How To Watch: No. 18 Tennessee's sold-out exhibition game vs. No. 6 Duke

No. 18 Tennessee will wrap up its preseason schedule on a big stage Sunday night, hosting No. 6 Duke in a sold-out exhibition game at Food City Center Sunday night. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. Eastern Time on ESPN2.

The Vols, who open the regular-season schedule on November 3 at home against Mercer, hosted Ohio State in a closed scrimmage last Saturday at Pratt Pavilion. Duke beat Central Florida 96-71 on Tuesday at Cameron Indoor Stadium behind 33 points from five-star freshman forward Cameron Boozer.

Sunday night will mark the unofficial debut of Tennessee five-star freshman Nate Ament — Ament was the No. 4 overall player in the 2025 recruiting class, ranked one spot behind Boozer — after he headlined an offseason roster overhaul.

Rick Barnes and his staff replaced departing seniors Zakai Zeigler, Chaz Lanier, Jahmai Mashack, Jordan Gainey and Igor Milicic with Ament, Maryland transfer point guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie, Louisiana Tech transfer forward Amaree Abram, Vanderbilt transfer forward Jaylen Carey, Israeli guard Ethan Burg and freshmen Amari Evans, DeWayne Brown, Troy Henderson and Clarence Massamba.

How to Watch: No. 18 Tennessee vs. No. 6 Duke

When: Sunday, 7 p.m. Eastern Time | Where: Food City Center

TV: ESPN2 (Tom Hart, Jimmy Dykes)

Radio: WNML 99.1 FM in Knoxville (Mike Keith, John Wilkerson). The Vol Network radio broadcast can be heard on local affiliates across the state of Tennessee.

Rick Barnes wants more exhibition games on schedule

Tennessee lost 66-62 to Indiana in a preseason exhibition last October at Food City Center. The Vols went to Michigan State in October 2023 for a charity exhibition, winning 89-88, and beat Gonzaga in a charity exhibition in Frisco, Texas, in 2022.

Michigan nearly hosted Tennessee in an exhibition game that would have been played last week, but the two teams could not finalize a deal when the game was being discussed in July.

Barnes has said multiple times that he would be in favor of college basketball adding more preseason exhibition games in the month of Ocotber. He mentioned one idea Friday afternoon, which he said is being discussed among SEC coaches, that would follow the league’s football schedule.

“There’s some things going on within our league,” Barnes said, “where the league’s talking about, like, when we go down and play Alabama (in) football, on a Friday night we would scrimmage Alabama (basketball). And teams that you know that your football teams are going to play every year, that’s been a discussion in the league that. Again, I’m good with it. I think a lot of coaches in the league are.”

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.

“Certainly a great opponent,” Barnes said on Friday, “a young Duke team that’s extremely well coached. Jon (Scheyer) always has done a great job since he’s taken over that great program and we’re excited about it. And I’m sure we’re excited to see somebody else, too.”