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Tennessee basketball: How have Vols previously fared after beating No. 1 teams?

By Caleb Calhoun

PHOENIX, ARIZONA - DECEMBER 09: Admiral Schofield #5 and Grant Williams #2 of the Tennessee Volunteers celebrate on the court after defeating the Gonzaga Bulldogs in the game at Talking Stick Resort Arena on December 9, 2018 in Phoenix, Arizona. The Volunteers defeated the Bulldogs 76-73. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
PHOENIX, ARIZONA - DECEMBER 09: Admiral Schofield #5 and Grant Williams #2 of the Tennessee Volunteers celebrate on the court after defeating the Gonzaga Bulldogs in the game at Talking Stick Resort Arena on December 9, 2018 in Phoenix, Arizona. The Volunteers defeated the Bulldogs 76-73. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /
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2. 1969-1970: Tennessee defeats No. 1 South Carolina 55-54

Date of the game: Saturday, Dec. 6, 1969

Vols record after the win: 1-0

Next game’s result: Tennessee defeats Centenary 66-62

End result of the season: Vols finish 16-9, 10-8 in SEC with no postseason

Nearly 40 years before Bruce Pearl took over Tennessee basketball, Ray Mears was in the process of establishing a program that would culminate with the Ernie and Bernie show in the late 1970s. But in the 1960s, he was still trying to get his name out there.

This was one of the games to put the program on the map. The Vols were coming off a 20-5 season in which they didn’t reach any postseason play. Despite that record they entered the 1969-1970 season unranked.

Meanwhile, they were set to face an opponent in the South Carolina Gamecocks who were ranked No. 1 after going 21-7 and reaching the NIT the year before. South Carolina was an ACC team at the time, and after beating the Auburn Tigers and playing this game at home, they were a heavy favorite. It didn’t matter. The Vols pulled off an epic 55-54 road upset over the top-ranked team.

Following that, Mears’s team managed to start 6-0 and got as high as No. 6 in the nation. However, for as much as that upset lifted them in the early part of the season, they couldn’t sustain it.

Niagara pulled off a shocking upset over this team after that 6-0 start, and that set them on a downward spiral which included seven losses in nine games. The streak cost them any chance at postseason play again, and they finished with a mediocre 16-9 record. So this upset gave Tennessee basketball an early boost following it, but they then collapsed.

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