Tennessee Basketball: Which teams have the Volunteers never beaten?

9 of 13

Mar 23, 2023; New York, NY, USA; Tennessee Volunteers guard Tyreke Key (4), guard Jahmai Mashack (15), and forward Olivier Nkamhoua (13) stand on the court after being defeated by the Florida Atlantic Owls at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /

Notre Dame

Overall series record: 0-1
First matchup: March 11, 1979
Last matchup: March 11, 1979
Last score: Notre Dame 73, Tennessee 67

Some people think of both Notre Dame and Tennessee as football schools, and most would say they’re both better known for their women’s basketball. Surprisingly, these two programs have met just a single time and it came on college basketball’s biggest stage.

In the second round of the 1979 NCAA Tournament, Notre Dame was the 1-seed in the Mideast region and actually got a decent challenge from the Volunteers, themselves an 8-seed. In the end, the Fighting Irish shot the ball better and got 21 points from Kelly Tripucka en route to a six-point win and an eventual Elite Eight appearance.

Northwestern

Overall series record: 0-1
First matchup: December 21, 1977
Last matchup: December 21, 1977
Last score: Northwestern 93, Tennessee 86

There isn’t much history between Tennessee and Northwestern, but the two did have one matchup long ago that clearly didn’t go the Volunteers’ way.

In what was a mediocre season for both programs, they met up in 1977 in the third-place game of the Rebel Roundup in Las Vegas. Northwestern didn’t have a great season, finishing just 8-19 on the year, but they had enough to claim a 93-86 win over the Volunteers, whose defense was very questionable that season.

UCLA

Overall series record: 0-1
First matchup: January 30, 1977
Last matchup: January 30, 1977
Last score: UCLA 103, Tennessee 89

The run that UCLA went on in the 1960’s and early 70’s will clearly never be matched in this sport. At the tail end of that run, they also had their lone matchup in their history with the Volunteers, and it was quite the spectacle.

The two programs met in January 1977 in a rare nonconference game in Atlanta, pitting No. 7 Tennessee against No. 8 UCLA. It was the Bruins who prevailed, as was commonplace back in the day, pulling out a 103-89 victory and ending the Volunteers’ 12-game winning streak.

Home/Vols Basketball