With Tennessee’s win and Kentucky’s loss in the Round of 32 on Sunday, the Volunteers have now marked six straight seasons of finishing further in the NCAA Tournament in direct comparison to the Wildcats. One of those years even included a head-to-head matchup in the Sweet 16, which was won by Tennessee.
Here’s a look at each team’s output over the past six seasons:
2021
- Tennessee: Round of 64 loss to (12) Oregon State
- Kentucky: Did not make the tournament
2022
- Tennessee: Round of 32 loss to (11) Michigan
- Kentucky: Round of 64 loss to (15) St. Peters
2023
- Tennessee: Sweet 16 loss to (9) FAU
- Kentucky: Round of 32 loss to (3) Kansas State
2024
- Tennessee: Elite Eight loss to (1) Purdue
- Kentucky: Round of 64 loss to (14) Oakland
2025
- Tennessee: Elite Eight loss to (1) Houston
- Kentucky: Sweet 16 loss to (2) Tennessee
2026
- Tennessee: *Ongoing (Sweet 16 minimum)*
- Kentucky: Round of 32 loss to (2) Iowa State
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Kentucky’s 2025 elimination came at the hands of Tennessee in Indianapolis. The Wildcats had swept the Vols in their two regular-season matchups, but Tennessee came back with a 78-65 win over Kentucky in the Sweet 16 from Lucas Oil Stadium.
History had a chance to repeat itself with Kentucky and Tennessee in the Midwest Region this year. If the Wildcats had defeated 2-seed Iowa State on Sunday, and everything remained the same with Tennessee’s win over Virginia, the two SEC border rivals would’ve been on a collision course for the Sweet 16 in a second straight year. This one would have also come after Kentucky swept the regular season series with two wins.
Tennessee has now reached the Sweet 16 in four consecutive years. According to OutKick’s Chad Withrow, Tennessee has won 14 NCAA Tournament games under head coach Rick Barnes. Vanderbilt, meanwhile, has only won 11 tournament games in its program history.
Tennessee reached the Sweet 16 this season with a strong 2-0 showing over the weekend in Philadelphia. The Vols blistered 11-seed Miami (OH) in the first round and then came back with a near wire-to-wire win over 3-seed Virginia in the second round. Rick Barnes’ team will now prepare to face 2-seed Iowa State in the Sweet 16 next Friday night in Chicago. If Tennessee wins, it’ll face the winner of 1-seed Michigan and 4-seed Alabama on Sunday in the Elite Eight.
Stay tuned to Rocky Top Insider for more Tennessee Basketball news, notes, and tournament coverage.
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One Response
When’s the last time they were in national title game ? Or won a championship ? How many final fours do they have ? Or tournament wins ? Conference championships ?……. oh that’s what I thought ! GO CATS! did you guys beat kentucky this year ??? No. Lol so take this story for what it is. Absolutely garbage. Yall will not win the sweet 16 so just pack the bags and get ready to go home to rocky top.