As Tennessee basketball gets set to take on the Purdue Boilermakers in the Sweet 16 on Thursday, it should mean a lot of things for the Vols and Rick Barnes. Regardless of how they got there, both achieved major milestones in the process, and it means something.
For the Vols, getting to this round allowed them to match their win total of 2008, which is the highest they ever had. One more win would get them to their second Elite Eight and make this the winningest team in school history.
On top of that, it’s their sixth Sweet 16 appearance since 2000.