Rick Barnes, Tennessee’s history of NCAA Tournament upsets continues with Sweet 16 loss to FAU
For the fifth consecutive NCAA tournament, Rick Barnes and Tennessee March left Madness without making it past the Sweet 16.
The Vols’ most recent loss came at the hands of 9 Seed Florida Atlantic, amounting to a 62-55 loss. Tennessee, entering the 2023 NCAA Tournament as the nation’s top-ranked defensive team, failed to get its offense going in defensive slugfest, shooting 33.3 percent from field and 29.6 percent from beyond the arc while clinching 40 rebounds – 36 from FAU.
With their win, the Owls made history as the worst-seeded Conference USA team to ever make the Elite Eight — a fact that likely won’t bring much consolation to Vols supporters as they spend another offseason doing so to wonder when that breakthrough will finally come under Barnes.
It’s a question Tennessee has pondered since Barnes arrived from Texas in 2015, a team he led to the 2003 Final Four and to the Elite Eight in 2006 and 2008. He made the Final Four once and was first in his elite eight spots through his eighth season at Austin: At Knoxville, he’s made the Sweet 16 twice in five spots in as many seasons.
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Additionally, four of Barnes and Tennessee’s five NCAA tournament losses have come from teams that ranked at least 5 starting lines below the volunteers.
With that, The Sporting News examines how Thursday’s loss to the Owls continues an unfortunate series of NCAA tournament upsets against the Volunteers:
Tennessee’s NCAA tournament disrupts under Rick Barnes
The Volunteers have lost five straight NCAA tournament games to lower-seeded teams in the past six years under Barnes. (The 2020 tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, although it’s possible the volunteers at 17-14 would have been out altogether).
Three of Tennessee’s losses came from teams starting in double figures, with only the Owls and Purdue breaking that particular order. Here’s a rundown of where Tennessee has fallen in each of its last five NCAA tournament berths:
| competition | seed | round reached | bottom line |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 3 | Second round | 63-62 loss to Loyola Chicago with 11 seeds |
| 2019 | 2 | sweet 16 | 99-94 OT loss to Purdue with 3 seeds |
| 2021 | 5 | First round | 70-56 loss to 12-man Oregon State |
| 2022 | 3 | Second round | 76-68 loss to Michigan with 11 seeds |
| 2023 | 4 | sweet 16 | 62-55 loss to 9-seed FAU |
MORE: C-USA teams in Elite Eight: Florida Atlantic joins elite NCAA tournament companies
Getting to the big dance is certainly a big part of the equation. But Tennessee and its fans alike must be frustrated by Barnes’ inability to progress past the Sweet 16 — especially when four of his five losses in the tournament have resulted in relatively strong underdogs.