Tennessee basketball: 10 memorable games between Vols and Memphis Tigers

7. 1988-1989: Tennessee beats Memphis 76-74 (Game played Dec. 29, 1988)

While the 2005-2006 Tennessee-Memphis game rekindled the rivalry, the 1988-1989 game was the one that really started. Up until that point, the Vols and Tigers had only played once, with Ray Mears’s team winning 72-51 in 1969.

But Memphis didn’t really become a big-time program until after that, when Larry Finch took them to the national championship game in the 1970s and Dana Kirk made them a staple on the national scene in the 1980s. In this game, Finch was in his third year as head coach, taking over for Kirk after he resigned in disgrace.

Don DeVoe, meanwhile, was in his 11th season and continuing the legacy Mears had built. However, he wasn’t getting his due respect after five straight years of missing the NCAA Tournament. So with both programs struggling, this was the perfect time to start the in-state rivalry.

Tennessee basketball won the first match-up in a close game, 76-74. And the excitement of the series began. Both teams would make the NCAA Tournament that year, and they would play every year after this until 2001-2002.

Unfortunately for the rivalry, though, DeVoe would leave after 1989, and Finch would be fired in 1997 as Jerry Green took over the Vols. So you wouldn’t see both teams make the NCAA Tournament again until 2005-2006. But this was still the start of what would become a thrilling rivalry with thrilling games throughout the 1990s. And it deserves a mention.