The 2020–21 Tennessee Volunteers basketball team represented the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (or The University of Tennessee; UT; UT Knoxville; or colloquially UTK or Tennessee) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee, United St ...

during the

2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season The 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began on November 25, 2020, and concluded on March 14, 2021. The 2021 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament culminated the season and began on March 18 and concluded on April 5. Season ...

. The team was led by sixth-year head coach

Rick Barnes Richard Barnes (born July 17, 1954) is an American college basketball coach who is currently the head coach at the University of Tennessee. He is also known for coaching at the University of Texas from 1998 to 2015, taking the team to the NCAA ...

, and played their home games at

Thompson–Boling Arena Thompson–Boling Arena at Food City Center is a multi-purpose arena on the campus of the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee, United States. The arena opened in 1987. It is home to the Tennessee Volunteers (men) and Lady Vols (wom ...

Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the Tennessee River and had a population of 190,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division ...

as a member of the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

. They finished the season 18–9, 10–7 in SEC Play to finish in 4th place. They defeated

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

in the quarterfinals of the SEC tournament before losing in the semifinals to

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament where they were upset in the first round by Oregon State.

Previous season

The

Volunteers Volunteering is an elective and freely chosen act of an individual or group giving their time and labor, often for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergenc ...

finished the 2019–20 season 17–14, 9–9 in SEC play to finish in eighth place. They were set to take on

in the second round of the SEC tournament. However, the remainder of the SEC Tournament was canceled amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. All further postseason tournaments were likewise canceled.

Offseason

2020 recruiting class

Preseason

SEC media poll

The SEC media poll was released on November 12, 2020.

Preseason All-SEC teams

The Volunteers had two players selected to the preseason all-SEC teams. First Team John Fulkerson Second Team Yves Pons

Roster

Schedule and results

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the start of the season was pushed back from the scheduled start of November 10. On September 16, 2020, the NCAA announced that November 25 would be the new start date. On November 23, it was announced that head coach Rick Barnes had tested positive for COVID-19 and that the school had paused all basketball activities while further tests were conducted within the program. , - !colspan=12 style=, Non-conference regular season , - !colspan=12 style=, SEC regular season , - !colspan=12 style=, SEC Tournament , - !colspan=12 style=, NCAA tournament Source

Rankings

^Coaches did not release a Week 1 poll.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2020-21 Tennessee Volunteers basketball team Tennessee Volunteers basketball seasons

Tennessee Volunteers The Tennessee Volunteers and Lady Volunteers are the 20 male and female varsity intercollegiate athletics programs that represent the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Volunteers compete in Division I of the National Colleg ...

Volunteers basketball Volunteers basketball

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...