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Tennessee basketball on Wednesday announced its complete non-conference schedule for the 2026-27 season, which begins against Wofford at Food City Center on November 3, includes nine home games and the start of home-and-homes with Michigan State and Purdue.
Tennessee Basketball 2026 Non-Conference Schedule
SEC Opponents
Tennessee’s SEC opponents for next season have been announced, but dates for the conference schedule have not yet been released.
Kentucky and Vanderbilt are annual home-and-home rivals for Tennessee and Missouri is the rotating third home-and-home for the Vols next season. Alabama was the third home-and-home last season, it was Florida in 2024-25 and Texas A&M in 2023-24.
Tennessee’s other SEC home games next season are Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi State and South Carolina. Other road games for the Vols in league play are Auburn, LSU, Ole Miss, Oklahoma, Texas A&M and Texas.
Big 10 home-and-homes
Tennessee is 1-3 against Purdue under Barnes and has lost three straight. The Boilermakers beat the Vols in the Elite Eight in March 2024, in the Maui Invitational in November 2023 and in the Sweet 16 in March 2019. Tennessee beat Purdue in overtime in the Battle 4 Atlantis in 2017, the third season under Barnes.
The two teams have played a home-and-home just once, with Tennessee winning in Knoxville in December 1980 and Purdue winning in West Lafayette in November 1981.
Tennessee has also lost three straight against Michigan State and is 2-5 overall against the Spartans. Izzo’s 2009-10 team beat Bruce Pearl’s Tennessee team in the Elite Eight and swept a home-and-home against the Vols in 1993 and 1994.
Players Era Festival
Tennessee will play at least three games at the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas in November, as the Vols go back for the second of what will be three straight appearances in the event.
The first-round matchup is against Maryland on Tuesday, November 24 and will be a 3 p.m. Eastern Time start at Michelob Ultra Arena. Tennessee will face either Iowa State or San Diego State on Thursday, November 26. If the Vols beat Maryland, they’ll play the second game at 1:30 p.m. ET. If they lose, they’ll play at 9 p.m. ET.
Depending on outcomes, the Vols will play either in the semifinals or the consolation bracket on Friday, November 27. The tournament’s championship game is set for Saturday, November 28 in a 10:30 p.m. ET start.
ACC-SEC Challenge
Florida State will play at Tennessee in the ACC-SEC Challenge on Tuesday, December 1. The Vols played at Syracuse last season in the ACC-SEC Challenge, hosted Syracuse in December 2024 and played at North Carolina in December 2023, when the event made its debut.
Tennessee is 5-4 all time against Florida State and hasn’t faced the Seminoles since a 60-57 loss in the Emerald Coast Classic in Niceville, Fla., in November 2019. The Vols haven’t faced Florida State at home since an 81-78 overtime win in December 1987. Tennessee went to FSU for the second leg of the home-and-home in January 1988 and lost 101-90.
Justin Gainey vs. Tennessee
Tennessee will go back to Bridgestone Arena against this season and will face former associate head coach Justin Gainey and his first North Carolina State team. State hired Gainey, the former Wolfpack point guard, on March 30, a day after Tennessee’s season ended in the Elite Eight for a third straight year.
The Vols lost to Illinois at Bridgestone Arena last December and have also played Gonzaga and Colorado in neutral-site games in Nashville during the Barnes era.
