Basketball season has returned.
The regular season must wait another week, but Tennessee basketball will get its first — and potentially toughest — test of the year in an exhibition matchup. The Vols play host to the preseason No. 6-ranked Duke Blue Devils in the Food City Center.
It is a battle of two programs that have been among the best in college basketball this decade. It is also the first game for prized recruits Cameron Boozer of Duke and Nate Ament of Tennessee. The two have garnered plenty of NBA Draft buzz, drawing a number of scouts in attendance for a game that will end without a mark in the record column.
New-look rosters will take the court for both sides. Duke lost the entirety of its starting five from a season ago and takes the floor with a new roster looking to mesh under Jon Scheyer. Tennessee is in a similar boat, returning just four scholarship players from its Elite Eight run last season.
The Vols and Blue Devils have met 16 times all-time, splitting each of the matchups. It is the first time they have met in an exhibition matchup, as previous NCAA rules required programs to obtain a waiver to hold preseason battles against each other. They are now allowed to hold up to two without a waiver.
Follow along for live updates from The Daily Beacon.
FINAL: Duke 83, Tennessee 76
The Vols fall apart offensively in the second half. Multiple scoring droughts allowed Duke to maintain a lead over the final minutes, and a failure to get shots to fall over the closing seconds kept Tennessee from making a serious comeback effort.
Tennessee shoots 43% for the day, while Duke shoots 35%.
Ja’Kobi Gillespie leads the way for Tennessee with 19 points and eight assists on 5-for-21 shooting. The Vols could not contain Cameron Boozer, who dropped an absurd 24 points, 23 rebounds and six assists.
:36.5 2H: Cade Phillips gets the steal, Gillespie gets the slam. Tennessee pulls within three.
2:57 2H: Nate Ament makes a basket on the run. It is Tennessee’s first since the 10:11 mark of the half.
7:44 2H: TIMEOUT Nate Ament fouls at the rim. Tennessee is going into a slump on the offensive end and has not made a shot in 2:27.
8:35 2H: TIMEOUT Duke is in a drought of 2:03, having missed its last five shots. The Vols cannot capitalize, however, and still trail by four.
11:43 2H: JP Estrella fouls on a lob attempt and a media timeout comes up. The Vols have made three straight shots out of the timeout to make it a two-point game.
13:18 2H: Ethan Burg drills a three with the shot clock expiring to stop a scoring drought.
13:47 2H: TIMEOUT Tennessee allows Duke to jump out to an eight-point lead. The Blue Devils are on a 9-0 run as the Vols haven’t scored in 2:17.
14:49 2H: TIMEOUT Duke is making shots in the second half, and has jumped out to a four-point lead.
Nate Ament still struggling to get shots to fall. He is now 4-for-14 and 0-for-5 from deep.
19:18 2H: Nate Ament gets a basket to fall to open the second-half scoring.
HALFTIME: Tennessee 43, Duke 37
The Vols get a mix of contributions, but none more impactful than freshman DeWayne Brown II, who leads Tennessee with 10 points on perfect efficiency. The Vols shoot 49% and 31% from three in the half, whole Duke goes 35% and 38% from deep.
3:51 1H: TIMEOUT Tennessee leads by five, 32-27.
The Vols are 14-for-32 from the field, holding Duke to 10-for-29. Nate Ament has taken the most shots by far at nine, sinking just two of them.
4:16 1H: Felix Okpara drills a corner three. He attempted just one all of last year.
7:47 1H: TIMEOUT Tennessee runs the floor for a 7-0 run over the last 1:08, holding Duke to a scoring drought of 2:23.
Timeout on the floor as the Vols lead 25-17.
11:06 1H: Cameron Boozer snatches Ja’Kobi Gillespie’s shot out of his hands. Athletic block on Tennessee’s facilitator.
11:51 1H: TIMEOUT JP Estrella drills a straightaway three.
Tennessee leads 16-10 as a media timeout is called.
13:36 1H: TIMEOUT Tennessee leads 11-7 at the first media timeout.
Nate Ament leads the way with four points on six shots. The Vols are 45% from the field while the Blue Devils are 23%.
15:00 1H: Ethan Burg drops in the first triple of the game from the wing.
16:20 1H: Felix Okpara drops in a basket through contact. He gets the foul call to go.
17:40 1H: Nate Ament scores the first points after three misses to start.
20:00 1H: Tennessee wins the opening tip
Starting lineup:
Duke
No. 1 guard Caleb Foster
No. 3 guard Isaiah Evans
No. 14 guard Nikolas Khamenia
No. 12 forward Cameron Boozer
No. 21 center Patrick Ngongba
Tennessee
No. 0 guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie
No. 3 guard Bishop Boswell
No. 10 forward Nate Ament
No. 23 forward Jaylen Carey
No. 34 center Felix Okpara
How to watch Tennessee basketball vs. Duke
The Vols and Blue Devils do receive a television matchup. They will take center stage on ESPN2 at 7 p.m. ET with Tom Hart and Jimmy Dykes calling the action.
On the radio broadcast, Mike Keith makes his basketball debut on the local Vol Network affiliate. He will be joined by John Wilkerson on the call.
