New date set for Tennessee basketball's road game at Purdue

Tennessee basketball’s road game at Purdue next season will be played on Friday, December 11, according to the non-conference schedule released by the Boilermakers on Thursday. The game was originally scheduled for Saturday, December 12, when the home-and-home was initially announced back in November.

Purdue is scheduled to make the return trip to Knoxville on December 11, 2027.

The Vols next season also begin a home-and-home with Michigan State, starting with a game at Food City Center in Knoxville, and will play North Carolina State in a neutral-site game at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.

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.

Tennessee vs. Purdue: Series History

Tennessee is 2-5 in seven meetings with Purdue. The two teams have played a home-and-home series just once, during the 1980-81 and 1981-82 seasons. Tennessee won 78-69 on December 6, 1980 in Knoxville and lost 82-68 in West Lafeyette. 

The Vols are 1-3 in four games against Purdue during the Rick Barnes era. It started with a 78-75 overtime win in the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas in November 2017, but since then has included two NCAA Tournament losses and another loss in the Maui Invitational. 

Most recently, No. 1-seed Purdue beat No. 2 Tennessee 72-66 in the Elite Eight in Detroit in the 2024 NCAA Tournament. The Boilermakers also sent the Vols home in a 99-94 overtime win in the Sweet 16 in Louisville in 2019. 

Purdue beat Tennessee 71-67 in the Maui Invitational in November 2023 and beat the Vols 73-72 in November 2009 in the Virgin Islands in the Paradise Jam tournament championship. 

Purdue, Michigan State add to marquee games during Rick Barnes era

Marquee non-conference home-and-home games have been a staple of the Barnes era at Tennessee.

Dating back to 2015-16, the Vols have scheduled games with North Carolina, Gonzaga, Arizona, Illinois, Wisconsin, Louisville, Wake Forest, Georgia Tech, Colorado, Cincinnati and Memphis. 

They’ve also played preseason exhibition games against Duke, Indiana, Michigan State, Gonzaga and Clemson. 

Tennessee finished its home-and-home sweep of Louisville with a win last December in Knoxville. The Vols also started another two-game series with Illinois with a loss to the Illini in Nashville. Tennessee is scheduled to face Illinois at the United Center in Chicago during the 2027-28 season.

The Vols swept Illinois in a home-and-home before the neutral-site series, winning 66-64 at Illinois in December 2024 and 86-79 in Knoxville in December 2023.