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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – In its first action of the 2026-27 campaign Thursday night at Food City Center, the University of Tennessee men’s basketball team dropped an 86-70 decision to Xavier.
The Volunteers led by 10 early in the second half, but Xavier’s scorching shooting down the stretch helped it pull away for the win. Junior guard Terrence Hill Jr., led Tennessee with a game-high 22 points, 16 of which came in the first 21 minutes, on 9-of-17 shooting.
Tennessee held Xavier scoreless for a span of 4:59 early in the contest, forcing eight consecutive misses. After back-to-back baskets by the Musketeers, Hill hit the first 3-pointer of the night—both teams missed their first six attempts—to snap a 4:43 drought for the Volunteers and put the team up, 11-10, with 10:55 on the timer.
Late in the frame, Tennessee made four shots in a row—the latter two were layups by Hill—to claim a 22-19 edge with 4:17 left before the break. After a basket by Xavier, Tennessee went on a 9-1 run—it included four free throws by sophomore guard Jalen Haralson—to take a 31-22 advantage with 1:24 to go. The home team extended the margin to a game-best 10 just 52 seconds later, but the Musketeers scored the final basket of the session to make it 35-27 at the intermission.
Both sides struggled from 3-point range in the opening 20 minutes, as Tennessee went 3-of-14 (21.4 percent) and Xaiver shot 2-of-13 (15.4 percent). However, the Volunteers posted an 8-of-13 (61.5 percent) mark inside the arc and a 10-of-14 (71.4 percent) ledger at the line, compared to Xaviers’s 9-of-21 (42.9 percent) and 3-of-8 (37.5 percent) respective tallies.
Tennessee extended the cushion back to 10 twice in the initial two minutes of the second stanza, but a 13-2 surge—it featured a trio of 3-pointers—by Xavier in just 1:53 put it ahead, 45-44, with 16:15 remaining. The Musketeers eventually stretched the run to 17-4 to make it 49-46, tying their then-game-high three-point lead, with 13:28 to play.
Although Tennessee responded with five straight points to go ahead by two and the lead stayed there with under 10 minutes left. Xavier, though, scored 31 of the next 40 points in just 7:14 to go in front by 20, 86-66, with 2:24 on the clock. The Musketeers made their final six shots of the burst and closed it with 10 straight points in 1:56.
Tennessee tallied the last four points of the night, with a layup at the buzzer snapping a skid of eight consecutive misses from the floor.
Hill produced co-team-high three assists and a team-best three steals alongside his 22 points. Junior guard Juke Harris chipped in 15 points, while Haralson notched 10 to go along with six rebounds. Sophomore forward DeWayne Brown II logged six points and paced all players with 10 boards.
Senior forward Nikos Chitikoudis led Xavier with 17 points, 13 of which came during a second half in which he was 4-of-5 from the floor and 5-of-6 at the line. Junior forward Jovan Milicevic had 16 points and a co-team-high seven boards. Senior guard Ruben Dominguez scored 14 points, 12 of which came on a quartet of 3-pointers in the final 10 minutes.
Redshirt sophomore forward Gabriel Pozzato logged 11 points, nine of which were before the break, for the Musketeers. Senior guard Tru Washington rounded out Xavier’s quintet of double-digit scorers with 10 points, all in the second half.
The Volunteers were ahead for just 54 fewer seconds than the Musketeers in a game that featured 15 lead changes, but they shot 1-of-12 (8.3 percent) from deep in the second half compared to an 8-of-14 (57.1 percent) clip at the other end.
Tennessee concludes its exhibition slate Oct. 20 at 7 p.m., when it takes on Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, N.C., live on ACC Network.
To keep up with the University of Tennessee men’s basketball team on social media, follow @Vol_Hoops on Instagram and X/Twitter, as well as /tennesseebasketball on Facebook.
TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS POSTGAME NOTES
• Although not an official game, Thursday marked the first time Tennessee and Xavier played each other Nov. 29, 2013, in Paradise Island, Bahamas, in what was their second matchup in an 18-day span.
• Tennessee is now 88-21 all-time in exhibition play, including 66-14 in the United States, 62-12 in Knoxville, 57-10 in preseason affairs (games just before the start of the regular season), 29-4 versus United States colleges and 3-3 against Division I schools.
• The Volunteers fell to 16-3 in exhibition contests under head coach Rick Barnes, including 10-3 versus United States colleges and 7-3 in Knoxville.
• Thursday marked the fifth consecutive season Tennessee has played a Division I team—all were ranked top-20—in a preseason exhibition contest after doing so just once before.
• While not officially part of season stats, Brown scored Tennessee’s first points of 2026-27 on a free throw just 33 seconds into the contest and then Harris made its opening field goal at the 17:29 mark.
• Sophomore guard Troy Henderson, who did not start any of Tennessee’s 37 contests last year, opened the contest Thursday night for the Volunteers.
• Henderson, who did not record any blocked shots during the 2025-26 campaign, posted a block with 7:51 left in the first half.
• Nine Volunteers saw their first action in a Tennessee uniform: Haralson, Hill, Harris, senior guard Dai Dai Ames, freshman guard Marquis Clark, fifth-year forward Christian Fermin, freshman guard Manny Green, junior forward Braedan Lue, and senior center Miles Rubin.
• Sixth-year guard Tyler Lundblade did not play against the Musketeers due to an offseason back injury.
