# 1981–82 Tennessee Volunteers basketball team

The 1981–82 Tennessee Volunteers basketball team represented the University of Tennessee as a member of the Southeastern Conference during the 1981–82 college basketball season. Led by fourth-year head coach Don DeVoe, the team played their home games at the Stokely Athletic Center in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Volunteers finished with a record of 20–10 (13–5 SEC, T-1st) and received an at-large bid to the 1982 NCAA tournament as the 9 seed in the Mideast region. After an opening round win over Southwestern Louisiana, Tennessee was defeated by No. 1 seed Virginia for the second straight season.
This was the fourth of five straight seasons of NCAA Tournament basketball for the Tennessee men's program. Junior Dale Ellis was named the SEC Player of the Year – an award he would take home the next season as well.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Nov 28, 1981* | | at Purdue | L 68–82 | 0–1 | Mackey Arena West Lafayette, Indiana |
| Dec 8, 1981* | | at Colorado | W 64–63 | 1–1 | Coors Events Center Boulder, Colorado |
| Dec 12, 1981 | | Auburn | W 86–79 | 2–1 (1–0) | Stokely Athletics Center Knoxville, Tennessee |
| Dec 14, 1981 | | Cleveland State | W 74–58 | 3–1 | Stokely Athletics Center Knoxville, Tennessee |
| Dec 18, 1981 | | American Volunteer Classic | W 59–58 | 4–1 | Stokely Athletics Center Knoxville, Tennessee |
| Dec 19, 1981 | | California Volunteer Classic | W 80–48 | 5–1 | Stokely Athletics Center Knoxville, Tennessee |
| Dec 26, 1981 | | at Portland Far West Classic | L 62–71 | 5–2 | Howard Hall Portland, Oregon |
| Dec 27, 1981 | | Wisconsin Far West Classic | W 79–67 | 6–2 | Howard Hall Portland, Oregon |
| Dec 28, 1981 | | Pittsburgh Far West Classic | L 54–55 | 6–3 | Howard Hall Portland, Oregon |
| Jan 2, 1982 | | No. 12 Alabama | W 88–67 | 7–3 (2–0) | Stokely Athletics Center Knoxville, Tennessee |
| Jan 6, 1982 | | at Ole Miss | W 62–55 | 8–3 (3–0) | Tad Smith Coliseum Oxford, Mississippi |
| Jan 9, 1982 | | No. 3 Kentucky | W 70–66 | 9–3 (4–0) | Stokely Athletics Center Knoxville, Tennessee |
| Jan 13, 1982 | | at Florida | W 69–66 | 10–3 (5–0) | O'Connell Center Gainesville, Florida |
| Jan 16, 1982 | | Vanderbilt | W 71–69 | 11–3 (6–0) | Stokely Athletics Center Knoxville, Tennessee |
| Jan 20, 1982 | No. 20 | at Mississippi State | W 54–44 | 12–3 (7–0) | Humphrey Coliseum Starkville, Mississippi |
| Jan 23, 1982 | No. 20 | LSU | W 77–67 | 13–3 (8–0) | Stokely Athletics Center Knoxville, Tennessee |
| Jan 27, 1982 | No. 15 | at Georgia | W 66–64 | 14–3 (9–0) | Stegeman Coliseum Athens, Georgia |
| Jan 30, 1982 | No. 15 | at No. 13 Alabama | L 72–77 | 14–4 (9–1) | Memorial Coliseum Tuscaloosa, Alabama |
| Feb 3, 1982 | No. 16 | Ole Miss | L 53–55 | 14–5 (9–2) | Stokely Athletics Center Knoxville, Tennessee |
| Feb 6, 1982 | No. 16 | at No. 9 Kentucky | L 67–77 | 14–6 (9–3) | Rupp Arena Lexington, Kentucky |
| Feb 10, 1982 | | Florida | W 90–75 | 15–6 (10–3) | Stokely Athletics Center Knoxville, Tennessee |
| Feb 13, 1982 | | at Vanderbilt | W 59–55 | 16–6 (11–3) | Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, Tennessee |
| Feb 17, 1982 | | Mississippi State | W 50–48 | 17–6 (12–3) | Stokely Athletics Center Knoxville, Tennessee |
| Feb 20, 1982 | | at LSU | W 54–53 | 18–6 (13–3) | Maravich Assembly Center Baton Rouge, Louisiana |
| Feb 24, 1982 | | Georgia | L 63–64 | 18–7 (13–4) | Stokely Athletics Center Knoxville, Tennessee |
| Feb 27, 1982 | | at Auburn | L 54–56 | 18–8 (13–5) | Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama |
| SEC tournament ||||||
| Mar 4, 1982 TVS | (2) | (7) Vanderbilt Quarterfinals | W 57–54 | 19–8 | Rupp Arena Lexington, Kentucky |
| Mar 5, 1982 TVS | (2) | (3) No. 18 Alabama Semifinals | L 50–56 | 19–9 | Rupp Arena Lexington, Kentucky |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| Mar 12, 1982* | (9 ME) | vs. (8 ME) Southwestern Louisiana First round | W 61–57 | 20–9 | Market Square Arena Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Mar 14, 1982* | (9 ME) | vs. (1 ME) No. 3 Virginia Second round | L 51–54 | 20–10 | Market Square Arena Indianapolis, Indiana |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ME=Mideast. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||