The 1976-1977 Tennessee basketball team, led by coach Ray Mears, had an impressive season with a record of 22-6 and a conference record of 16-2, earning them first place in the SEC MBB standings. The team had a high-scoring offense, averaging 85.7 points per game, which ranked 14th out of 244 teams, but struggled defensively, allowing an average of 78.7 points per game, which ranked 196th.

Despite their regular season success, the team was eliminated in the first round of the NCAA Tournament with a loss to Syracuse, 93-88. The team was ranked 15th in the final AP Poll. The Volunteers had a strong strength of schedule, ranking 6th in the nation in that category with a score of 8.03. The team's SRS, a measure of a team's strength relative to other teams, was also impressive, ranking 12th out of 244 teams with a score of 15.00.