Tennessee basketball scheduled a new season-opener in the midst of Tennessee football losing to No. 6 Florida on Saturday evening.
The Vols will now open up their season this coming Tuesday, Dec. 8, against Colorado at 6 p.m. ET. It will not be televised, but will be streamed on SEC Network+.
According to Jon Rothstein of CBS, the game will be part of a home-and-home series. The Vols will play in Boulder in during the 2021-22 season.
Tennessee had to schedule Tuesday’s game against Colorado because Wednesday’s game against Tennessee-Martin, that was scheduled just last week, had to be cancelled due to COVID-19 issues within the Skyhawks’ program.
The Vols are 2-0 all-time against Colorado. They won in Knoxville in 1980, and in Boulder in 1981, respectively. Rick Barnes is 13-4 all-time against the Buffs.
Colorado head coach Tad Boyle was Tennessee’s director of basketball operations under head coach Jerry Green during the 1997-98 season. The Buffaloes are out to a 2-0 start this year. They beat South Dakota 83-61 on Thanksgiving Eve to begin the season, and then beat Kansas State 76-58 two days later on the road.
Tennessee has yet to play a game this season. The Vols were supposed to open their season on Thanksgiving Eve as well, but had to cancel games against Charlotte, VCU, No. 1 Gonzaga and Notre Dame as a result of a COVID-19 outbreak within the program.
