I thought it would be interesting to look back at Tennessee’s history (or lack thereof) in the NCAA Tournament. The Vols have made 15 appearances in the big dance and have a cumulative record of 11-15. The 15 appearances sounds about right to me but I have to admit that I was a bit surprised that we are only 4 games under .500 in the tournament.
In two years, Bruce Pearl has won 38% as many games as Tennessee had won previously. A win versus Ohio State on Thursday would mean that Pearl would have won 50% (4) as many games as the Vols in their entire history through 2005 (8).
- Tennessee record before Pearl: 8-14 (36.4%)
- Tennessee record with Pearl: 3-1 (75.0%)
- Tennessee overall record: 11-15 (42.3%)
What I didn’t realize is that it was 1979 before Tennessee won it’s first NCAA Tournament game. That year, Don DeVoe was the head coach. Tennessee was a #8 seed and beat Eastern Kentucky 91-81 in Murphreesboro, TN. We lost the next game to #1 seed Notre Dame. That game was also played in Murphreesboro.
Surprisingly, Ray Mears never won a game in this tournament, even during the famed Ernie and Bernie years. Granted, the field has been expanded since then.
- 1939 – NCAA Tournament field consisted of 8 teams
- 1951 – expanded to 16 teams (10 conference champions)
- 1953 – expanded to 24 teams and fluctuated between 22 and 25 in coming years
- 1975 – expanded to 32 teams (allows for teams other than conference champions)
- 1979 – expanded to 40 teams (all teams seeded for the first time)
- 1980 – expanded to 48 teams (top 16 seeds received byes)
- 1983 – expanded to 52 teams
- 1984 – expanded to 53 teams
- 1985 – expanded to 64 teams
Tennessee is 0-4 all time versus #1 seeds:
- 1983 – lost to #1 seed Louisville (57-50)
- 1982 – lost to #1 seed Virginia (51-54)
- 1981 – lost to #1 seed Virginia (48-62)
- 1979 – lost to #1 seed Notre Dame (67-73)
Tennessee is 0-3 all time in a Regional Semifinal:
- 1967 – lost to Dayton who went on to play in the National Championship game.
- 1981 – lost to Virginia who advanced to the Final Four.
- 2000 – lost to North Carolina who advanced to the Final Four.