Tennessee guard Lamonte Turner dunks in the first half of the Vols’ 81-71 victory over Lipscomb on Saturday in Knoxville.KNOXVILLE – The last time the Tennessee men’s and women’s basketball teams had a combined record this good during Christmas break, the women won the national championship and the men made a run to the Sweet 16.
Tennessee’s programs are a combined 21-2 as both gear up for the Southeastern Conference openers on the road this weekend, stirring flashbacks to a decade ago when Bruce Pearl and the legendary Pat Summitt were coaching highly ranked teams in front of energized crowds at Thompson-Boling Arena.
At this point in the 2007-08 season, the teams also had a 21-2 record. The Lady Vols finished 36-2 with a national championship win over Stanford, while the men finished 31-5 with a loss to Louisville in an NCAA regional semifinal.
By comparison, the Tennessee hoops squads were a combined 14-9 and both unranked this time last year. That year of maturation and the additions of key newcomers have done wonders for both teams.
The seventh-ranked Lady Vols (12-0) start their SEC slate Sunday at Kentucky. The No. 19 men (9-2) play at Arkansas on Saturday. It’s the first time since the 2010-11 season that both Tennessee teams have been ranked at this point in the season.