Tennessee UT-Martin: How to watch

Basketball season has arrived, for real this time. Tennessee took part in a tune-up exhibition game a couple of weeks ago, but now it’s time for the real thing. The 18th ranked Volunteers will take on Tennessee-Martin tonight at Thompson-Boling Arena.

Rick Barnes has a completely new roster, anchored by freshman point guard Kennedy Chandler. The former five-star prospect was electric in Tennessee’s exhibition win over Lenoir-Rhyne, scoring 18 points in the first half. Auburn transfer Justin Powell adds much needed shooting, while Brandon Huntley-Hatfield adds some physicality down low.

John Fulkerson, Olivier Nkamhoua, Santiago Vescovi, Josiah-Jordan James and Victor Bailey Jr. return, giving Barnes a really nice blend of veterans and elite prospects.

Tennessee has been picked fourth in the SEC by the media.

The Vols get the ball rolling tonight with a total unknown. UT-Martin doesn’t return a single player from last year’s team, meaning they have 14 newcomers making their debut tonight. New head coach Ryan Ridder comes over from Gardner-Webb, and is quite literally starting from scratch at Martin.

Tennessee is 4-0 all time against Tennessee-Martin. Their last meeting came back in 2010 — a narrow 68-62 win for the Volunteers.

Injury notes: John Fulkerson is questionable with a thumb injury. Jonas Aidoo didn’t play in the exhibition with what Rick Barnes called an illness. We’ll see if he goes tonight.

How to watch

Location: Knoxville, Tennessee (Thompson-Boling Arena)

Time: 7 p.m. ET

TV Channel: SEC Network

Streaming: Watch ESPN

Radio: Vol Network

Odds: Tennessee -34.5 (DraftKings Sportsbook)

Odds/lines subject to change. T&Cs apply. See DraftKings.com/sportsbook for details.