Tennessee basketball is (almost) back and has a strong chance of being better than ever.

The Volunteers are looking to build off their 1st SEC Tournament title since 1979 with a stout group of returning starters, a capable unit of freshmen and 1 of the better coaches in the SEC to boot.

The Vols start their season on Monday against Tennessee Tech at Thompson Boling Arena. That’s in just a few days, so to brush up on your hoops knowledge, here are 10 things to know (and a prediction at the end) about the basketball Vols this season:

1. A few fresh faces

Tennessee will feature a few new faces in the regular rotation this season. Expect 3 or 4 to get legitimate playing time this season, barring injuries that require more underclassman minutes.

In order of most likely to see the court, the fresh faces are: Indiana State transfer Tyreke Key (more on him later), freshman wing/forward Julian Phillips and, perhaps sparingly, freshman forward Tobe Awaka as a 9th or 10th man.

Some other newcomers include freshman guards DJ Jefferson and BJ Edwards.

2. A reasonable yet challenging non-conference schedule

The non-conference schedule is very reasonable for the Vols this season. Of the 11 matchups, 5 are against quality competition: Arizona, Texas, Colorado, Maryland and Butler. Of those 5, only Texas and Arizona are likely to be Top 25 teams come tipoff.

The Battle 4 Atlantis mid-season tournament should add a few more strong teams to that mix, namely BYU or USC in the 2nd round after Tennessee’s 1st-round matchup against Thad Matta’s Butler squad.

3. Who will back up Zakai Zeigler?

Head coach Rick Barnes said in the preseason that Zakai Zeigler does not want to start. That’s not some diva-dramatic response — actually, the complete opposite. Zeigler is just content with his spot coming off the bench and very good at providing a spark.

Now, Barnes might be forced to decline Zeigler’s request. Zeigler is the only experienced point guard on the roster other than Santiago Vescovi, but his off-ball skills are too crucial to what the Vols do on offense to tamper with.

Who can Tennessee turn to?

Well, there’s a couple of options. The slightly weaker one is the freshman guard Edwards, who possesses plenty of talent but might not be able to lock in on defense like Barnes will demand from his starters — not right out of the gate, at least. He is also, of course, inexperienced at a position Barnes is very particular about.

The answer could also be Key. Barnes trusted the Indiana State transfer to take the ball down the court plenty in Tennessee’s scrimmage win over Gonzaga, and the veteran guard has experience enough to be trusted to do so.

4. Vols should still look stout without Kennedy Chandler

This point is directly related to the above one. Tennessee lost 2 worthwhile pieces from last year’s team — star point guard Kennedy Chandler and fan-favorite hustle guy John Fulkerson. Zeigler is as strong of a point guard as you will find in the SEC, but he is not quite the shooter and will now be asked to do so much more that Chandler did at a high level.

Julian Phillips, despite being a different type of player entirely, could be Tennessee’s “leader” in his absence. Every team needs a “guy” who can get a bucket when absolutely necessary, but the Vols have plenty who can step up and fill that role, including Phillips, Zeigler and perhaps even Olivier Nkamhoua or Jonas Aidoo.

5. Preseason scrimmage win vs. Gonzaga

College basketball preseason scrimmages are a lot like the NFL preseason. If your team wins, they’re the best in the world. If they lose … well, it was just a scrimmage.

Tennessee won its scrimmage considerably, embarrassing No. 2 Gonzaga in the process, 99-80. A few interesting things came out of the night.

For one, Uros Plavsic dominated one of the best players in the country, Drew Timme. Plavsic totaled 13 points, 4 assists and an incredible 3 blocks in his time on the court.

Key was the other surprise. He was lights out from the field, draining 8 of his 12 shots for a game-high 26 points. Scrimmage, scrimmage, we know, but that’s definitely something to keep an eye on.

6. The return of Olivier Nkamhoua

Nkamhoua had his season derailed against South Carolina last year, landing awkwardly and suffering an ankle injury that kept him out for the 2nd half of the year.

Now he’s back and bent on one final run at things in Knoxville after competing with the Finnish National Team over the summer. The senior forward and Helsinki, Finland, native gives Tennessee a much-needed boost in a frontcourt that should be dangerous this year.

7. Hunting back-to-back tournament titles

The Vols won the SEC Tournament for the 1st time since 1979 last year, beating red-hot Texas A&M (which should have made the NCAA Tournament, but that’s off topic) on their way to the mountaintop.

The Vols are expecting that again this year, though the top dogs of the conference are looking to dethrone Barnes and company. Kentucky, Arkansas and perhaps even Auburn or Alabama should be competing with Tennessee for the crown.

8. The conference slate is favorable

The fact of the matter is simple: Tennessee has to play Arkansas, Kentucky, Alabama, Florida, Auburn, etc. as it does every year. The SEC is tough, and there is no getting around that.

But the matchups still turned out well for Tennessee, for the most part. Here are the 5 teams Tennessee has to play twice: Auburn, Vanderbilt and Kentucky (who the Vols play twice every year) to go with South Carolina and Mississippi State. However, Tennessee gets tough battles against Arkansas, Alabama and Missouri at home.

In simple terms, Tennessee plays just 4 tough road conference games this season: Kentucky on Feb. 18, Auburn on March 4, Florida on Feb. 1 and Texas A&M on Feb. 21. And a quick reminder that Tennessee has not lost at home since Feb. 20, 2021, 2 seasons ago.

9. Tyreke Key is a certified bucket

The Indiana State transfer is a scoring machine.

He holds the Tennessee high school record for most points across a career, was a threat to drop 30 points on anyone for the Sycamores and scored 26 in a scrimmage against the No. 2 team in the country just a few days ago.

And he isn’t even warmed up yet.

His shot isn’t exactly the sexiest, but it goes in more often than not. Key is a 38% 3-point shooter across his 4-year college career and could be a fan favorite come basketball season in Knoxville.

10. A preseason prediction

Tennessee basketball has the potential to be dangerous this season. The Vols have experience with Josiah-Jordan James and Santiago Vescovi, a strong frontcourt with Plavsic, Aidoo and Nkamhoua, and a chip on their shoulder after a 2nd-round exit to Michigan in last year’s NCAA Tournament.

SEC Tournament champions is another reasonable goal for this group.

Let’s go ahead and address that elephant in the room you’ll be hearing about all season. Barnes has not seen success in the NCAA Tournament since his days coaching Kevin Durant at Texas. This group has the talent to make some serious noise, but the history says they just can’t. Proving everyone wrong is at the forefront of every Tennessee player’s mind, though.

This team is talented enough to reach the Final Four, but a reasonable prediction for the Vols preseason is another trip to the Sweet 16. Tennessee fans should be disappointed with anything lower than a No. 4 seed come March.