Report: Louisville basketball plays Tennessee in Preseason NIT opener

Danielle Lerner | Courier Journal

Show Caption Hide Caption Louisville coach Chris Mack gives team update Mack updated reporters on the Cards basketball team for the upcoming season, including Matt Hanna's departure.

The University of Louisville men's basketball team will reportedly play Tennessee in its first-round NIT Season Tip-Off game Nov. 21 at Brooklyn's Barclays Center.

The Louisville-Tennesse matchup, first reported by CBS Sports' Jon Rothstein, means just one missing piece remains in Louisville's 13-game nonconference schedule.

Louisville will face either Kansas or Marquette in the second round of the four-team NIT preseason tournament Nov. 23 at the Barclays Center, and will host one more unknown opponent in a Season Tip-Off game at the KFC Yum Center (date to be announced).

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The Nov. 16 home game against Vermont, reported by WPTZ-5, is the other contest included in the series.

The Louisville-Tennesse game has not been officially announced by the tournament or by either school, and a Louisville athletics spokesman said Friday he could not confirm the matchup.

Louisville has a 12-7 all-time record against Tennesse and has won five straight meetings. The teams most recently met in the 2008 NCAA Tournament, when the Cardinals won 79-60 in the Sweet 16.

Twelve of Louisville's 13 nonconference opponents are now known, although dates have not been finalized for home contests against Kentucky and Nicholls State and a road game against Seton Hall.

The Atlantic Coast Conference typically releases the dates of its men's basketball schedule in late August or early September.

The schedule could feature games against seven of the 10 winningest programs in college basketball history, and Louisville could end up playing six regular-season conference champions and 15 teams that played in the NCAA Tournament.

Danielle Lerner: 502-582-4042; dlerner@courierjournal.com; Twitter: @Danielle_Lerner. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: www.courier-journal.com/daniellel.

Louisville's 2018-19 schedule

Nov. 16: Vermont*

Nov. 21: Tennessee*, NIT Season Tip-Off first round Nov. 23: Kansas or Marquette, NIT Season Tip-Off second round

Nov. 27: Michigan State

Dec. 1 or 2: at Seton Hall

Dec. 5: Central Arkansas

Dec. 8: at Indiana

Dec. 12: Lipscomb

Dec. 15: Kent State

Dec. 18: Robert Morris*

Home games with no date set: Kentucky, Nicholls State and one more NIT Season Tip-Off home game (opponent TBD).

Conference games: Boston College, North Carolina, Pittsburgh and Virginia home-and-homes; at Florida State, Georgia Tech, Syracuse, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest; home vs. Clemson, Duke, Miami, NC State and Notre Dame.

* - matchups against Vermont, Tennessee and Robert Morris reported by WPTZ-5 in Burlington, Vt., and CBS Sports, respectively.