Tennessee basketball: Looking at last 5 seasons Vols were in top 5
![MEMPHIS, TN - FEBRUARY 23: Chris Lofton #5 of the Tennessee Volunteers shoots a layup around Robert Dozier #2 of the Memphis Tigers at FedExForum on February 23, 2008 in Memphis, Tennessee. Volunteers beat the Tigers 66-62. (Photo by Joe Murphy/Getty Images) MEMPHIS, TN - FEBRUARY 23: Chris Lofton #5 of the Tennessee Volunteers shoots a layup around Robert Dozier #2 of the Memphis Tigers at FedExForum on February 23, 2008 in Memphis, Tennessee. Volunteers beat the Tigers 66-62. (Photo by Joe Murphy/Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/5b8d34ff490b1b8f799abd828fdccd95dce3a5daaf4166ead52a0793e9ac8290.jpg)
1. 1958-1959
14-8 (8-6 in SEC)
Highest ranking: No. 5
This was Tennessee basketball’s last season under head coach Emmett Lowery, who was the first long-term head coach the program ever had that was specifically for basketball. Anyway, his team was led by seniors Gene Tormohlen and Kenny Coulter.
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Adding in junior forward Dalen Showalter to this inside-out game they had, and there was plenty of reason to be excited about a squad that had gone 16-7 the year before. Starting the year ranked No. 6 in the nation, expectations were sky-high early.
Then four games into the season, the Vols were undefeated. They had beaten the Wyoming Cowboys twice, scored a huge win over the Michigan Wolverines, and also had a solid win over the Wake Forest Demon Deacons.
At that point, they reached their first top 5 ranking in program history, right at No. 5. Two days later, they beat the Davidson Wildcats, and this team seemed to be legit. However, it was all just an illusion.
A 15-point loss to the Butler Bulldogs on the road knocked these guys out of the Top 10. Two games later, they lost a close one at home to the No. 5 ranked West Virginia Mountaineers. Still, they were in the Top 20 when they opened SEC play with a win over the Vanderbilt Commodores.
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After that, it all went south. The Vols lost two of four road games and fell out of the rankings altogether. They stumbled to a barely .500 record in the conference. A home win over the No. 2 ranked Auburn Tigers in the second to last game of the season was exciting. But it didn’t offset a sweep at the hands of the Kentucky Wildcats, a 3-6 record on the road and a 1-4 record against ranked teams. So, in the end, this season ended in a disappointment.