Vanderbilt head coach Mark Byington opened his postgame press conference with a simple statement following the Commodores 86-82 win over Tennessee on Saturday afternoon.
“Coming into this building and winning is not easy,” Byington said.
It traditionally has not been, but Tennessee’s opponents are finding a lot more success at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center this season. The Vols dropped three home games in SEC play including against rivals Kentucky, Alabama and Vanderbilt. Tennessee did not beat a single team ranked in KenPom‘s top 30 at home in SEC play. Its home win over Louisville was its lone top 30 home win of the 2025-26 season.
It’s the most home games that the Tennessee men’s basketball has lost since the 2020-21 season when COVID-19 limited attendance. The Vols lost three games at home that season and six games the year prior.
Taking care of business at home has been an issue for Tennessee athletic’s during this academic year. Vol football went 4-3 (1-3 SEC) at home during the 2025 season. The Lady Vols’ basketball team went 4-4 in SEC play during the 2025-26 season.
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Tennessee’s combined 11 home losses in the three sports is its most since the 2019-20 athletic year when the Vols and Lady Vols combined to drop 12 home games including non conference football losses against Georgia State and BYU.
It’s worth noting that road wins have been more frequent this season in SEC play. This season’s 55.4% home win rate is the lowest in the SEC since the 2014-15 season when home teams won in conference play at a 53.2% rate.
It’s hard to diagnose why Tennessee athletics has had issues at home this season. Part of it is because those teams have not been great this season. The football team was average, the women’s basketball team is struggling badly and while still good the men’s basketball team has taken a step back compared to the last two seasons.
Vol baseball and Lady Vol softball will look to right the ship this spring while the football and basketball programs will try to get right at home during the 2026-27 season.
