No. 3: 2013-14
Head Coach: Cuonzo Martin
Record: 24-13 (11-7, SEC)
Best win(s): vs. Virginia
Key Players: Jordan McRae, Jeronne Maymon, Jarnell Stokes
It was NCAA Tournament or bust for Tennessee entering 2013. The Vols had enough experience and talent and were determined to make up for the disappointing finish to 2012-13.
Tennessee spent the entire season on the bubble with no major resume-building victories, outside of a dominant win over eventual ACC champions Virginia at home. In large part, however, the Vols were able to beat the teams they were supposed to and ended the regular season with a 20-11 record. After a quarterfinal loss to top-ranked Florida in the SEC Tournament, Tennessee awaited their fate on Selection Sunday at 21-12.
The Vols snuck in to the tournament via a First Four play-in game against Iowa. After a 78-65 overtime win, Tennessee was officially in the Round of 64 as a No. 11 seed. A dominant win over UMass led the Vols into the Round of 32, where they lucked out by greeting Mercer, who had just upset Duke in the first round. Tennessee dispatched Mercer, 83-63, to meet Michigan in the Sweet Sixteen.
The season finally came to an end with a heartbreaking 73-71 loss to the Wolverines, punctuated by a controversial charge called against Tennessee’s Jarnell Stokes during a drive for a potential go-ahead bucket in the final seconds.
It was another stellar season for Jordan McRae, averaging 18.7 points per game. He would be selected in the second round of the NBA Draft by the San Antonio Spurs, and remains in the league today as part of Detroit’s roster.
Josh Richardson brought an offensive spark for the Vols during the tournament run to go with the physicality of Maymon and Stokes, but the season was over and the majority of the Vols’ roster would move on. It would be Cuonzo Martin’s final season at Tennessee, departing his rocky relationship with Tennessee fans to take the head coaching job at California.
NEXT: Tennessee’s basketball teams from the past decade