5. The Basketball Vols Return to March Madness
After years of missing out on the Big Dance, Tennessee’s men’s basketball team finally made it back to the NCAA Tournament after a surprisingly good 2017-18 season.
The basketball Vols were picked to finish 13th out of 14 teams in the SEC before the beginning of last season, but they went out and shocked the college basketball world by finishing tied atop the conference standings with Auburn. The Vols won a share of the SEC regular season title and made it all the way to the SEC Tournament Final and faced off against Kentucky.
The Vols would lose to the Wildcats, but they would end up earning a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Tennessee won their first game in the tournament against Wright State, but they would fall on a last second shot against Loyola-Chicago in the second round. The Ramblers would go on to make it to the Final Four.
Tennessee’s first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2014 ended sooner than Vol fans wanted, but last season was full of highlights. The Vols swept the regular season series against Kentucky and finished the season tied with the 1999-00 team for the third-most wins in a season in program history.
For a fan base desperate for big time wins, the Vols’ co-SEC championship was a much-needed title, especially after the disaster that was the 2017 football season and coaching search. And seeing UT back in the NCAA Tournament was a sight for sore eyes everywhere in Vol nation.
