Xavier basketball gets exhibition road test vs. Tennessee Volunteers

On a recruiting trip this offseason, Xavier head coach Richard Pitino ran into Tennessee men’s basketball coach Rick Barnes.

After some small talk, Pitino grabbed his phone and went to Google to see how far Knoxville is from Cincinnati. Once he found out it was under four hours away, Pitino asked if Barnes and the Volunteers would want to host the Musketeers in an exhibition game.

Advertisement

The two sides agreed and now Xavier will make the 257-mile trek to Thompson-Boling Arena for its second October exhibition on Thursday, Oct. 15.

More: Old, new faces lead Xavier to outdoor exhibition win over Dayton

More: Grading Xavier Musketeers outdoor exhibition win over Dayton Flyers

“That’s a top 5 team,” Pitino said. “That’s a proven program over the last five years or so. I think it’s great.”

Barnes has led Tennessee to the Elite Eight in three straight seasons. Barnes, who succeeded Rick Pitino as the head coach at Providence in 1988, is entering his 40th season as a head coach and has 861 career victories. He needs just three wins to pass Bob Huggins (863) for 10th all-time and could also pass Adolph Rupp (876), Jim Calhoun (877) and Dean Smith (879).

1 / 20

Xavier defeats Dayton Flyers at Lindner Family Tennis Center

Dayton Flyers guard Aiden Derrick (4) collides with Xavier Musketeers forward Mike Nwoke (1) over a rebound in the first half of the CareSource Invitational exhibition game between the Xavier Musketeers and the Dayton Flyers at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio, Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026.

(Sam Greene/The Enquirer)

1 / 20

Xavier defeats Dayton Flyers at Lindner Family Tennis Center

Dayton Flyers guard Aiden Derrick (4) collides with Xavier Musketeers forward Mike Nwoke (1) over a rebound in the first half of the CareSource Invitational exhibition game between the Xavier Musketeers and the Dayton Flyers at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio, Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026.

(Sam Greene/The Enquirer)

2 / 20

Xavier defeats Dayton Flyers at Lindner Family…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/xavier-basketball-gets-exhibition-road-144650592.html

Author :

Publish date : 2026-10-14 14:46:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.