Tennessee basketball season tickets for the highly anticipated 2020-21 season are now on sale.
In his sixth year leading the Volunteers, head coach Rick Barnes directs a talented roster that includes a healthy mix of experienced veterans along with one of the most highly touted collection of newcomers in program history.
By visiting AllVols.com, Tennessee fans can select from a variety of season-ticket options, starting as low as $150. The popular Vol Pass ticket option also returns this season at a rate of $150.
New this year is a benefit for fans who make new ticket purchases and opt to pay via eCheck. By paying via eCheck, purchasers will receive two complimentary tickets to one 2020-21 weekday home game (excluding Kentucky).
For each of the last two seasons, the Vols have ranked fourth nationally in average home attendance. Tennessee averaged 18,990 fans per game last year, with more than 15,500 season tickets sold—a number that exceeded the average home attendance of all but 11 Division I programs.
For the first time since the 2014-15 season, the Vols open the regular season on the road, completing a home-and-home series with Big 10 foe Wisconsin in Madison on Nov. 11.
Tennessee’s home opener takes place Saturday, Nov. 14, against Presbyterian. The Vols then travel to South Carolina for three games at the Charleston Classic the weekend before Thanksgiving. The bracket for that tournament has yet to be announced.
The Big Orange then return home for an in-state matchup against Tennessee Tech on Nov. 27. Tennessee hosts George Washington on Dec. 2 and welcomes Cincinnati to Thompson-Boling Arena on Dec. 12.
Tennessee heads west to Nashville on Saturday, Dec. 19 for a neutral-site clash against Memphis at Bridgestone Arena before returning to Rocky Top for holiday-break home games against USC Upstate and Norfolk State on Dec. 22 and Dec. 29 respectively.
An additional non-conference neutral-site game is expected to be made official at a later date, and the Vols also are expected to host a game as part of the annual SEC/Big 12 Challenge on Jan. 30.
Southeastern Conference play begins on Saturday, Jan. 2, and includes nine home games and nine road contests. The SEC Tournament returns to Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on March 10-14.
Tennessee welcomes the nation’s fifth-ranked signing class, which includes three top-75 prospects in five-star guards in Keon Johnson and McDonald’s All-American Jaden Springer and versatile four-star forward Corey Walker Jr. That trio of freshmen is joined by incoming grad transfer E.J. Anosike, who was a 1,000-point scorer and one of the top rebounders in Division I during his three seasons at Sacred Heart.
Tennessee’s returners are led by rising senior forwards John Fulkerson and Yves Pons. An All-SEC performer this past season, Fulkerson led the Vols in scoring (13.7 ppg) and rebounding (5.9 rpg)—and he capped his breakout year with a 27-point performance in UT’s upset win at sixth-ranked Kentucky in March. Pons—who is still considering officially making himself eligible for the 2020 NBA Draft—tied the school record for blocks in a season with 73 rejections and was named SEC Defensive Player of the Year. He also averaged 10.8 points and 5.4 rebounds.
After sitting out last season, Oregon transfer Victor Bailey Jr. (7.4 ppg, .398 3FG in 2018-19) adds tremendous quickness and offensive punch while standing as arguably the team’s most ferocious returning perimeter defender.
Barnes’ sixth season at the helm also will be bolstered by two rising sophomore guards. Josiah-Jordan James, a 2019 McDonald’s All-American, was Tennessee’s best 3-point shooter this past season (.367) while averaging a dynamic 7.4 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists. And Santiago Vescovi—maybe the most remarkable storyline to UT’s 2019-20 season—enrolled in January via the NBA Global Academy and contributed 10.7 points and 3.7 assists per game.
If recent history holds, Tennessee fans also can expect to see significant skill development in additional returners Davonte Gaines, Olivier Nkamhoua, Drew Pember and Uros Plavsic.
