The SEC released its 2023-24 men’s basketball schedules Thursday including Tennessee’s 18-game schedule. There weren’t any real surprises in the schedule release as the SEC already announced Tennessee’s opponents in July.
Tennessee faces every SEC team at least once while battling Alabama, Kentucky, South Carolina, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt twice.
The Vols open up SEC play at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center on Jan. 6 against Ole Miss before heading on the road for two-games against Mississippi State and Georgia.
Rick Barnes’ team then faces Florida at home on Jan. 16 before hosting Alabama to Thompson Boling Arena on Jan. 20. The Vols travel to the state capital to face Vanderbilt on Jan. 27 before ending January with a home matchup against South Carolina.
Tennessee opens up February with a trip to Rupp Arena and Kentucky before returning to Knoxville to face LSU. The Vols then head west for consecutive games against Texas A&M and Arkansas on Feb. 10 and Feb. 14, respectively. Tennessee faces Vanderbilt in Knoxville on Feb. 17 before heading to Missouri on Feb. 20.
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The Vols’ final five conference games are challenging ones. They host Texas A&M and Auburn in consecutive games at Thompson-Boling before traveling to Alabama and South Carolina for the final road trip of the season. Tennessee concludes the regular season by welcoming Kentucky to Thompson-Boling Arena on Mar. 9.
Expectations are high for Rick Barnes’ ninth Tennessee team. The Vols are almost a unanimous preseason top 10 team thanks to key returners Zakai Zeigler, Santiago Vescovi and Josiah-Jordan James including talented scoring newcomers Freddie Dilione (redshirt freshman) and Dalton Knecht (Northern Colorado transfer).
Tennessee also returners a number of players looking to take a step forward in its second or third-year in the program: Tobe Awaka, Jonas Aidoo and Jahmai Mashack.
In addition to a challenging SEC slate, Tennessee faces North Carolina, Wisconsin, Illinois, North Carolina State, Syracuse, Gonzaga/Purdue and one other game at the Maui Invitational.
