Tennessee basketball’s season has started out with a bit of a whimper.
Tuesday night’s exhibition contest against No. 2 Duke won’t count towards either team’s 2026-27 resume, and that’s definitely a good thing for the Volunteers. The Blue Devils dominated the Volunteers from start to finish inside Cameron Indoor Stadium, finishing the slaughter with a 103-64 win. It was never, ever close.
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It would be unwise to draw conclusions from a exhibition game in mid-October against what should be one of the best teams in college basketball this season, but Tennessee fans have every right to be concerned with the level of play they’ve seen from Tennessee across their first 2 preseason bouts. The Vols lost by double digits to Xavier a few nights before being demolished by the Blue Devils.
The Vols frontcourt looked outmatched on Tuesday. Duke grabbed 45 rebounds to Tennessee’s 29 and collected 7 blocks compared to Tennessee’s 2. Keep in mind — Tennessee was without perhaps its best post threat in Vanderbilt transfer Jalen Washington, who is still searching for eligibility as we near the start of the 2026-27 season.
Tennessee was without some other major contributors, too. Belmont transfer Tyler Lundblade has yet to suit up for the Vols as he works his way back from a back issue. Star PG Terrence Hill Jr., who transferred in from VCU and scored 22 against Xavier, suffered an ankle injury within the first 5 minutes and missed the remainder of the game.
There’s a lot for Tennessee to clean up, to say the least. The Vols are set to face Wofford to open the season on November 3.
Ethan Stone is a Saturday Down South News Editor and an advocate for the return of the Seattle Supersonics.
