No. 2: 2017-18
Head Coach: Rick Barnes
Record: 26-9 (13-5, SEC)
Best win(s): vs. No. 18 Purdue, vs. No. 17 Kentucky
Key players: Grant Williams, Admiral Schofield, Jordan Bone, Lamonte Turner
Although the Vols returned nearly all the production from the previous season, not much was expected from fans and media outside of Knoxville going into 2017-18. Tennessee was picked to finish 13th in the SEC at media days.
Tennessee went to work, and the close calls against ranked opponents from the previous seasons turned into wins. A strong showing in the Battle 4 Atlantis helped Tennessee round out the non-conference slate at 9-2, with losses only to No. 5 Villanova and No. 7 North Carolina.
Tennessee stumbled out the gate in the SEC, starting 0-2 with losses to Arkansas and Auburn, but recovered and only lost three conference games the rest of the way. The run included a sweep of Kentucky, and a share of the regular season SEC title with Auburn. In the SEC Tournament, a run to the final was ended with a, 77-72, loss to Kentucky. Tennessee was headed to the NCAA Tournament as a No. 3 seed at 25-8.
After a dominant win over Wright State in the Round of 64, the season was snatched-away by Final Four-bound Loyola in the Round of 32, 63-62. The best season for Tennessee since the Pearl years was over, ended by a Cinderella story.
The Vols nearly swept the postseason conference honors, as Rick Barnes won SEC Coach of the Year, Grant Williams won SEC Player of the Year and Lamonte Turner won SEC Sixth Man of the Year. The roster was only losing graduate transfer James Daniel, and was poised to bounce back the following season.
NEXT: Tennessee’s basketball teams from the past decade