KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – University of Tennessee head men’s basketball coach Rick Barnes announced Friday the team’s non-conference slate for the upcoming 2025-26 season.
The Volunteers, coming off a campaign in which they won 30 games and reached the Elite Eight in the same year for the first time, will take the floor for 13 non-conference affairs between Nov. 3 and Dec. 30. The schedule features six consecutive outings against Power Five opponents, including five away from home, and eight games at Food City Center.
Fans looking for season tickets are encouraged to complete the 2025-26 Tennessee Basketball Season Ticket Interest Form HERE. This will allow individuals to get their names on a list and stay informed about future opportunities to secure seats for each game.
“Each year, we work to create a non-conference schedule that best sets our team up for success and prepares us for SEC competition. We feel we have once again done just that,” Barnes said. “In addition to four tough games we’ll get on planes for, we look forward to playing nine here in the Volunteer State, including eight on our home court, in front of our incredible fans.”
To begin the 2025-26 campaign, Tennessee hosts Mercer in a Nov. 3 matchup at Food City Center. Tennessee is 4-4 all-time versus the Bears, including 3-1 at home, and has won each of the past four meetings. The last game was an 84-60 Tennessee home win on Nov. 29, 2017.
Tennessee continues a five-game homestand Nov. 9 versus Northern Kentucky. This will be the first clash between the two sides, as well as the first time Barnes faces the Norse in his soon-to-be 39-year head coaching career.
Up next for the Volunteers is a Nov. 12 game against North Florida, for a second straight first-time series meeting. Barnes, though, has faced the Ospreys once, collecting a 70-48 home triumph on Dec. 14, 2010, during his tenure at Texas.
Tennessee welcomes former assistant Rob Lanier back to Knoxville during a No. 17 outing versus Rice, where he is now the head coach. Lanier worked under Barnes during his first four seasons on Rocky Top, 2015-19. Tennessee sports a 1-3 series record, including a 1-2 home mark, but the sides have not met since Dec. 6, 1963, when Rice tallied a 61-56 home win.
The Volunteers wrap up the homestand Nov. 20 when they face Tennessee State. This will be the seventh matchup between the in-state foes, with Tennessee winning each of the first six, all at home. The Tigers last came to Knoxville for the 12th game of the Barnes era, a 74-69 result on Dec. 29, 2015.
Tennessee then heads to Las Vegas, where it will compete in the Players Era Men’s Championship. It opens action with the first game of the event Nov. 24 against Rutgers, against which it is 2-0 all-time and last played on Nov. 19, 1992, when it earned an 87-79 road triumph.
The Volunteers then face Houston, against which they are 3-3 overall and 0-2 at neutral sites, the next day. Tennessee fell to the Cougars, 69-50, last season, as the sides met March 30 in the 2025 Elite Eight. The Volunteers’ final game of the 18-team tournament will take place Nov. 26 or Nov. 27 against a to-be-determined opponent.
Next, Barnes takes his team to Syracuse, N.Y., where it plays Dec. 2 in a second straight ACC/SEC Challenge matchup with Syracuse. Tennessee is 5-3 against the Orange, including 1-1 on the road. This will be the third consecutive season the teams square off, as Tennessee claimed a 73-56 win on Nov. 20, 2023, in Honolulu and registered a 96-70 home triumph on Dec. 3, 2024.
Tennessee will then face another team, Illinois, in non-conference play for the third season in a row. The Volunteers and Fighting Illini will meet Dec. 6 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn. Tennessee owns a 4-1 series record, with this set to be the first neutral-site meeting, and swept the home-and-home the last two years. It posted an 86-79 home decision on Dec. 9, 2023, and then a 66-64 buzzer-beating victory Dec. 14, 2024, in Champaign, Ill.
To conclude the six-game stretch versus Power Five foes, Tennessee hosts Louisville in a Dec. 16 affair at Food City Center. It is the second leg of a home-and-home series, with Tennessee notching a dominant 77-55 road victory on Nov. 9, 2024. That result moved Tennessee to 9-12 all-time against the Cardinals; it is 1-5 at home.
The Volunteers next take the court Dec. 21 when they face Gardner-Webb at home for the second straight season. Tennessee logged an 80-64 win on Nov. 4, 2024, in last year’s season opener to improve to 3-0 in the series.
After eight days without a game, the Volunteers finish the 2025 calendar year with their non-conference finale, Dec. 30 versus South Carolina State at Food City Center. It will be the first matchup between the two programs, but Barnes has coached against the Bulldogs twice before. He led Clemson to a pair of home victories during the 1997 calendar year, first a 63-44 final on Jan. 4 and then an 84-60 decision on Dec. 28.
Tennessee starts SEC play Jan. 3. The league schedule is yet to be announced, but home and away designations were announced June 18.
To keep up with the University of Tennessee men’s basketball team on social media, follow @Vol_Hoops on Instagram and X/Twitter, as well as /tennesseebasketball on Facebook.
FULL 2025-26 NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
Nov. 3 – MERCER
Nov. 9 – NORTHERN KENTUCKY
Nov. 12 – NORTH FLORIDA
Nov. 17 – RICE
Nov. 20 – TENNESSEE STATE
Nov. 24 – vs. Rutgers (Players Era Men’s Championship – Las Vegas)
Nov. 25 – vs. Houston (Players Era Men’s Championship – Las Vegas)
Nov. 26/27 – vs. TBD (Players Era Men’s Championship – Las Vegas)
Dec. 2 – at Syracuse (ACC/SEC Challenge)
Dec. 6 – vs. Illinois (Nashville, Tenn.)
Dec. 16 – LOUISVILLE
Dec. 21 – GARDNER-WEBB
Dec. 30 – SOUTH CAROLINA STATE
