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Tennessee basketball’s five underachieving teams similar to 2020-21

By Caleb Calhoun

CHARLOTTE, NC - MARCH 18: (L-R) Scotty Hopson #32, Brian Williams #33 and Steven Pearl #22 of the Tennessee Volunteers sit on the bench late in the second half before losing to the Michigan Wolverines 75-45 during the second round of the 2011 NCAA men's basketball tournament at Time Warner Cable Arena on March 18, 2011 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
CHARLOTTE, NC - MARCH 18: (L-R) Scotty Hopson #32, Brian Williams #33 and Steven Pearl #22 of the Tennessee Volunteers sit on the bench late in the second half before losing to the Michigan Wolverines 75-45 during the second round of the 2011 NCAA men's basketball tournament at Time Warner Cable Arena on March 18, 2011 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /
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Tennessee head coach Bruce Pearl calls to his players during the game against Michigan in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, N.C. Friday, March 18, 2011. Pearl was fired the following Monday.Bruce Pearl 0071
Tennessee head coach Bruce Pearl calls to his players during the game against Michigan in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, N.C. Friday, March 18, 2011. Pearl was fired the following Monday.Bruce Pearl 0071 /

3. 2010-2011 (Bruce Pearl)

19-15 (8-8); NCAA Tournament Second Round

The end of an era marked this disappointing campaign. Fresh off their first Elite Eight appearance in school history, Tennessee basketball was able to offset the losses of Wayne Chism, Bobby Maze and J.P. Prince with the arrivals of five-star forward Tobias Harris, four-stars Trae Golden and Jordan McRae and transfer Jeronne Maymon, who became eligible midseason.

Add in the return of Scottie Hopson, Cameron Tatum and Melvin Goins, and this team was loaded with talent. However, before the season started, the revelation of Bruce Pearl lying to the NCAA about a barbecue with recruits in 2008 came to light. The SEC revealed it would suspend Pearl for eight games, but amidst the distractions, the talent put UT cautiously in the preseason top 25.

Starting out No. 23, they opened the year 7-0, winning the NIT Season Tip-Off Championship by beating the No. 7 ranked Villanova Wildcats and then winning at the No. 3 ranked Pittsburgh Panthers. All of a sudden, they reached No. 7. However, the distractions took their toll. UT lost to the Oakland Golden Grizzlies, Charlotte 49ers, USC Trojans and College of Charleston Cougars.

Limping into SEC play without Pearl, things were only worse. They got swept by the Florida Gators, Kentucky Wildcats and Georgia Bulldogs. The UConn Huskies were another non-conference team to beat them. After an 8-8 SEC regular season, they lose to Florida a third time in the SEC Tournament.

An elite schedule still got these guys a No. 9 seed in the NCAA Tournament, and they would face the Michigan Wolverines in the first round. However, before the game, Mike Hamilton made a ridiculous decision to publicize that Pearl would likely be fired if he didn’t reach the Sweet 16. Well, with that distraction, Michigan blew out the Vols 75-45, and Pearl was fired days later.

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