No. 1: 2018-19
Head Coach: Rick Barnes
Record: 31-6 (15-3, SEC)
Best win(s): vs. No. 1 Gonzaga, vs. No. 4 Kentucky, vs. No. 4 Kentucky
Key Players: Grant Williams, Admiral Schofield, Jordan Bone, Lamonte Turner, Kyle Alexander, Jordan Bowden
The narrative was much different for Tennessee heading into year four under Rick Barnes. The Vols had arguably the deepest, most complete roster in the country and were ready to compete for a national title. Stars such as Williams, Schofield and Bone had been in Barnes’ program for years and were ready to avenge the heartbreak of the previous season’s finish.
An early season overtime loss to No. 2 Kansas in the NIT season tip-off final was a blip in the radar, as Tennessee went on to compile a dominant 19-game win streak. This included a victory over top-ranked Gonzaga that helped the Vols take the No. 1 spot in the AP Poll and hang on to it for a month.
Losses to Kentucky, LSU and Auburn in the final seven games bumped Tennessee out of the SEC regular season title race, in an extraordinarily strong season for the conference. A bounce-back win over Kentucky at home late in the season kept Barnes perfect against the Wildcats in Thompson-Boling Arena. They would meet again in the SEC semifinal, and Tennessee won a thriller, 82-78, to advance to the SEC championship game. They fell flat to Auburn however, and were routed 84-64.
Tennessee went onto the NCAA Tournament as a No. 2 seed at 29-5. Avoiding an upset from Colgate in the Round of 64, the Vols met No. 10 seed Iowa, and escaped in a back-and-forth overtime game, 83-77.
The season ended in the Sweet Sixteen, as Tennessee and No. 3 seed Purdue went to overtime, and it was the Boilermakers with the 99-94 victory to finally end the Vols’ historic season.
Williams had won back-to-back SEC Player of the Year awards, and his partnership with Schofield ranks as one of the best duos in Tennessee history, regardless of sport. Williams, Schofield, Alexander and Bone were gone to the NBA Draft, resetting Tennessee basketball.