Tennessee Basketball’s exhibition game against Duke is sold out. Tickets went on sale to the public Friday morning and quickly sold out for the October 26 preseason game at Food City Center in Knoxville.
The exhibition is set for a 7 p.m. Eastern Time start. TV information has not yet been announced.
Tickets for the game started at $35 for lower-level seats and $20 in the upper level at Thompson-Boling Arena.
Tennessee students admitted free, claim period begins October 20
“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.”
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.
Tennessee season-ticket holders had right of first refusal for their current seat locations for the Duke exhibition. Donor presales started on Wednesday.
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.