A pair of reigning conference champions face off at Thompson-Boling  Arena on Friday night when No. 6 Tennessee plays host to Louisiana for a  7 p.m. ET tip on SEC Network

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Opponent: Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns
Tipoff: Nov. 9, 7:01 p.m. ET
Venue: Thompson-Boling Arena
Watch Online: SEC Network+ (WatchESPN)
Radio: Vol Network
Online: Live Audio | Live Stats

RELATED  LINKS Buy Tickets Game Day Information SEC Clubhouse Follow @Vol_Hoops  TENNESSEE Roster Schedule 2018-19 Stats Game Notes (PDF) LOUISIANA  Roster Schedule 2018-19 Stats Game Notes (PDF) THE LATEST FROM THE VOLS  Vols Cruise to Season-Opening Win Over Lenoir-Rhyne, 86-41 Tennessee  Tops Tusculum in Exhibition, 87-48 Vols Earn Highest AP Preseason  Ranking Ever at No. 6 Basketball Single-Game Tickets on Sale Tuesday;  Promotions Schedule Unveiled Walk-Through Metal Detectors in Use at  Thompson-Boling Arena
Tickets are available at AllVols.com.  Also, as part of Tennessee Athletics’ Salute to Service Weekend,  current military members and veterans may present a Military ID or DD  214 at Gate C, Gate E or the ticket tent located on Phillip Fulmer Way  prior to entering Thompson-Boling Arena for complimentary admission for  themselves and any immediate family members.

Tennessee (1-0)  opened the season with a victory, topping Lenoir-Rhyne 86-41 on Tuesday  night. All five starters finished the game in double figures, led by  Jordan Bone’s 18 points. Kyle Alexander chipped in a career-high 16  points while tallying four blocks in the contest.

The Ragin’  Cajuns (1-0) come to Knoxville off a 121-80, season-opening win over the  University of the Virgin Islands. The reigning Sun Belt Conference  champions had six players in double figures, led by a pair of 19-point  performances from JaKeenan Gant and Malik Marquetti. As a team, ULL shot  67.1 percent from the field (including 58.3 percent from three) while  forcing 22 turnovers.

ABOUT LOUISIANA
The Louisiana Ragin’  Cajuns (1-0) enter Friday night’s matchup in Thompson-Boling Arena with  aspirations to improve upon an impressive 2017-18 campaign.Sun Belt  Conference Coach of the Year Bob Marlin led the Ragin’ Cajuns to a  record-breaking year as Louisiana won a school-record 27 games and  earned its first outright Sun Belt Conference regular-season title since  the 1999-2000 season. The Ragin’ Cajuns won 20 of 22 games from  December through February while dominating the league statistics,  finishing as the league leader in 10 categories, including scoring  offense (83.2), field-goal percentage (.464), free-throw percentage  (.761) and assists (17.4).While first-team All-Sun Belt Conference  players Frank Bartley and Bryce Washington graduated, the Ragin’ Cajuns  return three starters, including Sun Belt Conference Newcomer of the  Year and Defensive Player of the Year JaKeenan Gant (13.7 ppg, 5.8 rpg,  2.3 bpg).With nine upperclassmen on the roster and three transfers from  “Power Five” programs, Louisiana has the experience and talent to once  again compete for a Sun Belt title in 2018-19 and will offer a good  early-season test for the Volunteers.In their season opener against  Virgin Islands, the Ragin’ Cajuns were lights out from the floor,  knocking down 67 percent of their shots in a 121-80 victory. Gant  finished with 19 points, four rebounds, three assists and three blocks  in 25 minutes of action. Senior guard Marcus Stroman, a transfer from  South Carolina, was on the cusp of recording a triple-double with 10  assists, eight points and eight rebounds.

Tennessee will make its  fourth all-time appearance in the NIT Season Tip-Off later this month.  The four-team field consists of the Vols, Kansas, Louisville and  Marquette, taking place in Brooklyn, N.Y., at the Barclays Center.
Tennessee  opens play with a matchup against Louisville on Nov. 21 at 5 p.m. ET.  The other side of the bracket features a contest between Kansas and  Marquette. The winners and losers of each game on Nov. 21 will meet two  days later on Nov. 23.In its last NIT Season Tip-Off appearance, UT won  the 2010 championship with victories over VCU and Villanova. The Vols  also appeared in the 1992 and 2006 NIT Season Tip-Offs. The Big Orange  defeated Rutgers before falling to Seton Hall in 1992. In 2006, UT  suffered losses to Butler and North Carolina at Madison Square  Garden.Both Tennessee (No. 6) and the Jayhawks (No. 1) enter the season  ranked in the top 10 of the AP preseason poll. If the two teams were to  face off and the rankings hold, the game would mark UT’s fifth contest  against a top-10 non-conference foe during the last three seasons.

SCHOFIELD, WILLIAMS APPROACHING 1,000-POINT MILESTONE
Senior  wing Admiral Schofield and junior forward Grant Williams enter the  season less than 100 points away from eclipsing the 1,000-point mark for  their careers.A total of 48 Vols have accomplished that feat during  their time on Rocky Top, with Robert Hubbs III being the most recent  addition to the 1K Club in 2016-17.
Schofield (960 points) and  Williams (933 points) could both reach the milestone within the first  month of the season. The last time a UT duo achieved the feat in the  same season was during the 2013-14 campaign, as eventual NBA Draft picks  Jordan McRae (1,521 points) and Jarnell Stokes (1,129 points) joined  the club while helping lead Tennessee to a Sweet Sixteen appearance.
All-time, UT has had 10 duos reach 1,000 points in the same season, including Ernie Grunfeld and Bernard King in 1975-76.
Along  with this year’s All-SEC duo, junior guard Lamonté Turner also could  surpass 1,000 career points this season. At 644 career points, the 2018  SEC Co-Sixth Man of the Year needs just 356 points to reach 1,000. Last  year, Turner finished the season with 381 points. If all three were to  eclipse the mark, it would mark the first time a Tennessee trio has done  so in the same year.

SCHOFIELD, WILLIAMS NAMED TO NAISMITH WATCH LIST
Tennessee’s  All-SEC duo of Admiral Schofield and Grant Williams continued garnering  preseason recognition Monday, as the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced its  watch list for the 2019 Citizen Naismith Trophy Men’s Player of the  Year.Tennessee was one of 11 schools to have multiple players on the  list, including Duke, Gonzaga, Indiana, Kansas, Kansas State, Kentucky,  Nevada, North Carolina, Villanova and Virginia. The Vols could also  potentially face 13 players named to the list during the regular season.

WILLIAMS TABBED TO WOODEN AWARD PRESEASON WATCH LIST
Grant  Williams racked up his third preseason national player of the year  consideration, as the John R. Wooden Award presented by Wendy’s  announced its Preseason Top 50 Watch List.Chosen by a preseason poll of  national college basketball experts, the list is comprised of 50  student-athletes who are the early front-runners for the most  prestigious honors in college basketball, the Wooden Award All American  Team™ and Most Outstanding Player Award.The Wooden Award All American  Team™ will be announced the week of the “Elite Eight” round of the NCAA  Tournament. The winner of the 2019 John R. Wooden Award will be  presented by Wendy’s during the ESPN College Basketball Awards on  Friday, April 12, 2019