# 2013–14 Tennessee Volunteers basketball team

The 2013–14 Tennessee Volunteers basketball team represented the University of Tennessee in the 2013–14 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team's head coach was Cuonzo Martin, who was in his third season at Tennessee. The team played their home games at the Thompson–Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tennessee as a member of the Southeastern Conference.

## Previous season

The Vols posted a record of 20–13 (11–7 SEC) in the 2012–13 season and finished sixth in the SEC standings in Cuonzo Martin's second season as head coach. The season was highlighted by a 30-point victory over rival Kentucky and a victory over a team that competed in the Final Four, Wichita State. The Volunteers lost in the first round of the 2013 NIT to Mercer.

## Season Summary

Going into the season, Cuonzo Martin faced pressure and unrest from the Tennessee fanbase, restless after having missed the NCAA Tournament two consecutive seasons. During the 2011–12 and 2012-13 seasons, promising finishes to the regular season were undermined by early season losses to inferior out of conference opponents; bewildering losses to College of Charleston, Oakland and Austin Peay scuttled any hopes of a tournament appearance each of those seasons, respectively. Frustrations grew shortly after Tennessee inexplicably dropped a game to a sub-100 RPI UTEP squad during the Battle for Atlantis tournament in November. A bubble team throughout the season, Tennessee ultimately nabbed a bid to the NCAA Tournament (despite the earlier loss to UTEP and suffering a sweep at the hands of a sub-100 RPI Texas A&M). In any case, Martin rallied the team to a 4-0 finish to end the regular season at 20-11. A victory over a moribund South Carolina outfit and a third straight loss to #1 Florida put Tennessee at 21-12. This was enough to earn Tennessee an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, Martin's first and only appearance with Tennessee. The Vols were placed in the First Four as an 11 seed, where Tennessee beat Iowa in overtime to move on to the field of 64. Tennessee routed Umass in the second round and Mercer in the round of 32. As a result, Tennessee earned a trip to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2010. The Vols faced Michigan and came within one basket of making what would have been only their second Elite 8 appearance but fell to the Wolverines, 73-71, thanks to a controversial charge called on Jarnell Stokes.
Despite the late season surge and performance in the tourney (the latter accomplishment arguably the fruit of a favorable tournament draw and a Mercer upset of Duke), Cuonzo Martin would leave Tennessee at season's end to take the head coaching job at the University of California-Berkeley.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| November 12, 2013* 9:00 pm, FS1 | | at Xavier | L 63–67 | 0–1 | 23 – McRae | 10 – Maymon | 5 – McRae | Cintas Center (9,878) Cincinnati |
| November 16, 2013* 7:00 pm, SPSO | | USC Upstate | W 74–65 | 1–1 | 18 – McRae | 18 – Stokes | 3 – McRae | Thompson–Boling Arena (15,119) Knoxville, Tennessee |
| November 18, 2013* 7:00 pm, FSN | | The Citadel | W 86–60 | 2–1 | 20 – McCrae | 7 – Moore | 3 – Richardson | Thompson–Boling Arena (13,394) Knoxville, Tennessee |
| November 22, 2013* 7:00 pm, FSN | | Tennessee State | W 88–67 | 3–1 | 25 – McRae | 8 – Stokes | 7 – Thompson | Thompson–Boling Arena (15,134) Knoxville, Tennessee |
| November 28, 2013* 9:30 pm, NBCSN | | vs. UTEP Battle 4 Atlantis Quarterfinals | L 70–78 | 3–2 | 22 – McRae | 14 – Stokes | 3 – Richardson | Sports and Fitness Center (1,416) Nassau, Bahamas |
| November 29, 2013* 1:00 pm, AXS TV | | vs. Xavier Battle 4 Atlantis Consolation 2nd Round | W 64–49 | 4–2 | 20 – Stokes | 10 – Stokes | 3 – Stokes | Sports and Fitness Center (1,573) Nassau, Bahamas |
| November 30, 2013* 3:30 pm, AXS TV | | vs. Wake Forest Battle 4 Atlantis 5th place game | W 82–63 | 5–2 | 21 – Stokes | 10 – Stokes | 3 – Tied | Sports and Fitness Center (1,400) Nassau, Bahamas |
| December 7, 2013* 12:00 pm, FSN | | Tennessee Tech | W 84–63 | 6–2 | 19 – Stokes | 13 – Stokes | 4 – McRae | Thompson–Boling Arena (13,606) Knoxville, Tennessee |
| December 14, 2013* 2:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at No. 12 Wichita State | L 61–70 | 6–3 | 26 – McRae | 9 – Maymon | 4 – Barton | Charles Koch Arena (14,356) Wichita, Kansas |
| December 18, 2013* 7:00 pm, ESPNU | | NC State | L 58–65 | 6–4 | 21 – McRae | 16 – Maymon | 3 – Thompson | Thompson–Boling Arena (14,831) Knoxville, Tennessee |
| December 23, 2013* 7:00 pm, ESPNU | | Morehead State | W 82–67 | 7–4 | 19 – Richardson | 10 – Reese | 5 – McRae | Thompson–Boling Arena (15,207) Knoxville, Tennessee |
| December 30, 2013* 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | | Virginia | W 87–52 | 8–4 | 21 – McRae | 9 – Reese | 5 – McRae | Thompson–Boling Arena (16,142) Knoxville, Tennessee |
| January 4, 2014* 2:00 pm | | Tusculum | W 98–51 | 9–4 | 19 – McRae | 8 – Stokes | 9 – Thompson | Thompson–Boling Arena (14,175) Knoxville, Tennessee |
| SEC regular season |||||||||
| January 7, 2014 7:00 pm, ESPN | | at LSU | W 68–50 | 10–4 (1–0) | 19 – McRae | 15 – Stokes | 5 – McRae | Maravich Center (7,918) Baton Rouge, Louisiana |
| January 11, 2014 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Texas A&M | L 56–57 | 10–5 (1–1) | 12 – Barton | 15 – Maymon | 4 – McRae | Thompson–Boling Arena (18,079) Knoxville, Tennessee |
| January 15, 2014 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Auburn | W 78–67 | 11–5 (2–1) | 21 – McRae | 14 – Stokes | 4 – 3 Tied | Thompson–Boling Arena (14,205) Knoxville, Tennessee |
| January 18, 2014 12:00 pm, CBS | | at No. 13 Kentucky | L 66–74 | 11–6 (2–2) | 20 – Stokes | 15 – Stokes | 3 – Barton | Rupp Arena (24,246) Lexington, Kentucky |
| January 22, 2014 8:00 pm, SEC TV | | Arkansas | W 81–74 | 12–6 (3–2) | 34 – McRae | 9 – Maymon | 4 – Barton | Thompson–Boling Arena (14,034) Knoxville, Tennessee |
| January 25, 2014 4:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at No. 6 Florida | L 41–67 | 12–7 (3–3) | 16 – Stokes | 10 – Stokes | 2 – Stokes | O'Connell Center (12,475) Gainesville, Florida |
| January 29, 2014 8:00 pm, SEC TV | | Ole Miss | W 86–70 | 13–7 (4–3) | 26 – McRae | 14 – Stokes | 7 – Thompson | Thompson–Boling Arena (14,341) Knoxville, Tennessee |
| February 1, 2014 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at Alabama | W 76–59 | 14–7 (5–3) | 26 – McRae | 16 – Stokes | 4 – McRae | Coleman Coliseum (12,620) Tuscaloosa, Alabama |
| February 5, 2014 8:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Vanderbilt | L 60–64 | 14–8(5–4) | 16 – McRae | 14 – Stokes | 5 – Thompson | Memorial Gymnasium (10,733) Nashville, Tennessee |
| February 8, 2014 3:00 pm, ESPNU | | South Carolina | W 72–53 | 15–8 (6–4) | 24 – McRae | 8 – Stokes | 4 – Thompson | Thompson–Boling Arena (17,215) Knoxville, Tennessee |
| February 11, 2014 7:00 pm, ESPN | | No. 3 Florida | L 58–67 | 15–9 (6–5) | 20 – Stokes | 11 – Stokes | 3 – Barton | Thompson–Boling Arena (18,009) Knoxville, Tennessee |
| February 15, 2014 4:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at Missouri | L 70–75 | 15–10 (6–6) | 31 – McRae | 8 – Stokes | 3 – Stokes | Mizzou Arena (14,132) Columbia, Missouri |
| February 18, 2014 9:00 pm, ESPNU | | Georgia | W 67–48 | 16–10 (7–6) | 20 – Stokes | 11 – Stokes | 3 – Stokes | Thompson–Boling Arena (13,852) Knoxville, Tennessee |
| February 22, 2014 3:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Texas A&M | L 65-68 $^{OT}$ | 16–11 (7–7) | 20 – McRae | 16 – Stokes | 4 – Stokes | Reed Arena (6,432) College Station, Texas |
| February 26, 2014 8:00 pm, SEC TV | | at Mississippi State | W 75–68 | 17–11 (8–7) | 29 – McRae | 11 – Maymon | 4 – McRae | Humphrey Coliseum (6,161) Starkville, Mississippi |
| March 1, 2014 12:00 pm, ESPN2 | | Vanderbilt | W 76–38 | 18–11 (9–7) | 21 – Barton | 11 – Stokes | 6 – Barton | Thompson–Boling Arena (17,208) Knoxville, Tennessee |
| March 5, 2014 8:00 pm, SEC TV | | at Auburn | W 82–54 | 19–11 (10–7) | 20 – Stokes | 8 – Maymon | 7 – Stokes | Auburn Arena (5,304) Auburn, Alabama |
| March 8, 2014 4:00 pm, ESPN | | Missouri | W 72–45 | 20–11 (11–7) | 16 – Barton | 10 – Tied | 4 – Tied | Thompson–Boling Arena (18,519) Knoxville, Tennessee |
| SEC Tournament |||||||||
| March 14, 2014 3:30 pm, ESPNU | | vs. South Carolina Quarterfinals | W 59–44 | 21–11 | 22 – Stokes | 15 – Stokes | 3 – McRae | Georgia Dome Atlanta, Georgia |
| March 15, 2014 1:00 pm, ABC | | vs. No. 1 Florida Semifinals | L 49–56 | 21–12 | 15 – McRae | 9 – Maymon | 3 – Barton | Georgia Dome Atlanta, Georgia |
| NCAA tournament |||||||||
| March 19, 2014 9:10 pm, TruTV | No. (11 MW) | vs. (11 MW) Iowa First Four | W 78–65 $^{OT}$ | 22–12 | 20 – McRae | 13 – Stokes | 5 – Marble | University of Dayton Arena (11,534) Dayton, Ohio |
| March 21, 2014 2:45 pm, CBS | No. (11 MW) | vs. (6 MW) Massachusetts Second round | W 86–67 | 23–12 | 26 – Stokes | 14 – Stokes | 5 – Richardson | PNC Arena Raleigh, North Carolina |
| March 23, 2014* 6:10 pm, TNT | No. (11 MW) | vs. (14 MW) Mercer Third round | W 83–63 | 24–12 | 26 – Richardson | 18 – Stokes | 5 – Stokes | PNC Arena Raleigh, North Carolina |
| March 28, 2014* 7:15 pm, CBS | No. (11 MW) | vs. No. 7 (2 MW) Michigan Sweet Sixteen | L 71–73 | 24–13 | 24 – McRae | 6 – 3 Tied | 2 – 4 Tied | Lucas Oil Stadium Indianapolis |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll, For NCAA tournament, number in parentheses is seed, letter indicates region. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||||||