Tennessee basketball reportedly schedules preseason games with 2 powerhouses

There's certainly a ton of buzz surrounding the Tennessee football team, but don't forget that the Vols basketball squad has been busy at work with its offseason workout program. With all the new faces in town, people can't wait to see what Rick Barnes and Co. can get done next campaign.

Before the regular season gets here, though, there are now two contests for the Tennessee faithful to look forward to. According to reporter Grant Ramey, the Vols will be traveling to Ann Arbor in October to take on Michigan for a preseason showdown. Not only that, but Jon Scheyer and Duke will be in Knoxville shortly after for another preseason tilt. Goodness:

Tennessee will face Michigan and Duke in a pair of preseason showdowns this year

It's hard not to get pretty fired up about both of those meetings. Michigan is going to be stacked and they're already considered one of the top teams in the country. Several early Top 25 rankings have the Wolverines in the Top 5.

Head coach Dusty May worked his tail off this offseason landing touted recruits. In the transfer portal, plenty of people are still excited about former 5-star North Carolina signee Elliot Cadeau making the move to Michigan. Yaxel Lendeborg is another big-time transfer that folks are excited about.

As for Duke, the days of Cooper Flagg are over, but Scheyer was also able to bring in plenty of quality talent this offseason. There are several freshmen who will make an immediate impact, of course including the Boozer twins, plus Dame Sarr and Nikolas Khamenia.

With Tennessee, not having Jahmai Mashack, Zakai Zeigler and Chaz Lanier on campus still feels weird. However, Nate Ament, Ja'Kobi Gillespie and other newcomers are ready to ball out from Day 1. This new-look roster will immediately face stiff competition vs. both Michigan and Duke. Get your popcorn ready, especially for that home meeting with the Blue Devils on Oct. 26.