Tennessee basketball announced its full nonconference schedule for the 2025-26 season on July 18 with eight games at Food City Center and a marquee neutral-site game in Nashville.
The Vols’ five scheduled games against power-conference opponents were previously announced.
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UT’s newly announced games are against Mercer on Nov. 3 for its season-opener, Northern Kentucky on Nov. 8, North Florida on Nov. 12, Rice on Nov. 17, Tennessee State on Nov. 20, Gardner-Webb on Dec. 21 and South Carolina State on Dec. 30. All seven games are at Food City Center.
Rice is coached by Rob Lanier, who was Tennessee’s associate head for coach Rick Barnes’ first four seasons at UT. He also coached with Barnes at Texas in two different stints.
Tennessee hosts Louisville home game vs power-conference opponent
The Vols’ lone nonconference home game against a power-conference team is against Louisville on Dec. 16 to complete the back half of a home-and-home series. They play at Syracuse in the SEC/ACC Challenge on Dec. 2 for their only true road game in the nonconference schedule.
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UT plays Illinois at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on Dec. 6. Game time and TV designation have yet to be determined for the meeting in Nashville. It will be on the ESPN family of networks.
Tennessee plays Houston and Rutgers in the 2025 Players Era Festival. The matchup with Houston is an Elite Eight rematch on Nov. 25 after opening against Rutgers on Nov. 24. UT will play a third game in a tournament, but that matchup is not set. It will be on either Nov. 26 or 27.
Tennessee basketball’s SEC schedule in 2025-26
Tennssee will play Alabama and Kentucky twice in the 2025-26 SEC season.
The Vols also play Vanderbilt twice as the Commodores and Wildcats are UT’s two permanent home-and-home matchups. Alabama rotated onto the schedule as a home-and-home, while Florida dropped off and the Vols play the defending national champions only on the road.
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Only SEC opponents and game sites were announced. Dates and TV designations will be released later.
Tennessee’s single-play home opponents are Auburn, LSU, Ole Miss, Oklahoma, Texas and Texas A&M. Its single-play road opponents are Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi State, Missouri and South Carolina.
The Vols are hosting Oklahoma and Texas at Food City Center for the first time as members of the SEC. They played at OU and Texas last season during the programs’ first season in the conference.
Tennesssee basketball schedule 2025-26: Nonconference games
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Nov. 8 — Northern Kentucky
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Nov. 12 — North Florida
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Nov. 20 — Tennessee State
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Nov. 24 — Rutgers (Vegas)
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Nov. 25 — Houston (Vegas)
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Nov. 26/27 — TBD (Vegas)
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Dec. 2 — Syracuse (away)
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Dec. 6 — Illinois (Nashville)
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Dec. 30 — South Carolina State
Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.com and follow him on X @ByMikeWilson. If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it.
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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee basketball 2025-26 schedule: Vols set nonconference games
