NEW YORK, NY. — Tennessee was good enough defensively to beat anyone in the country and inconsistent enough offensively to lose to just about anyone all season long.
It was that inconsistency that ultimately doomed the Vols in Thursday’s 62-55 upset loss to Florida Atlantic in the Sweet 16.
This was a team that was good enough to beat Alabama and Texas, and even ACC champion Duke in last weekend’s second round. But it will be remembered as an elite defensive team that couldn’t find enough scoring to generate a truly magical NCAA Tournament run.
Tennessee was the bigger, more physical team early once again against Florida Atlantic. Uros Plavsic dominated in the paint, scoring all eight of his points in the first half.
The defense hounded the Owls, forcing nine turnovers and holding them to just 3-14 from three-point range as the Vols built nine-point leads on two different occasions in the first half.
It felt like the Vols could grab control of the game, but the offense mustered just two free throws in the final 4:17 of the first half. Nicholas Boyd’s three helped give the Owls some belief as they sat within five, down just 27-22 at the half.
Santiago Vescovi splashed two threes early in the second half, but the Tennessee offense never found any rhythm. The Vols shot just 33 percent for the game and made only six threes in 23 attempts. They let the underdogs hang around too long and the ninth-seeded Owls made them pay.
Michael Forrest provided a huge spark off the bench scoring 13 points. He drilled back-to-back threes from the left wing followed by a driving layup that capped a personal 8-0 run that gave the Owls a 43-39 lead with 9:00 to play.
Tennessee never led again. An Alijah Martin three and a Brandon Weatherspoon lay-in extended the FAU lead to 10, and while Josiah-Jordan James’ three got the Vols back within five with 3:30 to play, that was as close as it would get.
James and Vescovi combined to shoot just 3-22 and Tennessee and Olivier Nkamhoua followed up his career-high 27 against Duke with just six points on 2-9 shooting. The Vols felt the absence of injured point guard Zakai Zeigler as they struggled to get into offense in the second half, often turning to Jahmai Mashack off the bounce or deep threes.
But the loss shouldn’t be solely blamed on the offensive woes. After struggling in the first half FAU found its footing offensively in the second half in a way Duke never was able to last week. The Owls got open looks and knocked them down, hitting five threes in the second half. They only turned the ball over three times after halftime.
Most shockingly, an undersized FAU team out-rebounded Tennessee, including 12 huge offensive rebounds. The Owls maybe weren’t as physical as the Vols, but they were quicker and ultimately were able to match the toughness required to win a Sweet 16 game in the NCAA Tournament.
Florida Atlantic had never won an NCAA Tournament game before last weekend. Now it’s one win away from the Final Four. And it deserves to face Kansas State Saturday evening at Madison Square Garden after picking up its 34th win of the season, matching Gonzaga for the most wins in the country.
Tennessee finishes the season 25-11 and must ask the question what this season could have been if Zeigler never got hurt or if it could have found a little more punch on the offensive end of the floor.
Sweet 16 trips should never be disappointing. Not for a program that’s gone further in the tournament just one time in its history. But this Tennessee team showed the promise of so much more with a 17-3 start and a no. 2 national ranking.
And even after a late-season slide and the injury to Zeigler, the Vols gave the fanbase another reason to believe against Duke only for it to come crashing down in the second half Thursday night.
Tennessee was an elite defensive team, but ultimately that was it. Inconsistency spoiled what could’ve been a really special season, and that’s why the Vols will be back home in Knoxville when the Elite Eight tips off on Saturday.
