Keegan Bell played in the final five minutes of Vanderbilt's upset win over No. 1 ranked Tennessee three seasons ago.
Troy Cage has played at Arizona and grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds at a ranked BYU when he wore a UNLV jersey.
Omar Wattad played a career-high 36 minutes for Georgetown at Duke inside Cameron Indoor Stadium with CBS broadcasting the game. He's also played at Big East powerhouses such as Louisville and Pittsburgh.
Jeff Smith, Jeremy Saffore and Ricky Taylor played in Thompson-Boling Arena against the Vols two seasons ago.
With two fifth-year seniors and four players who were recruited to power-conference schools, the Mocs are prepared to play at UT again Friday night.
"They feel like they belong," UTC coach John Shulman said. "I go back to that UConn game, and Chris [Early] belonged on that floor.
"Our guys should not be awe."
UTC opens its regular season at No. 20 Tennessee on Friday at 9 p.m. with the game being broadcast on SportSouth.
The Mocs' experience with the four power-conference recruits in the projected starting lineup, and a fifth-year senior added to the mix, could play a vital role in their success on Friday. They're more likely to keep their cool before a hostile crowd of more than 21,000.
"We're not going to be shocked by what we're about to see," Wattad said. "We know what type of atmosphere it will be and we have to lead.
"We know that if they get some kind of crazy dunk that we have to push the ball up the floor because it's just two points. We'll be ready."
Bell vividly remembers his first game at Tennessee when he played for Vanderbilt. He said it wasn't pretty.
"I'm shooting long before the game and fans were right behind the goal screaming at me, 'Miss, miss,' and they're on you the whole time trying to get in your head," Bell said. "I told our guys to block all that out because they want you to get flustered."
The Vols, after an exhibition loss to Division II Indianapolis on Monday night, the subsequent beratings from their coaches and the embarrassment of walking around campus, should have them ready to punish UTC in the early minutes.
"We are an old team, which I think will help us in the long run," Shulman said. "On Friday, I hope we wont be frazzled by 20,000 breathing down our neck and having some poise.
"I'm sure the Vols are going to try and prove a point and they'll try do it early. But there are no 20-point shots."