How long before Tennessee football can catch up to basketball?

Football matters too much at Tennessee for fans to consider the 2018-19 school year a sports success.

UT finished last in the SEC East for a second consecutive season in 2018. No manner of success in the rest of the athletics department can make up for such failure in football.

But when Tennessee football faltered again, at least fans could take consolation from a resurgence in basketball. The school’s return to basketball prominence provided the most positive story line of UT’s sports year.

A record-tying 31-win season wasn’t the only way to gauge its success. Tennessee rarely has made so many basketball headlines over the course of a season – from its top-10 preseason ranking to a historic NBA draft.

UT’s No. 6 preseason ranking was its highest ever. Less than two months after the preseason Top 25 polls were announced, it made more news by upsetting No. 1 ranked Gonzaga in Phoenix.

With that victory, the Vols were on their way to No. 1. They held that ranking for four weeks.

Along the way, they never have looked more dominant in the SEC as they did during an 11-game winning streak to open the conference season.

Tennessee won nine of those 11 games by double-figure margins and beat Georgia by 46. Its average margin of victory during that stretch was 16.6 points.

UT’s postseason didn’t match its regular season. It lost to Purdue by five points in overtime in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. Two days later, Purdue lost by five points in overtime to Virginia, which went on to win the national championship.

The Vols’ time on a national stage wasn’t up, though.

Grant Williams, Admiral Schofield and Jordan Bone – who deserved much of the credit for Tennessee winning 57 games in the past two seasons combined – were taken in the two-round NBA Draft. Williams, a two-time SEC Player of the Year, was a first-round pick.

With those departures, Tennessee can’t expect to be as good next season. But it still could be good enough to make the NCAA Tournament for a third consecutive season. Tennessee will return two proven players in Lamonte Turner and Jordan Bowden, and it signed five-star guard Josiah-Jordan James, who should have an impact as a freshman. Moreover, the Vols renegotiated coach Rick Barnes’ contract to keep him from leaving for UCLA.

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When UT begins its 2019-20 season, Barnes will be one of the highest-paid coaches in the country. In fact, he’s now making more than Tennessee football coach Jeremy Pruitt.

Barnes will average more than $5 million a year over the next five seasons. Not a bad deal for a basketball coach at a football school.

But in 2018-19, Tennessee was a basketball school.

John Adams is a senior columnist. He may be reached at 865-342-6284 or john.adams@knoxnews.com. Follow him at: twitter.com/johnadamskns.