All for Tennessee
Fansided

Tennessee basketball: Vols 5 best seasons without hanging any banners

By Caleb Calhoun

PROVIDENCE, RI - MARCH 18: The bench of the Tennessee Volunteers reacts in the closing minutes in a 62-59 win over the San Diego State Aztecs during the first round of the 2010 NCAA men's basketball tournament at Dunkin' Donuts Center on March 18, 2010 in Providence, Rhode Island. (Jim Rogash/Getty Images)
PROVIDENCE, RI - MARCH 18: The bench of the Tennessee Volunteers reacts in the closing minutes in a 62-59 win over the San Diego State Aztecs during the first round of the 2010 NCAA men's basketball tournament at Dunkin' Donuts Center on March 18, 2010 in Providence, Rhode Island. (Jim Rogash/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 6
Next
Photo by Elsa/Getty Images
Photo by Elsa/Getty Images /

3. 1980-1981

Record: 21-8 (12-6)

NCAA Tournament: Sweet 16 (Lost to Virginia Cavaliers 62-48)

Only the second team in Tennessee basketball history to reach the regional semifinals, this was the squad that legitimized Don DeVoe as the right guy to follow Ray Mears. DeVoe won the SEC Tournament in 1979 and made the NCAA Tournament in 1980.

However, both teams got eliminated in the second round. This team, however, had superstar Dale Ellis in his second year combined with the veteran presence of senior Howard Wood and junior Gary Carter.

The combination was enough for the Vols to finish 20-6 overall and 12-6 in the SEC, but that was only good for third in the conference. Then they lost the first game of the SEC Tournament to the Ole Miss Rebels.

After that, though, they still entered the NCAA Tournament with a first round bye as a No. 4 seed. And in the first round, they had a thrilling overtime victory over VCU to win 58-66, which earned them a spot in the Sweet 16.

The Vols lost that Sweet 16 matchup to the Virginia Cavaliers 62-48. But they were able to finish the year 21-8 and in the top 15, which were pretty impressive accomplishments for the basketball program at this time.

As a result, with no banners to celebrate, it was easy for us to rank this as one of the five greatest UT basketball teams to never celebrate a championship. They were one of DeVoe’s most successful teams overall anyway and earned their way onto this list.

Home/Vols Basketball