A History of Ranked Match-ups in Knoxville

How special is Sunday’s showdown with North Carolina? Here are the ranked non-conference match-ups in the history of Thompson-Boling Arena:

• #9 Tennessee 66 #18 Wisconsin 56 on November 21, 2000
• #16 Tennessee 76 #1 Kansas 68 on January 10, 2010
• #20 Tennessee vs #7 North Carolina, Sunday

That’s it.

This has been our fault more often than not:  since TBA opened 30 years ago, the Vols have only been ranked in 11 different seasons (shout out, as always, to Tennessee’s media guide for such helpful information). Don DeVoe’s last team was there in 1989, as were Jerry Green’s SEC Champions for all of 2000 and parts of 1999 and 2001. Each of Bruce Pearl’s six squads spent time in the Top 25, including the entire season in 2008 and 2010. And now Rick Barnes has Tennessee back in the Top 25.

In those 11 seasons the Vols have played just 13 total ranked vs. ranked games in Knoxville. Four of them came in a span of seven weeks in 2010. The other nine include three other seasons in the last 17 years. A walk down memory lane:

• 2000: #11 Tennessee 105 #7 Auburn 76 (January 25) – This was my freshman year at UT, and this was an absolute beat down. Auburn was Sports Illustrated’s preseason pick to win it all, but they were buzz-sawed by Tennessee. Tiger star Chris Porter was in foul trouble early and often, thanks in large part to the play of true freshman Ron Slay.
• 2000: #8 Tennessee 76 #12 Florida 73 (OT) (February 12) – Having already won a double overtime game in Gainesville, the Vols got the season sweep by beating the Gators in another overtime in Knoxville. This Florida team was led by Mike Miller and Udonis Haslem; Miller played 17 years in the NBA, and Haslem is unbelievably still on Miami’s roster. But C.J. Black got the best of his match-up with Haslem as the Vols won both meetings. The Gators finished third in the SEC East but played their way to the title game of the NCAA Tournament before falling to Michigan State.
• 2000: #7 Tennessee 74 #18 Kentucky 67 (February 23) – Having finally broken through against Kentucky the year before, Tennessee made it two in a row in Knoxville and helped win a share of the SEC Championship in the regular season. The Vols would earn a four seed in the NCAA Tournament and make the Sweet 16 for the first time since expansion to 64 teams.
• 2001: #9 Tennessee 66 #18 Wisconsin 56 (November 21, 2000) – Part of a 15-1 start to the season that saw the Vols climb to #4 in the polls, a run which also included…
• 2001: #4 Tennessee 86 #16 Alabama 69 (January 9) – The Vols started 3-0 in SEC play, lost at Rupp Arena, then beat Mississippi State to get to 4-1. They lost in double overtime at Georiga, lost at #13 Florida, then pounded Vanderbilt by 22 points to stay in the Top 10. Then they lost five games in a row, including:
• 2001: #22 Kentucky 103 #15 Tennessee 95 (February 14) – …and they lost most of their interest in playing defense. There was a chance to rebound four days later, but…
• 2001: #11 Florida 88 #15 Tennessee 82 (February 18) – …they did not. Tennessee still made the NCAA Tournament, lost to Charlotte in an 8/9 game in the first round, and Jerry Green was out.
• 2008: #8 Tennessee 85 #16 Ole Miss 83 (January 9) – Bruce Pearl’s first two teams never got to play in a ranked match-up in Knoxville, but the 2008 squad was tested on the opening night of SEC play. The Rebels were undefeated coming into this one, and erased a 12-point Tennessee lead to take a four point advantage with two minutes to play. With the game on the line, the Vols went to Tyler Smith and he cashed in.
• 2008: #6 Tennessee 80 #16 Vanderbilt 60 (January 17) – Sure, Vanderbilt beat the Vols when they were #1 a little later this season. But this one in Knoxville remains one of the best games I’ve ever seen Tennessee play against a good team. Wayne Chism had 18 points and 18 rebounds and the Vols held Vanderbilt to 3-of-21 from the arc while forcing 22 turnovers.
• 2010: #16 Tennessee 76 #1 Kansas 68 (January 10) – On another Sunday afternoon eight seasons ago….here’s a strange thought:  freshmen in the student section this Sunday night were in elementary school when the Vols pulled this one off. Nine days after three players were suspended and Tyler Smith was dismissed for having guns and drugs in a vehicle (and two days before Lane Kiffin left in the middle of the night), a ragtag group of Volunteers played the game of their lives against the #1 Jayhawks. Renaldo Woolridge hit three threes in the first half, and Skyler McBee provided a shot for the ages in the final minute as the shot clock expired. One of the biggest wins in the history of Tennessee basketball. Video highlights – Postgame Story from RTT
• 2010: #6 Tennessee 71 #21 Ole Miss 69 (OT) (January 16) – Still short-handed six days later, the Vols got 26 points and 12 rebounds from Wayne Chism to continue a remarkable run.
• 2010: #21 Vanderbilt 85 #14 Tennessee 76 (January 27) – For all their accomplishments, the 2010 Vols could not handle Vanderbilt. The Dores – en route to a four seed in the NCAA Tournament – won in Knoxville by nine and in Nashville by 19.
• 2010: #19 Tennessee 74 #2 Kentucky 65 (February 27) – The Kansas win was special, but on this day the Vols not only beat one of the most talented teams to ever play in TBA, but put the brand of basketball on display that would carry them to the doorstep of the Final Four one month later. The John Wall/DeMarcus Cousins Wildcats in John Calipari’s first season were 27-1 coming into Knoxville, but left 27-2 thanks to 2-of-22 shooting from the three-point line. The Vols got 20 from J.P. Prince and 15 from Scotty Hopson, who hit a three with the shot clock winding down in the final minute to put the Vols up five. I don’t know of another team the Vols have faced at TBA that started two future NBA All-Stars. Tennessee finished the game on a 9-0 run to break a 65-65 tie.

It’s unfortunate that we’ve only played 13 of these games in 30 years. But the good news:  Tennessee is 10-3 in those games.

Sunday will be special, echoing beyond just what it could mean for this year’s team. Simply getting to this point means Rick Barnes has done what Wade Houston, Kevin O’Neill, Buzz Peterson, Cuonzo Martin, and Donnie Tyndall could not in the regular season. Getting the Vols to stay in college basketball’s national conversation is the next step. No better way to do that than by beating North Carolina on what should be an electric Sunday in Thompson-Boling.