No. 7: 2019-20
Head Coach: Rick Barnes
Record: 17-14 (9-9, SEC)
Best win(s): at No. 6 Kentucky
Key Players: John Fulkerson, Santiago Vescovi, Yves Pons
One of the strangest seasons in recent Tennessee history, especially given how it ended. We will never know what this team would have done with its postseason opportunity. The SEC Tournament-opening game against Alabama was canceled, along with the rest of the college basketball postseason due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The UT program saw a lot of talent empty out from its roster from the previous year. Grant Williams, Jordan Bone, Admiral Schofield and Kyle Alexander moved on while Lamonte Turner, Jordan Bowden and 5-star freshman Josiah-Jordan James were expected to carry the torch in a transitional season. After a 7-1 start, things got rocky as Tennessee struggled to find enough offense. Turner’s season-ending shoulder injury and Bowden’s severe shooting slump made matters worse as Tennessee ended the non-conference slate at 8-4.
Vescovi, a freshman point guard, was handed the ball just days after arriving on campus in late December, and started his first game in an SEC-opening loss to LSU at home. Tennessee was quite inconsistent all season, but back-to-back wins late against Florida and at Kentucky gave the Vols a chance to remain on the bubble. A senior day loss to Auburn all but ended that dream, and the Vols went into the SEC Tournament needing a run to the final, and possibly a championship to get into the NCAA Tournament. The rest is history, and the season was cut prematurely short.
John Fulkerson was the stalwart for Tennessee all season, averaging nearly 14 points and six rebounds per game, making the All-SEC second team. Yves Pons earned SEC Defensive Player of the Year honors, blocking 73 shots which tied a school record. Vescovi has been established as the point guard of the future, and expectations will be high for Barnes with an elite recruiting class on the way into Knoxville for 2020-21.
NEXT: Tennessee’s basketball teams from the past decade