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Tennessee Vols: Top 10 years men’s basketball was way better than football

By Caleb Calhoun

PHOENIX, ARIZONA - DECEMBER 09: Jordan Bowden #23 of the Tennessee Volunteers celebrates 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: Jordan Bowden #23 of the Tennessee Volunteers celebrates 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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9. 1976-1977

Basketball: 22-6 (16-2)

*SEC Regular Season Champions; NCAA Tournament

Football: 6-5 (2-4)

The year after the Tennessee Vols men’s basketball team began to get better with the Ernie and Bernie show, the disparity began to grow. That made sense for this season, as it would be the third year of Bernard King and Ernie Grunfeld playing together. Meanwhile, football would take a further dive under Battle.

There are plenty of seasons in which men’s basketball won the SEC and football didn’t. However, lots of them saw football right on the same level. Most notably, the 2007-2008 Vols went 31-5 and reached No. 1 while winning the SEC, but football still went 10-4 and won the East, and they both finished in the top 12.

Meanwhile, 1942-1943, 1966-1967, 1971-1972 and 1981-1982 saw men’s basketball win the SEC with solid records. But the football program had comparable records and top 25 finishes in all of them. And when they won it in 1940-1941, football was in the midst of its third straight SEC title and second national title in three years.

Men’s basketball began the preseason ranked No. 16 and did have a rocky 2-2 start, knocking them out of the polls. But then they reeled off 12 straight victories, including three top 20 wins and two wins over top five teams, the Kentucky Wildcats and Alabama Crimson Tide. They would later sweep Kentucky and Alabama by beating both again while in the top five.

In the process, they won the SEC Regular Season Championship. Despite losing in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, that title and top 15 ranking significantly outdid football, which stumbled to 6-5 and no bowl appearance in what would be Battle’s last year on Rocky Top.

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