1981–82 Tennessee Volunteers basketball team

1981–82 Tennessee Volunteers basketball
SEC Regular season co-champions
NCAA tournament, Second round
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
DivisionEast
Record20–10 (13–5 SEC)
Head coach
Home arenaStokely Athletic Center
1981–82 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 15 Kentucky 13 5   .722 22 8   .733
Tennessee 13 5   .722 20 10   .667
No. 13 Alabama 12 6   .667 24 7   .774
Ole Miss 11 7   .611 18 12   .600
LSU 11 7   .611 14 14   .500
Georgia 10 8   .556 19 12   .613
Vanderbilt 7 11   .389 15 13   .536
Auburn 7 11   .389 14 14   .500
Mississippi State 4 14   .222 8 19   .296
Florida 2 16   .111 5 22   .185
1982 SEC tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll

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.