Rick Barnes and Tennessee schedule a home-and-home with a non-conference foe who’s been a thorn in the Vols’ side
Tennessee will get two more shots at a team that’s become a nemesis.
The Tennessee Volunteers have taken big steps forward under Rick Barnes during his time in Knoxville. The program has gotten to the doorstep of taking the program to a place it’s never been before – the Final Four – but they’ve been stopped just short more times than Vol fans care to remember.
Two of those most memorable – or forgettable – defeats came at the hands of the Purdue Boilermakers. The Vols came up short against Purdue in the second weekend of the 2019 and 2024 NCAA Tournaments.
Now, Tennessee will get another shot at the Boilermakers, but it’ll at least be at a time where their season won’t end if they lose. The two programs will face off on December 12, 2026 in West Lafayette, Indiana with the return matchup taking place on December 11, 2027 in Knoxville.
Tennessee and Purdue will face off in December 2026 and 2027
The Vols’ special 2018-19 season led by Grant Williams and Admiral Schofield seemed destined to end in the Final Four. Tennessee held the #1 spot for weeks and went 15-3 in SEC play, earning a 2 seed in the South Region. In the Sweet 16, Tennessee erased a 51-33 deficit to take an 82-80 lead with 10 seconds left. However, a very controversial foul call on Lamonte Turner on a missed shot allowed Purdue to make it to overtime, where they won 99-94.
In 2024, Tennessee made it to the Elite Eight, where they faced off with Zach Edey and the Boilermakers in the Elite Eight. The Vols had no answers to Edey’s dominance in the paint – some of which was fostered by a very favorable whistle from the officials – and what had been a special season for Dalton Knecht and the Vols came up just short of what every Vol fan has been longing for. The 72-66 loss was Tennessee’s second to Purdue on the year, as they fell to the Boilermakers in the Maui Invitational 71-67.
So, while they will be early season matchups, it’s impossible to deny that many Vol fans will have a little bit of extra motivation for Tennessee to get it done over the next two years.
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