KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — The Tennessee men’s basketball team will begin its 2020-21 campaign on the road against Wisconsin and travel to Nashville for a showdown with cross-state rival Memphis in December.
Coach Rick Barnes’ sixth season as coach of the Vols, and 34th overall, includes a Thanksgiving trip to South Carolina for the Charleston Classic and home contests against George Washington and Cincinnati.
The slate begins Nov. 11 in Madison, Wisconsin, to face the Badgers. It will be the first time since the 2014-15 season that the Vols begin their season on the road.
The Vols will host their home opener against Presbyterian on Saturday, Nov. 14 before heading to Charleston.
A bracket for the Thanksgiving weekend tournament has not been released but participating teams include College of Charleston, Florida State, Houston, Oklahoma State, Penn State, Seton Hall and VCU. The tournament will be broadcast on ESPN.
Tennessee Tech on Nov. 27 will begin a three-game home stretch. The Vols will also host George Washington (Dec. 2) and Cincinnati (Dec. 12) before traveling to Nashville for a showdown with the Memphis Tigers in Bridgestone Arena on Dec. 19.
Tennessee lost to Memphis 47-51 in Knoxville last season.
The Vols will get a pair of tune-up games at home against USC Upstate (Dec. 22) and Norfolk State (Dec. 29) to close out the 2020 portion of the calendar before starting Southeastern Conference play Jan 2.
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.
The Vols will play nine home and nine road contests against SEC rivals. The SEC Tournament returns to Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on March 10-14.
The Vols will be led by seniors John Fulkerson and Yves Pons. Fulkerson led the Vols in scoring (13.7 points per game) and rebounding (5.9 rpg) on his way to being named an All-SEC second-team player. Pons tied the school record for blocks in a season , 73, and was named SEC Defensive Player of the Year. He also averaged 10.8 points and 5.4 rebounds.
Season tickets are on sale now at AllVols.com.
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