With 17 regular season wins overall and nine SEC wins, Tennessee basketball definitely took a step back this year. Of course, they didn’t get to play any SEC Tournament or NCAA Tournament games, but the Vols were clearly not going to match the production of either of the previous two teams that finished in the top 25 anyway.
Rick Barnes’ team really had no chance, to be fair. They lost four of their top six producers from last year, and one of their only two returning major contributors, Lamonte Turner, had season-ending shoulder surgery back in December.