Illini on December 9. Tennessee will make the return trip to Illinois on December 14, 2024.

The two teams have met just three times in men’s basketball. Illinois won 103-79 at home in 1988, after the Vols won in Knoxville, 54-51, in 1985. Tennessee beat Illinois 66-42 in a Volunteer Classic game in Knoxville in December 1967.

Other home-and-home series scheduled during the Barnes have included Arizona, North Carolina, Georgia Tech, Wake Forest, Wisconsin and Colorado.

“We are excited to schedule a marquee series with the University of Tennessee,” Illinois coach Brad Underwood said when the game was announced in December. “These will be great early season tests for our program to compete against talented and successful Tennessee teams led by their tremendous coach in Rick Barnes.”

December 16 — North Carolina State (San Antonio)

Tennessee on Wednesday announced it will play a neutral-site game in San Antonio on December 16th. The game, played at the AT&T Center, the home of the San Antonio Spurs, in partnership with the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and its newly branded Hall of Fame Series.

The Vols 4-7 against NC State all-time, but Tennessee won the most recent meeting 67-58 in the 2017 Battle 4 Atlantis. 

“Our program has participated in several Hall of Fame events in recent years, and they have always been wonderful experiences for our team,” Barnes said in a press release. “We expect the same caliber of experience when we travel to San Antonio—a great city that knows and loves basketball—to test ourselves against a really talented and well-coached NC State program.

“Our associate head coach, Justin Gainey, is an NC State grad and was a great point guard for the Wolfpack under Herb Sendek. And growing up in Hickory, North Carolina, I’m very familiar with NC State’s rich basketball history.”

Tennessee during the Barnes era has played neutral-site regular-season games in New York, Phoenix, Toronto, Nashville and Seattle.