Rick Barnes enters his tenth season as Tennessee’s basketball head coach for the 2024-25 campaign. He has compiled a 202–101 (100–60 SEC) record since 2015.
Barnes guided Tennessee to its second NCAA Tournament Elite Eight appearance in school history last season. The Vols also won the SEC regular-season championship.
The Vols will open their 2024-25 season versus Gardner-Webb at Food City Center on Nov. 4. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. EDT and can be watched on SEC Network+.
Tennessee will first play in an exhibition game versus Indiana on Oct. 27 at Food City Center. The exhibition matchup between the Vols and Hoosiers will tip off at 3 p.m. EDT (SEC Network+).
The Tennessee-Indiana exhibition will support the John McLendon Foundation.
Ahead of the 2024-25 college basketball season beginning, the preseason USA TODAY Sports Men’s Basketball Coaches Poll was released. Tennessee is ranked No. 12 entering the 2024-25 basketball campaign.
The entire preseason poll is below.
| Rank | School | Last Year’s Record | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kansas | 23-11 | 743 (15) |
| 2 | Alabama | 25-12 | 718 (6) |
| 3 | Connecticut | 37-3 | 717 (6) |
| 4 | Houston | 32-5 | 698 (4) |
| 5 | Duke | 27-9 | 625 |
| 6 | Iowa State | 29-8 | 591 |
| 7 | Gonzaga | 27-8 | 575 |
| 8 | Baylor | 24-11 | 545 |
| 9 | Arizona | 27-9 | 510 |
| 10 | North Carolina | 29-8 | 498 |
| 11 | Auburn | 27-8 | 465 |
| 12 | Tennessee | 27-9 | 437 |
| 13 | Purdue | 34-5 | 390 |
| 14 | Creighton | 25-10 | 342 |
| 15 | Texas A&M | 21-15 | 332 |
| 16 | Arkansas | 16-17 | 272 |
| 17 | Marquette | 27-10 | 268 |
| 18 | Indiana | 19-14 | 208 |
| 19 | Texas | 21-13 | 166 |
| 20 | Cincinnati | 22-15 | 163 |
| 21 | Florida | 24-12 | 130 |
| 22 | UCLA | 16-17 | 123 |
| 23 | Kentucky | 23-10 | 95 |
| 24 | Illinois | 29-9 | 87 |
| 25 | Mississippi | 20-12 | 66 |
Others receiving votes
Texas Tech 60; Rutgers 57; St. John’s 42; Xavier 26; Michigan State 25; Oregon 16; BYU 16; Kansas State 11; Saint Mary’s 9; Boise State 9; Clemson 8; Ohio State 7; Dayton 7; Maryland 4; Grand Canyon 3; Wake Forest 2; Virginia 2; San Diego State 2; Princeton 2; Mississippi State 2; Wisconsin 1
