TENNESSEE VOLS BASKETBALL: Xavier fuels exhibition disaster

In its first action of the 2026-27 campaign Thursday night at Food City Center, the University of Tennessee men’s basketball team dropped an 86-70 decision to Xavier.

The Volunteers led by 10 early in the second half, but Xavier’s scorching shooting down the stretch helped it pull away for the win.

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Junior guard Terrence Hill Jr., led Tennessee with a game-high 22 points, 16 of which came in the first 21 minutes, on 9-of-17 shooting.

Tennessee held Xavier scoreless for a span of 4:59 early in the contest, forcing eight consecutive misses. After back-to-back baskets by the Musketeers, Hill hit the first 3-pointer of the night—both teams missed their first six attempts—to snap a 4:43 drought for the Volunteers and put the team up, 11-10, with 10:55 on the timer.

Late in the frame, Tennessee made four shots in a row—the latter two were layups by Hill—to claim a 22-19 edge with 4:17 left before the break. After a basket by Xavier, Tennessee went on a 9-1 run—it included four free throws by sophomore guard Jalen Haralson—to take a 31-22 advantage with 1:24 to go. The home team extended the margin to a game-best 10 just 52 seconds later, but the Musketeers scored the final basket of the session to make it 35-27 at the intermission.Both sides struggled from 3-point range in the opening 20 minutes, as Tennessee went 3-of-14 (21.4 percent) and Xaiver shot 2-of-13 (15.4 percent).

However, the Volunteers posted an 8-of-13 (61.5 percent) mark inside the arc and a 10-of-14 (71.4 percent) ledger at the line, compared to Xaviers’s 9-of-21 (42.9 percent) and 3-of-8 (37.5 percent) respective tallies.Tennessee extended the cushion back to 10 twice in the initial two minutes of the second stanza, but a 13-2 surge—it featured a trio of 3-pointers—by Xavier in just 1:53 put it ahead, 45-44, with 16:15 remaining.

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The Musketeers eventually stretched the run to 17-4 to make it 49-46, tying their then-game-high three-point lead, with 13:28 to play.

Although…

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Publish date : 2026-10-16 14:33:00

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