No. 8 Tennessee men’s basketball opened the 2026-27 season with a 90-59 win over Wofford at Food City Center. Rick Barnes’ squad weathered a fight from the Terriers in the first half. If you’ve paid any attention to the preseason, that wasn’t a shock.
The Vols are still figuring out how to work together, and honestly how to come out with fire from the beginning. Even sophomore forward DeWayne Brown II, a returner, had a great night but had to turn himself loose to do it.
Brown is a 6-foot-8 physical forward who is tasked with handling the paint and working the boards. There will be times when Brown is undersized, but he showed on Tuesday that he can dominate. He posted a 17-point, 17-rebound double-double, and that should be a boost for him as more games come.
Wofford coach Kevin Giltner was asked what makes Brown so effective at his size. His answer was simple.
“It’s as obvious as the nose on your face,” Giltner said. “He’s so physical. He is so physical. He looks like a defensive end out there on free throw boxes, on his duck-ins under the rim, on his ball screens, on his handoffs. He is so physical. It’s like running into a brick wall when he ducks in.”
Brown won’t be the tallest guy on the floor most nights in the SEC, and he doesn’t have to be. He can beat his opponent with quickness and physicality, and make the bigger guy deal with him the whole game. Giltner also spoke about this.
“He’s got a great motor,” Giltner said. “He’s got long arms. I know he’s only about 6-foot-7, but I’m sure he’s got a 7-foot wingspan. He’s tough, and he’s got a motor, and that usually bodes well in Coach Barnes’ system.”
Wofford held its own on the glass in the first half, but Tennessee crushed them on the boards after halftime as Tennessee finished with a 42-34 finish. Giltner called that the tale of the game. Brown had 17 of those rebounds.
Barnes said Brown had struggled during the preseason. Brown said the fix tonight was getting out of his own head.
“I just think that I just needed to play a little bit more free, a little bit more loose,” Brown said. “And really, that was it. Just come in, focus on the things that we need to do to be a good team and win.”
Brown isn’t the only one who needs to hear that. This roster is loaded with transfers who were the main guy at their last stop, and Tennessee isn’t going to reach its ceiling until they learn how to work together for the main goal.
“I just feel like once everybody kind of buys into the fact that we need each other as a team, and once one person eats, the whole team is going to be successful,” Brown said. “Then the sky’s the limit for us.”
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