The team, a member of the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference, played its home games at Thompson-Boling Arena.

The team went on to lose in the Sweet Sixteen to the Louisville Cardinals and finished ranked at #7 in the ESPN/USA Today poll.

[3] The Vols lost three seniors from their team during the off-season: Chris Lofton, JaJuan Smith, and Jordan Howell.

Junior forward Tyler Smith was chosen for both SEC Player of the Year and first team All-SEC.

The class included: Emmanuel Negedu, rated 13th among power forwards in the Class of 2008 by Rivals.com; Renaldo Woolridge, the 11th ranked small forward; Bobby Maze, a junior college guard averaging 20.7 points, 4.5 rebounds and 6.8 assists per game; and Scotty Hopson, a McDonald's All-American and ranked 5th overall by Rivals.com.