Tennessee basketball: Ranking Vols finish to every season in 2010s decade
2. 2018-2019
31-6 (15-3)
NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen; No. 6 AP; No. 10 Coaches
This was the second 30-plus win season in Tennessee basketball history and the second season they ever spent time ranked No. 1, and it’s only the second best season this decade. That should tell you something.
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The Vols returned all five starters from the 2017-2018 team and started things off ranked in the top 10. Even with Lamonte Turner banged up, they got red-hot in non-conference play. After an overtime loss to the Kansas Jayhawks, they upset the No. 1 ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs in December and beat the Memphis Tigers on the road.
As a result, this team was 11-1 and ranked No. 3 entering league play. Then they jumped out to an 11-0 record in SEC play and a 23-1 record overall, spending three weeks at No. 1. The brutal schedule at the end of the season resulted in some rough outings, as the Vols lost at the Kentucky Wildcats, at the LSU Tigers and at the Auburn Tigers.
In the process, they finished just outside of first place in the SEC. Then, in the tournament, they had a huge comeback win over Kentucky to make the championship game again. But with a No. 1 seed on the line, Auburn beat them again.
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UT still made the Sweet Sixteen after holding off Colgate and scoring an overtime win over the Iowa Hawkeyes. They then got robbed against the Purdue Boilermakers with a chance to make the Elite Eight, ending a great era on Rocky Top. But even with that robbery, this was still a great season nobody will soon forget.