HOOPS CENTRAL: #18/17 Tennessee vs. #6/5 Duke

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The No.18/17 Tennessee men’s basketball team is set to take the floor at Food City Center for the first time in the 2025-26 season Sunday as it hosts the No. 6/5 Duke Blue Devils in a preseason exhibition contest. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. ET.

Fans can watch Sunday’s game on ESPN2 and stream the game on Watch ESPN.com and the ESPN app. Tom Hart (play-by-play) and Jimmy Dykes (color) will have the call.

Fans state-wide can tune in to their local Vol Network radio affiliate to hear New Voice of the Vols Mike Keith and analyst John Anderson depict the action.

Tennessee is coming off an exceptional 2024-25 campaign which included 30 victories, a fifth-place finish in the AP Poll, 10 AP top-25 wins–a program record—and a Trip to the Elite Eight. The Vols spent the entire season in the AP top-12, including Five weeks at No. 1 to match their prior all-time total.

THE MATCHUP
• The Volunteers and Blue Devils have split their 16-game all-time series, which dates to 1910-11, UT’s third year as a program.
• After starting 5-2 in the series, Tennessee dropped four in a row, but it is 3-2 over the last five meetings (since 1974-75).
• The sides last met in the NCAA Tournament Round of 32 in Orlando, Fla., on 3/18/23, with UT earning a dominant 65-52 victory.
•After a 35-4 (19-1) showing in 2024-25 in which it swept the ACC titles, made the Final Four and finished first in KenPom, Duke was picked to win the ACC this year.
• Sophomore guard/forward Isaiah Evans is Duke’s leading returning scorer after putting up 6.8 ppg. • UT is 122-101 against the current ACC. It went 8-1 the last four years.
• Tennessee is 87-19 all-time in exhibitions. That features a 65-12 domestic record, including a 62-10 tally in Knoxville, as well as a 28-2 mark versus U.S. colleges.
• This is UT’s fourth straight year playing a DI foe—all ranked top20, three top-five—in an exhibition after never doing so before.

NEWS & NOTES
• UT’s 10 AP top-25 wins and seven AP top-15 victories last year set school records. Its four AP top-10 triumphs—all were over top-seven foes—tied a program best.
• Tennessee, Alabama and Houston are the only schools to make the last three Sweet 16s. Tennessee, Alabama and Duke are the only three in the last two Elite Eights.
• UT is coming off its second fifthplace KenPom finish in a row. It was sixth in 2022-23 and ninth in 2021-22. Before these four years, the Vols’ best mark in the KenPom era (since 1996-97) was No. 10 in 2018-19 and 2013-14.
• The fifth-place KenPom was the fourth of Rick Barnes‘ career. The +30.93 adjusted efficiency rating was Barnes’ best, far eclipsing the +26.61 mark by the 2023-24 Vols.
• The Vols also finished fifth in the AP Poll and Coaches Poll for the second consecutive season, tying the program best set/tied just one year prior. They were in the AP top 12 all year, with 18 straight top-eight nods to end the year. UT was in the top five 11 times and held the No. 1 spot for five weeks.
• With its No. 18 ranking, UT upped its AP top-25 streak to 81 weeks, dating to the 2021-22 preseason poll. The second-longest mark in the country, it includes 76 weeks in the top 20, 63 in the top 15, 57 in the top 12, 50 in the top 10, 24 in the top five, seven in the top three and five at No. 1.
• Last season was the first time UT won 30-plus games and made the Elite Eight in the same year.
• Tennessee was picked third in the SEC media preseason poll. It marked the Volunteers’ fourth straight top-three selection—no other school has even a two-year streak—and eighth consecutive top-five pick.
• With 836 wins, Rick Barnes leads active DI coaches and ranks ninth all-time (min. 10 years in DI).
• Tennessee’s 201 victories over the last eight seasons (2017-25) rank seventh in DI. Only Houston (243), Gonzaga (239), Duke (220), Kansas (212), Purdue (206) and Auburn (202) own more. After the Vols, the rest of the top 10 is Saint Mary’s (200), Liberty (199), Drake (198) and San Diego State (198).

WINNING WAYS
• Over the last eight seasons (2017-25), Tennessee paces all SEC programs in postseason victories (23), plus sits a close second in total victories and overall winning percentage with a 201-74 (.731) mark. In that period, UT has three SEC titles (2018 and 2024 regular seasons, 2022 tournament).
• In that same span, the Vols are one of two SEC teams with 190-plus wins or an overall winning percentage above .700, alongside Auburn (202-71; .740).
• Over SEC play across the same eight-year period, Tennessee (98-45; .685) is first in league victories and league winning percentage. Only Kentucky (97- 46; .678), Auburn (96-48; .667) and Alabama (91- 53; .632) are also at 85-plus wins and/or a .600 clip.
• In just the last four seasons (2021-25), the Vols own a 109-36 (.752) overall record. That is good for the most wins and the second-best winning percentage in the SEC, ahead of Auburn (108-33; .766) in the former and closely behind it in the latter.
• In that same four-year span, Tennessee (51-21; .708) is co-second, alongside Alabama (51-21; .708), in the SEC in both league victories and league winning percentage. It is behind only Auburn (53-19; .736).

TENNESSEE TABBED THRID
• Tennessee placed third in the SEC preseason poll, as voted on by a select panel of league and national media members.
• Only Florida, the reigning NCAA champion, and Kentucky finished above Tennessee in the voting. • This was the fourth straight year the Volunteers took a top-three position in the media poll. UT was picked third in 2024-25, first in 2023-24 (it won the league) and third in 2022-23. No other school has a streak of even two years or greater than two total nods across those four campaigns.
• Tennessee has received a top-five position in the preseason media poll eight consecutive years, dating back to the 2018-19 edition. That is the longest streak in the league, with only Alabama (six) and Arkansas (five) also owning an active mark of even two.

POLL PRESENCE
• Tennessee has played 241 games as a ranked team in the AP Poll in Barnes’ tenure, posting a 181-60 (.751) record. Over 70.0 percent of the Volunteers’ 341 games since Barnes arrived in 2015- 16 have come with the team ranked in the AP Poll, all since 2017-18 (241 of 275, 87.6 percent).
• UT is 159-55 (.743) while in the AP top 20 under Barnes, 128-42 (.753) while top-15, 102-33 (.756) while top-10, 50-15 (.769) while top-five, 25-3 (.893) while top-three and 14-2 (.875) while No. 1.
• The Vols are 38-28 (.576) in AP top-25 matchups under Barnes, including 30-21 (.588) with both teams in the top 20, 20-15 (.571) with both in the top 15 and 11-10 (.524) with both in the top 10.

PRESEASON PLAUDITS
•Nate Ament and Ja’Kobi Gillespie were both named Preseason Second Team All-SEC selections by the media, alongside Florida’s Boogie Fland, Florida’s Thomas Haugh and Missouri’s Mark Mitchell. The Volunteers and Gators were the only teams with multiple first- or second-team designees.
• In addition, Ament was one of eight individuals to earn votes for SEC Preseason Player of the Year, joining Kentucky’s Otega Oweh (honoree), Florida’s Alex Condon, Ole Miss’ Malik Dia, Florida’s Boogie Fland, Florida’s Thomas Haugh, Mississippi State’s Josh Hubbard and Auburn’s Tahaad Pettiford.
• Ament garnered Preseason Third Team All-America recognition from the Blue Ribbon Yearbook. Duke’s Cameron Boozer, BYU’s A.J. Dybantsa and Kansas’ Darryn Peterson (all second-team picks) were the only other freshmen on any of the four teams.