Tennessee Basketball: 5 positive takeaways from Volunteers’ 2016-17 season

By Taylor Sturm | Apr 9, 2017

Jan 28, 2017; Knoxville, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers head coach Rick Barnes during the first half against the Kansas State Wildcats at Thompson-Boling Arena. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports /

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Apr 3, 2017; Phoenix, AZ, USA; A general view during the first half in the championship game of the 2017 NCAA Men’s Final Four between the Gonzaga Bulldogs and North Carolina Tar Heels at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports /

Close losses to Final Four teams

Like I mentioned earlier, the Tennessee Volunteers played every single team that made it to the Final Four.

Despite losing to all of them, the Vols only lost to UNC by two, Gonzaga by 10, Oregon by four, and South Carolina by 10. We’ll ignore the second loss to South Carolina by 27 because by that time the young Volunteers were falling apart.

An active, physical team, Tennessee caused problems for some of the best teams in the country – which is quite a feat considering many had this team at the bottom of the SEC.

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