KNOXVILLE – Tennessee already knew the upcoming men’s basketball season would include spending Thanksgiving week in Hawaii for the Maui Invitational.
The Volunteers now know their opening opponent, too.
Tennessee’s nonconference schedule got more difficult Tuesday, when the revealing of the Maui Invitational bracket paired the Vols with perennial Big Ten power Wisconsin for a first-round game on Nov. 21 (2:30 p.m. on ESPN2).
“For us it’s going to be an unbelievable challenge,” Vols coach Rick Barnes said Tuesday during a conference call.
“When you look at Wisconsin and who they have coming back and the way they finished last year making a run to the Sweet 16, we know that’s going to be an incredible challenge for us.”