# Xavier rallies past Tennessee 86-70 in Vols' exhibition opener Tennessee led by 10 early in the second half but was outscored 59-35 after halftime in Knoxville. Terrence Hill Jr. scored 22 for the Vols, who play at Duke on Tuesday. By The Signal Edition | Sports / Basketball Published: 2026-10-16T02:35:00.000Z Updated: 2026-10-16T02:35:00.000Z Canonical: https://www.thesignaledition.com/article/xavier-beats-tennessee-exhibition-86-70-supcrp Image: https://www.thesignaledition.com/media/a31aa0915c3c7f330e9dcbafdbda0f4f.jpg (Tennessee Volunteers men's basketball team playing a home game in Knoxville, file photo from 2019; credit: John Polak / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0 (file photo, 2019)) ## Summary - Xavier beat Tennessee 86-70 in an exhibition at Food City Center on Thursday, Oct. 15; the game does not count toward either team's record. - Tennessee led 35-27 at halftime, then Xavier scored 59 second-half points on 70.4 percent shooting. - Terrence Hill Jr. led the Vols with 22 points; Juke Harris added 15 but missed all seven of his three-point attempts. - Tennessee visits Duke for another exhibition on Tuesday, Oct. 20, then opens the regular season Nov. 3 against Wofford. ## A second-half collapse in Knoxville Xavier beat Tennessee 86-70 in an exhibition on Thursday night at Food City Center in Knoxville, according to the university's athletics site. Tennessee led 35-27 at halftime and by as many as 10 points early in the second half before Xavier pulled away, outscoring the Vols 59-35 over the final 20 minutes. [1](https://utsports.com/news/2026/10/15/mens-basketball-vols-fall-to-xavier-86-70-in-exhibition-affair) [2](https://www.on3.com/teams/tennessee-volunteers/news/tennessee-vols-basketball-xavier-exhibition-loss) Xavier shot 70.4 percent from the field and 57.1 percent from three-point range after the break, On3 and Rocky Top Insider reported. For the game, Xavier shot 49.2 percent overall and 37 percent from three, and held a 45-31 rebounding edge. [2](https://www.on3.com/teams/tennessee-volunteers/news/tennessee-vols-basketball-xavier-exhibition-loss) [3](https://www.rockytopinsider.com/2026/10/15/three-quick-takeaways-what-we-learned-in-tennessee-basketballs-exhibition-loss-to-xavier/) ## Who scored Hill, a transfer guard, scored 22 points on 9-of-17 shooting for Tennessee and took 16 of those points in the first 21 minutes, per the school's box score summary. Harris, the preseason first-team All-SEC pick, had 15 points on 5-of-14 shooting and went 0-for-7 from three. Jalen Haralson scored 10 and DeWayne Brown II had 6 points and 10 rebounds in 32 minutes. [1](https://utsports.com/news/2026/10/15/mens-basketball-vols-fall-to-xavier-86-70-in-exhibition-affair) [3](https://www.rockytopinsider.com/2026/10/15/three-quick-takeaways-what-we-learned-in-tennessee-basketballs-exhibition-loss-to-xavier/) Tennessee shot 38.6 percent from the field and 15.4 percent from three, making 4 of 26 attempts. It committed 14 turnovers to Xavier's 17. Xavier's leading scorers were Nikos Chitikoudis with 17, Jovan Milicevic with 16 and Ruben Dominguez with 14, On3 reported. [1](https://utsports.com/news/2026/10/15/mens-basketball-vols-fall-to-xavier-86-70-in-exhibition-affair) [2](https://www.on3.com/teams/tennessee-volunteers/news/tennessee-vols-basketball-xavier-exhibition-loss) ## Lineup and availability The Vols started Troy Henderson, Brown, Dai Dai Ames, Harris and Miles Rubin, On3 reported. Head coach Rick Barnes had said before the game that there had not been much separation among players competing for spots. [2](https://www.on3.com/teams/tennessee-volunteers/news/tennessee-vols-basketball-xavier-exhibition-loss) Forward Jalen Washington was unavailable because he is ineligible while seeking a fifth year, and Ralph Scott is out an estimated six to eight months after knee surgery, according to On3. Tyler Lundblade did not dress after recently returning to practice from back surgery. The school's recap did not list absences, and neither it nor Rocky Top Insider carried direct postgame quotes from Barnes. [2](https://www.on3.com/teams/tennessee-volunteers/news/tennessee-vols-basketball-xavier-exhibition-loss) [1](https://utsports.com/news/2026/10/15/mens-basketball-vols-fall-to-xavier-86-70-in-exhibition-affair) [3](https://www.rockytopinsider.com/2026/10/15/three-quick-takeaways-what-we-learned-in-tennessee-basketballs-exhibition-loss-to-xavier/) ## Background Tennessee had played a Division I opponent in its exhibition for five straight years and was 16-2 in exhibitions under Barnes before Thursday, the Roundtable Sports preview published on Yahoo Sports said. The roster includes nine transfers. Xavier went 15-18 last season and was picked sixth in the Big East preseason poll, the same preview said. [4](https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/tennessee-vols-basketball-exhibition-xavier-173416479.html) Media voted Tennessee fourth in the SEC preseason poll released Oct. 12, behind Florida, Texas and Arkansas, per the school. Harris was the only newcomer to the league on the preseason all-SEC first team. [5](https://utsports.com/news/2026/10/12/mens-basketball-vols-voted-fourth-in-sec-by-media-harris-named-first-team-all-sec) ## What comes next Rocky Top Insider wrote that defense is the main concern coming out of the game, ahead of a road exhibition at Duke. That game is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Oct. 20 in Durham, North Carolina, the school's schedule shows. The regular season opens Nov. 3 at home against Wofford. Because exhibitions do not count in the standings, the result has no effect on Tennessee's record. [3](https://www.rockytopinsider.com/2026/10/15/three-quick-takeaways-what-we-learned-in-tennessee-basketballs-exhibition-loss-to-xavier/) [1](https://utsports.com/news/2026/10/15/mens-basketball-vols-fall-to-xavier-86-70-in-exhibition-affair) ## Reporting sources 1. [University of Tennessee Athletics: Vols Fall to Xavier, 86-70, in Exhibition Affair](https://utsports.com/news/2026/10/15/mens-basketball-vols-fall-to-xavier-86-70-in-exhibition-affair) (2026-10-15) 2. [On3: How it happened: Tennessee basketball can't stop Xavier in exhibition loss](https://www.on3.com/teams/tennessee-volunteers/news/tennessee-vols-basketball-xavier-exhibition-loss) (2026-10-15) 3. [Rocky Top Insider: Three Quick Takeaways: What We Learned in Tennessee Basketball's Exhibition Loss to Xavier](https://www.rockytopinsider.com/2026/10/15/three-quick-takeaways-what-we-learned-in-tennessee-basketballs-exhibition-loss-to-xavier/) (2026-10-15) 4. [Yahoo Sports (Roundtable Sports): TENNESSEE VOLS BASKETBALL: Exhibition with Xavier opens season](https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/tennessee-vols-basketball-exhibition-xavier-173416479.html) (2026-10-14) 5. [University of Tennessee Athletics: Vols Voted Fourth in SEC by Media; Harris Named First Team All-SEC](https://utsports.com/news/2026/10/12/mens-basketball-vols-voted-fourth-in-sec-by-media-harris-named-first-team-all-sec) (2026-10-12)