Tennessee is set to face off against an ACC foe in the first round of the 2024 Baha Mar Hoops Basketball Tournament in late November.
Rick Barnes’ squad will take on Virginia in the opening round according to a report from CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein.
The field of four includes Tennessee, Baylor, St. Johns, and Virginia as the teams battle it out at the Baha Mar Convention, Arts & Entertainment Center.
The tournament will take place from Nov. 21-22 later this fall.
This will be the third edition of the Baha Mar Hoops tournament with a stacked field ahead as Baylor (No. 7) and Tennessee (No. 14) land in CBS Sports’ way-too-early rankings from the summer.
Louisville won the first iteration of the tournament in 2021 followed by UCF in 2022 and Miami in 2023.
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Tennessee’s team is working hard this summer as the Vols look to mesh five new players into the roster with four portal pickups and one signing from the recruiting class. While the media opportunities have been scarce this summer, the one practice that was able to be seen highlighted a ton of raw potential for this very athletic team moving forward. The Vols will be led by senior guards Zakai Zeigler, Jahmai Mashack, and Jordan Gainey but have an influx of talent with center Felix Okpara, guard Darlinstone Dubar, wing Igor Milicic Jr., and guard Chaz Lanier all entering the program. The Vols are also looking for big second-year leaps from JP Estrella, Cade Phillips, and Cam Carr.
Virginia snuck into the 2024 NCAA Tournament with a 23-10 record last season but fell to Colorado State in the First Four game by a score of 67-42. While St. John’s did not make the tournament last season, Tennessee was a 2-seed in the Midwest Region while Baylor was the 3-seed in the West Region. The Bears hammered Colgate in the first round before falling to 6-seed Clemson in a 72-64 upset loss in the opening weekend.
Tennessee has a handful of other non-conference games on the 2024-2025 schedule as things currently stand with road matchups at Illinois and Louisville this fall. The Vols will also play Miami in New York City and are set to host Syracuse in Knoxville in the SEC-ACC Challenge.
Stay tuned to Rocky Top Insider for more Tennessee basketball news and notes.
