Tennessee basketball took to the floor for their first action of the 2024-2025 season today playing Indiana in an exhibition game at TBA. The Vols fell to the Hoosiers by a score of 66-62 in a highly physical game that felt more like an SEC-Big 10 Challenge than an exhibition before Halloween.

The Vols shot poorly from behind the arc for most of the game but did have a lead late before Zakai Zeigler took a rest that prompted a 7-0 Indiana run. The Hoosiers never relinquished the lead and held on late, with Tennessee looking sloppy in the final stages. Rick Barnes welcomed four transfer portal additions over the summer who will all be expected to log playing time. The challenge for Barnes will be to find the right lineups and roles for all the new additions and figure out what the identity of this team will be.

Tennessee basketball fans saw their first look at life without Santiago Vescovi and Josiah-Jordan James in nearly five years. Who will step up and be the leader with those two stalwarts not in the program anymore? The top two candidates are Zakai Zeigler and Jahmai Mashack and I expect them to carry the load in tight games like we saw Santi and JJJ do numerous times over the years.

No one should be overreacting to this game. In fact, Rick Barnes probably prefers this result to get his players focused before the first real game against Gardner-Webb on November 4th. This team could be great by the time March rolls around, but in my opinion this team will take a little while to reach their full potential. It’s just what happens when 4 starters leave and several new faces inhabit the program.