One thing Rick Barnes has never been afraid to do at Tennessee is schedule tough non-conference games. Last season alone, Tennessee played Rutgers, Houston, and Kansas in the Players Era tournament. The Vols also traveled to play Syracuse on the road, hosted Louisville, and faced Illinois at a neutral site, which ended up making the Final Four. Barnes clearly believes playing elite competition early in the year helps get Tennessee ready for the intensity of March Madness.
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Adding to Tennessee’s tough non-conference schedule this year, the Players' Era tournament bracket was just released, and Tennessee got a pretty interesting draw. Tennessee opens the event against Maryland, which means a reunion with former Vol guard Bishop Boswell. Since things didn’t exactly end perfectly between Bishop Boswell and Tennessee, this matchup definitely adds a little extra drama to the tournament. Boswell plays with a ton of emotion and energy, so you know he’ll be fired up for this one.
He eventually deleted it, but there was also that social media moment where he commented laughing emojis under a post talking about Rick Barnes wanting a better offensive identity. This matchup just became even more interesting. Feast Week should be really entertaining.
The Players Era 16 bracket is HERE ‼️
— Players Era (@Players_Era) May 21, 2026
🗓️ November 24-28
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Tennessee will meet up with Bishop Boswell in Players Era
This still feels like it’s going to be a pretty emotional game for Bishop Boswell. With so much turnover on the Tennessee Volunteers men's basketball roster, it might not feel quite as personal from Tennessee’s side as it could have in a different year. But for Boswell, you can almost guarantee he’ll be playing with a chip on his shoulder. He’s going to want every chance he gets to show Rick Barnes that he’s a real scoring threat and belongs at a high level.
Tennessee would get either Iowa State or San Diego State in the next round, setting up a pretty interesting matchup either way. Iowa State would be especially fun since it would be a rematch of last year’s Sweet 16. They added Ryan Prather Jr. from Robert Morris and also returned guys like Kilian Toure and Blake Buchanan. San Diego State is more of a steady, experienced team. They bring back a good chunk from a 22-win season, even if they didn’t make a ton of noise in the portal. Either way, both teams would be solid second-round tests.
In short, next November should be very fun for the Tennessee basketball fans, as they get to see how the new roster stacks up against strong competition. It might be a rocky start because of all the new faces, and Tennessee won’t have much time to fully gel, but they do have some big-time early tests. Bishop Boswell won’t be the only reunion game, as Tennessee will also face former assistant Justin Gainey, now the head coach at NC State, in a neutral-site game in Nashville. It's going to be a fun season ahead for Vols fans.
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