Tennessee opens a two-game exhibition slate on Sunday in a game worthy of the NCAA Tournament against Michigan State at the Breslin Center.

Both the Vols and Spartans, who finished in the Sweet 16 last season, opened up in the top 10 of the preseason Associated Press Top 25 poll at No. 9 and No. 4, respectively.

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Tennessee hosted Michigan State in a closed scrimmage in Knoxville prior to last season and announced a high-profile exhibition clash in August to benefit relief from the wildfires in Maui, Hawaii over the summer.

The Vols will also play Lenoir-Rhyne on Tuesday at Thompson Boling Arena at Food City Center before officially opening their season against Tennessee Tech at Food City Center on Nov. 6 at 6:30 p.m. ET on SEC Network Plus.

Who: No. 9 Tennessee at No. 4 Michigan State

When: Sunday, Oct. 29 | 3:30 p.m. ET

Where: Breslin Center | East Lansing, Michigan

TV: Big Ten Network (Connor Onion, play-by-play; Bill Raferty, analyst)

Series: Michigan State leads, 5-2

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-- Tennessee will be without leading scorer Santiago Vescovi. The Vols' fifth-year senior guard who was named to the Preseason All-SEC First Team will miss the game due to a family health issue but is expected to return for the season opener.

-- Vescovi's absence leaves Tennessee with a void to fill but also provides some opportunity for its new-look roster which features two transfers in guards Dalton Knecht and Jordan Gainey that are expected to contribute. Both players appeared on the Vols' projected lineup.

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-- Knecht averaged more than 20 points per game and shot 47.9% from the field last season at Northern Colorado. Gainey, the son of Tennessee associated head coach Justin Gainey, averaged 14.6 points per game over two seasons at USC Upstate.

-- Tennessee guard Zakai Zeigler, who suffered a season-ending ACL tear last February, is uncertain for the match up. Head coach Rick Barnes said earlier this week that the team won't know Zeigler's status until Saturday before the game.

-- Tennessee was picked to finish first in the SEC in the preseason media poll and the Vols opened at No. 9 of the AP Top 25 poll, becoming the highest ranked non-conference team to play Michigan State at the Breslin Center since 2017.

-- Michigan State returns four starters from last season's Sweet 16 team. The Spartans also feature 74.9% of their team scoring production, 66.9% of their team rebounding, 85.1% of their team assists and 75.9% of team minutes.

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