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Tennessee basketball: Ranking all nine Vols NCAA Tournament wins in 2010s

By Caleb Calhoun

COLUMBUS, OHIO - MARCH 22: Grant Williams #2 of the Tennessee Volunteers reacts with teammates during the second half against the Colgate Raiders in the first round of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Nationwide Arena on March 22, 2019 in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
COLUMBUS, OHIO - MARCH 22: Grant Williams #2 of the Tennessee Volunteers reacts with teammates during the second half against the Colgate Raiders in the first round of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Nationwide Arena on March 22, 2019 in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images
Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images /

1. Ohio State Buckeyes (2-seed)

2010 – Sweet Sixteen

Final score: Tennessee wins 76-73

The greatest NCAA Tournament win in Tennessee basketball history came here, and it was in the first Big Dance the Vols played in this decade. So of course it’s going to top this list of greatest Tourney wins in the 2010s.

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Three years prior, UT had blown a 20-point lead to the Ohio State Buckeyes with Greg Oden and Mike Conley, costing themselves a chance at the Elite Eight. That year, they were the four-seed, and OSU was the one-seed. This year, they were the six-seed, and OSU was the two-seed under the leadership of Evan Turner.

At the time, the Vols beat the San Diego State Aztecs and Ohio Bobcats to reach the Sweet Sixteen, so there were questions about just how good they were. Ohio State built a 13-7 lead early, but the game never got out of hand, and they only led 42-39 at halftime. The whole game, nobody every led by more than two scores.

Down by one with 35 seconds to go, Brian Williams hit a tip-shot, and then Bobby Maze got a steal and drew a foul. After hitting both free throws UT was up by three. J.P. Prince then blocked an attempted game-tying three-point attempt by Turner, and the Vols pulled away with a huge win.

As only senior who had been with the program for four years at the time, Wayne Chism was the key for the Vols going further than ever before. He had 22 points and 11 rebounds. Williams added 11 rebounds, and Prince, the other senior, had 14 points, six assists and two steals. Maze added 10, and Cameron Tatum had 11 off the bench.

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Thanks to those guys, Tennessee basketball made what remains its only Elite Eight in history. It was the peak before the downfall in the Bruce Pearl era, as the NCAA investigation that got him fired happened the next year. UT also lost a one-point heartbreaker to the Michigan State Spartans the next week. But despite all that, this win was historic and epic in the moment.

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