Tennessee basketball’s top 10 regular season wins of 2010s
Honorable Mentions
No. 13 Florida Gators (Jan. 7, 2012)
Tennessee Volunteers win 67-56
SEC regular season game (Thompson-Boling Arena; Knoxville, Tenn.)
As Tennessee basketball was transitioning under Cuonzo Martin, they still hadn’t yet gotten Jarnell Stokes. At 7-7 and having just come off a loss to the Memphis Tigers, they weren’t expected to beat the defending SEC Champion Florida Gators who had just made the Elite Eight. But they controlled the game and won by 11, securing an eventual sweep in the series with their later win.
No. 11 Connecticut Huskies (Jan. 21, 2012)
Tennessee Volunteers win 60-57
Non-conference regular season game (Thompson-Boling Arena; Knoxville, Tenn.)
This was really the game that got the 2011-2012 Vols going under Cuonzo Martin. After the Florida win, they lost three straight and fell to 8-10. But Jarnell Stokes arrived here with a double-double, the team bought into Martin’s defensive style, and UT beat the defending national champions 60-57. That began a run in which they won eight of their final 11 games.
No. 8 Florida Gators (Feb. 26, 2013)
Tennessee Volunteers win 64-58
SEC regular season game (Thompson-Boling Arena; Knoxville, Tenn.)
Despite blowing out the Kentucky Wildcats this year, the Vols’ win over the Florida Gators down the stretch was once again them coming together late under Cuonzo Martin. This was part of a six-game winning streak and one in which the Vols won eight of nine to get onto to the NCAA Tournament bubble. Jordan McRae was the star here with 27 points.
Related Story. Ranking Vol basketball's finish to every season in 2010s. light
No. 17 Kentucky Wildcats (Jan. 6, 2018)
No. 23 Tennessee Volunteers win 76-65
SEC regular season game (Thompson-Boling Arena; Knoxville, Tenn.)
Their win over Kentucky at Rupp Arena was the bigger story of 2017-2018, but the Vols scored a huge win over them earlier in the season as well. They had lost two straight conference games at the time and then dominated here, which sent them on a tear, winning eight of nine en route to winning the regular season SEC title thanks to this regular season sweep of UK.
No. 4 Kentucky Wildcats (March 2, 2019)
No. 7 Tennessee Volunteers win 71-52
SEC regular season game (Thompson-Boling Arena; Knoxville, Tenn.)
Most top five wins are on here. However, in this case, Tennessee basketball was just avenging a blowout loss to the Kentucky Wildcats earlier in the year. They also took advantage of Kentucky playing without Reid Travis, which is why they dominated down low. Other Kentucky wins, like the ones in 2016 and 2013, didn’t even get the mention despite our best efforts. This still gets that.