Date set for Tennessee basketball game vs. North Carolina State in Nashville

Tennessee basketball will face North Carolina State on December 6 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. The game’s date was announced on Friday. For the Vols it’s a matchup with former Tennessee associate head coach Justin Gainey, the new head coach of the Wolfpack.

N.C. State hired Gainey, the former Wolfpack point guard, on March 30, a day after Tennessee’s season ended in the Elite Eight for a third year in a row in a loss to Michigan at the United Center in Chicago.

Tennessee is hired former Boston College head coach Earl Grant to replace Gainey. The Vols on Thursday announced the hiring of Chris Parker as the program’s new assistant director of player development, replacing Riley Collins after Collins followed Gainey to N.C. State.

The last meeting between Tennessee and NC State was a neutral-site game in San Antonio in December 2023, a 79-70 win for the Vols. The two teams met in the Battle 4 Atlantis in The Bahamas in November 2017, with Tennessee winning 67-58.

The Vols lost both legs of a home-and-home with NC State winning in Knoxville in 2013, then in Raleigh in 2014. Tennessee is 5-7 all time against the Wolfpack dating back to 1929.

Tennessee played Illinois in Nashville last season, losing 75-62 on December 6.

Tennessee starts two new home-and-homes next season

The Vols next season also begin a home-and-home with Michigan State, starting with a game at Food City Center in Knoxville, and start another home-and-home on the road at Purdue on December 11. A date for the Michigan State game has not yet been announced.

Tennessee will face Maryland to start the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas on November 24 and will face either Iowa State or San Diego State on November 26. Also Tennessee’s side of the 16-team bracket is St. John’s, Oregon, Louisville and Texas Tech. On the other side is Baylor, Alabama, Michigan, Creighton, TCU and Miami.

The Vols should also get a home game in the ACC-SEC Challenge after playing at Syracuse last season.

A look at Justin Gainey’s coaching history

Gainey was Tennessee’s associate head coach under Barnes for five seasons. He was hired away from Marquette after the 2020-21 season, when the Vols lost assistant coaches Kim English and Desmond Oliver to head-coaching opportunities. 

Gainey, a High Point, N.C., native, was a standout point guard during his college career at North Carolina State and started his coaching career there in 2006 as an administrative coordinator. 

He was N.C. State’s director of operations in 2008-09 and got his first opportunity as an assistant coach at Elon in 2009-10. From there he made stops at Appalachian State (2010-14), Marquette as director of operations (2014-17), Santa Clara (2017-18), Arizona (2018-20) and then back to Marquette as associate head coach (2020-21).