Coming off back-to-back impressive exhibition showings, the No. 9 Tennessee men's basketball team will officially open a season of high expectations against Tennessee Tech on Tuesday.

The Vols, which beat preseason No. 4 Michigan State on the road and Lenoir-Rhyne last week, are expected to be back to near full strength in their season opener.

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Guard Santiago Vescovi, the team's leading scorer during their NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 campaign a year ago returns after missing the two preseason games, adding to an experienced starting lineup that includes three other starters from last year and highly touted transfer guard Dalton Knecht.

Tennessee Tech, which finished 16-17 overall and 11-7 in the Ohio Valley Conference last season, dropped both of its exhibitions games to UT Southern and Austin Peay.

Here is a closer look at the match up.

Who: Tennessee Tech at No. 9 Tennessee

When: Monday, Nov. 6 | 6:30 p.m. ET

Where: Food City Center | Knoxville

TV: SEC Network + (Michael Wottreng, play-by-play; Steve Hamer, analyst; Sarah Detwiler, reporter)

KenPom Projection: Tennessee 81, Tennessee Tech 53

Series: Tennessee leads, 27-1

THE VOLREPORT SHOW: Previewing Tennessee's 2023-24 men's basketball season

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-- Tennessee produced 89-plus points in both of its exhibition games, a preview of what its offense has the potential to be. The Vols averaged just 70.8 points per game last season and their scoring offense ranked 190th nationally.

-- Tennessee's preseason offensive success can be attributed to its two transfer portal additions in guards Dalton Knecht and Jordan Gainey. The two scored in double figures in each exhibition game with Knecht averaging 20.5 points per game and Gainey averaging 16.5 points.

-- The Tennessee lineup will get a boost with guard Santiago Vescovi back. The preseason All-SEC selection Vescovi led the Vols in scoring last season with 12.7 points per game along with 4.6 rebounds and 3.1 assists. He shot nearly 40% from the field.

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-- Forward Jonas Aidoo impressed in the paint during the exhibition slate. He scored a team-high 14 points in Tennessee's 90-48 win over Lenoir-Rhyne and averaged 11.5 points, 5.0 rebounds per game and made 61.5% of his field goal attempts.

-- Tennessee's opener is expected to be the first appearance of guard Zakai Zeigler since suffering an ACL tear last February that forced him to miss the remainder of the 2022-23 season. Vols' head coach Rick Barnes said during an appearance on "The Nation" on Sunday that Zeigler would be available to play.

-- Tennessee enters the season with a plethora of expectations. The Vols were picked to win the SEC by the media and were the highest ranked conference team in the preseason AP Top 25. KenPom projects Tennessee to win 21 games.

-- Tennessee Tech's roster features guard Jayvis Harvey, who led the team with 12.0 points per game last season but the Golden Eagles added 10 newcomers, including West Virginia transfer Josiah Davis.

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