The journey begins tonight in Food City Center. Tennessee basketball will officially tip-off its 2025-26 season on Monday night in Knoxville against Mercer. Rick Barnes will take an almost entirely new
group to the court this season, marking the start of a new era without Zakai Zeigler and Jahmai Mashack running the show.
Maryland transfer Ja’Kobi Gillespie has the keys to the car at point guard, while NBA prospect Nate Ament mans the wing spot. If last weekend’s scrimmage against Duke was any indication, the offense is going to run directly through them this season. Barnes will be looking to figure out the rest of the rotation from there.
Mercer is also looking at a totally new group after losing its top five scorers from one season ago. The Bears have been picked to finish eight in the SoCon.
Tennessee has five tune-up games before things get heavy on the schedule. They’ll have the next three weeks to build chemistry and get a rotation set before heading to Las Vegas to take on Rutgers and Houston. Louisville, Illinois and Syracuse loom next in the month of December.
How to watch Tennessee vs. Mercer
Location: Knoxville, Tennessee
Time: 7 p.m. ET
TV Channel: None
Streaming Link: ESPN App, SEC Network+, ESPN+
Odds: Tennessee -27.5
