COLUMBIA, S.C. — Tennessee basketball is the regular season champions of the Southeastern Conference.
The Vols clinched the championship on Wednesday night by knocking off South Carolina 66-59 in Columbia. With the victory, Tennessee improves to 14-3 in conference play and moves two games ahead of Alabama, Auburn, Kentucky and South Carolina in the SEC standings.
It’s Tennessee’s first outright regular season SEC Championship since 2008 and just its second outright title in 57 years. The Vols earned a share of the conference title in 1972, ’77, ’82, ’00 and most recently in ’18 but the ’08 title marked their only other outright championship.
It’s the Vols third SEC Championship under ninth-year head coach Rick Barnes with the Vols splitting the regular season title in ’18 and winning the SEC Tournament in 2022 for the first time since 1979.
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Tennessee earned the conference title in impressive fashion thanks to a late season tear and a number of impressive road wins. The Vols fell at Mississippi State in their second game of the conference schedule and lost again at home against South Carolina in late January.
With two losses through eight conference games and one of the losses coming at home, Tennessee’s regular season SEC Championship hopes were faltering. But the Vols have won nine of their last 10 games since, starting the run with a win at Kentucky.
Tennessee’s ability to win big games on the road was the key to earning the title. With the win over South Carolina, the Vols finish SEC play with a 7-2 record on the road including ranked wins in Lexington, Tuscaloosa and now Columbia, South Carolina.
The Vols can tie their best SEC record in Barnes’ nine seasons as head coach on Saturday if they can conclude the regular season with a win over Kentucky. Tennessee is looking to complete the regular season sweep of the Wildcats for just the second time this century.
Tipoff at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center is at 4 p.m. ET on Saturday afternoon. CBS is broadcasting the game.
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