Tennessee Basketball announces date, time for home exhibition game vs. Duke

Tennessee Basketball on Friday made its exhibition game against Duke official, announcing that the matchup is set for October 26 at 7 p.m. Eastern Time at Food City Center. TV information has not yet been announced.

The exhibition game will not be part of Tennessee’s season-ticket package. Tickets for the exhibition will start at $35 for lower-level seats and $20 in the upper level at Thompson-Boling Arena.

“We have so much respect for Jon Scheyer and for the Duke basketball program,” Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said in a press release. “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.”

General public ticket sales will open August 15 at 10 a.m. Eastern Time. Tennessee students will be admitted free, with the claim period for student tickets beginning October 20. Parking information will be released at a later date.

According to Tennessee’s press release, season-ticket holders beginning Friday will have first right of refusal for their current seat locations for the Duke exhibition and will receive email communication from Tennessee Athletics Friday afternoon with more details. The first right of refusal for current seat locations ends August 8 at 5 p.m. ET.

Donor presales will take place August 13-14, with eligible donors receiving email communication from Tennessee before the presale.

Tennessee Basketball’s history against Duke

Tennessee has faced Duke 16 times and has an 8-8 record against the Blue Devils. The Vols won the most recent matchup 65-52 in the second round of the 2023 NCAA Tournament in Orlando. 

Duke beat Tennessee 77-67 in the 2011 Maui Invitational and the Vols won a natural-site game in New Orleans 90-69 in December 1980. Tennessee hasn’t hosted Duke since an 81-78 loss in December 1976.

Tennessee will reportedly open the season November 3 against Mercer. The Vols will face Rutgers, Houston and a third team to be determined in the Players Era tournament in Las Vegas November 24-27.

December starts with a road game at Syracuse in the ACC-SEC Challenge on December 2. The Illinois series will continue with a game at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on December 6 and Louisville comes to Knoxville on December 16 to finish a two-year home-and-home.

The Vols host Louisville on December 16, Gardner-Webb on December 21 and close the non-conference schedule against South Carolina State on December 30. 

Tennessee won 77-55 at Louisville last November in the first road game of the season and the start of the two-year home-and-home between the two programs. The Vols swept Illinois over the last two seasons and will face the Illini again in Chicago during the 2026-27 season.

Syracuse has been on the schedule the last two seasons, with Tennessee winning in Hawaii during the Maui Invitational in November 2023 and again last December in the ACC-SEC Challenge game at Food City Center.

SEC opponents set, schedule not yet announced

Tennessee’s SEC schedule has not yet been released, though opponents were announced in June.

The Vols added a home-and-home series with Alabama, among other marquee matchups, and will also have their regular home-and-homes with Kentucky and Vanderbilt. The Alabama home-and-home replaced the Florida home-and-home from last season. 

Tennessee will host Auburn, LSU, Missouri, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Texas and Texas A&M in Knoxville, after going on the road for those games lsat season. The Vols will play on the road at Arkansas, Florida, Georgia and South Carolina, after playing those opponents at home on the 2024-25 schedule.