Tennessee basketball coach Rick Barnes will throw his reloaded roster straight into the fire in preparation for the 2026-27 season. The Vols have scheduled a visit to Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, North Carolina, for a preseason exhibition against Duke on Oct. 20, the program announced on July 29.
Tip off time and television designation will be determined at a later date.
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The NCAA eased rules restricting exhibition games in January 2025, allowing Division I men’s teams to play up to two preseason games against any four-year institution and keep all revenue from those games. A proposal from the Division I Oversight Committee submitted in May would allow for three preseason exhibitions.
This will be the second of a home-and-home exhibition series played between these two programs. Duke pulled away in the second half to earn an 83-76 win last October at Thompson-Bowling Arena behind a 24-point, 23-rebound effort from freshman superstar Cameron Boozer.
The Vols were led by 19 points from Ja’Kobi Gillespie (19 points, eight assists) and outscored Duke by 10 in the paint, but made only 30.8% from their 3-pointers.
Boozer and Isaiah Evans, who chipped in 22 point, are off to the NBA but Duke coach Jon Scheyer rebuilt his roster with college basketball’s second-ranked prep recruiting class and No. 10 transfer haul, according to 247Sports. As a result, the Blue Devils are expected to retain their spot as a perennial national title contender.
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Tennessee offseason recruiting efforts have them in position to contend for the SEC title after ending its season in the Elite Eight for the third consecutive season. Guards Juke Harris and Terrance Hill Jr. headline a transfer class that 247Sports considers the second best in college basketball.
The Vols will open the regular season at home against Wofford on Nov. 3. Their 14-game nonconference slate features home games against Michigan State on Nov. 17 and Florida State on Dec. 1. Tennessee will meet NC State at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on Dec. 6, then visit Purdue on Dec. 11 before opening SEC play on Jan. 2 against Vanderbilt in Knoxville.
Reigning SEC tournament champion Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina and Mississippi State will all visit Thompson-Bowling Arena. And the Vols will pay at Auburn, LSU, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Texas and Ole Miss.
Kentucky, Vanderbilt and Missouri were paired with Tennessee for home-and-home series.
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Stephen Thompson covers Tennessee Volunteers men’s basketball. Email him at stephen.thompson@knoxnews.com and follow him on X @stephenethom.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee basketball schedules exhibition game at Duke’s Cameron Indoor Oct. 20
