Tennessee Basketball falls in the Sweet 16 round of the 2019 NCAA Tournament. The Vols finish the 2018-19 season with a 31-6 overall record.
After an epic comeback, Tennessee basketball couldn’t seal the deal against the Purdue Boilermakers. Purdue defeated the Vols 99-94 in overtime during the Sweet 16 round of the tournament.
One of the biggest underlying questions of the game was if Lamonte Turner fouled Carsen Edwards at the end of the game, which tied the game up and sent it into overtime. In my opinion, he didn’t foul Edwards, and the referees go it wrong.
Thanks to the new PI review rules, this “foul” call with 1.7 seconds left would be overturned in the NFL pic.twitter.com/NU6Jz8Gb2W
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) March 29, 2019
However, that isn’t how the call went, and Tennessee got sent home. There isn’t much anyone can do now about that call. The Vols should have hit more of their free-throws, and we wouldn’t be chatting about the foul.
However, the Vols put up one heck of a fight against Purdue but foul trouble, missing free throws, and terrible perimeter coverage cost them the game.
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Grant Williams, Jordan Bowden and Kyle Alexander fouled out during the game. These three combined for 46 of Tennessee’s points.
Once Alexander and Bowden fouled out, the Vols couldn’t contain the arc well enough to get the crucial stops they needed.
Tennessee made 14 of the 28 free throws they attempted. It is hard to make the Elite Eight when a team only produces 50 percent of its free throws.
Purdue shot 16-of-33 from the foul line. That is a 48.5 percent completion rate. Yes, that is less than Tennessee, but the Boilermakers made up for it from the arc.
The Boilermakers made 15-of-31 from the arc while the Vols made 12-of-24. Edwards and Ryan Cline couldn’t miss from anywhere on the court and won the game for Purdue.
Cline missed three shots the entire game and Edwards made eight of the 15 three-pointers. When two players like that get hot, it is hard to slow them down or even stop them.
One of the biggest things Tennessee had to do during this game was guarding the arc and allowing a team to complete 48.4 percent of their shots is unacceptable.
Admiral Schofield left it all out on the court during this game and was a pivotal part to the comeback.
Admiral Schofield gave his all for Tennessee. pic.twitter.com/oYR837vASG
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) March 29, 2019
He scored 21 points and nine boards for the Vols. Schofield didn’t shoot the best in the opening half, but once he stepped back on the court, there was a determination there that anyone watching him could see.
Schofield dominated the floor and did the best he could to win the game, however, it wasn’t quite enough.
Tennessee made a comeback, but didn’t seem like its usual team. Yes, they made shots and got rebounds, but the unity wasn’t there. Purdue found a way to make those shots fall and got a lot of calls to go its way.
Tennessee’s season is over, and it was a memorable one. The Vols finished with a 31-6 overall record, and an 18-0 home record.
It was a great year for Tennessee, and now some of these impressive juniors like Williams will have hard decisions to make. Will he and the other juniors return for their senior season or will they go into the NBA draft?