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Tennessee will head to Destin this season to take part in the Emerald Coast Classic. They’ve now reportedly already made their plans for the 2020 season.
Jeff Goodman is reporting that Tennessee will be a part of the 2020 Charleston Classic Tournament. Houston, Florida State, Seton Hall, VCU, Oklahoma State, Penn State and Charleston will make up the rest of the field, according to Goodman.
2020 Charleston Classic Field, per sources:
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) May 7, 2019
Tennessee, Houston, Florida State, Seton Hall, VCU, Oklahoma State, Penn State, Charleston.
Tennessee will be in the same field as Florida State and VCU this season in the Emerald Coast Classic, along with Purdue.
The Vols played in the preseason NIT Tournament in Brooklyn last season and travelled to the Bahamas to take part in the Battle 4 Atlantis in the year prior. Looking back even further, Tennessee played in the Maui Invitational in 2016-17.
Tennessee already has Memphis (in Nashville), Cincinnati and Wisconsin on the schedule for the 2019-20 season.
These early season tournaments sort of toss you into the fire, giving the college basketball world a look at what you might be able to bring to the table in March. Tennessee re-arrived on the basketball scene in 2017 in the Bahamas with an upset of Purdue, then nearly Villanova. They came away from that week with two resume-building wins over N.C. State and Purdue. Similarly, the Vols picked up a nice win over a good Louisville team this year while nearly toppling then No. 1 Kansas in Brooklyn.
They will have opportunities to do the same thing over the next two seasons.