Tennessee lost on a buzzer beater for the second time in a row on Saturday night.
The Vols were simply unable to outlast a brutally pesky Missouri Tigers team via a heartbreaking 86-85 loss at Thompson Boling Arena.
The game was fast-paced from the jump. Literally. As the ball was tossed into the air to start play, more than half of the players on the court were still adjusting their shorts. The officiating crew seemed to have some unknown weird angle from that point on.
Sophomore Jonas Aidoo got his first collegiate start against the Tigers in place of Josiah Jordan James. As has been the case for much of the season, the latter would not play in the contest.
It’s been a recurring theme in this column; If Tennessee’s bigs can make an impact on the offensive end, the Vols won’t have to count on the three as much.
Of course, triples are still a huge part of the equation for Tennessee’s offense and senior guard Santiago Vescovi hit a three on the Vols first trip across the court. This was bookended by an air ball three attempt on the Tigers first possession and another errant triple on their second.
Zakai “Zip” Zeigler dashed through the lane on an inbounds play on the Vols second trip and the Vols led 5-0 early. Mizzou got a three to fall on its third try, but Julian Phillips immediately grabbed an offensive board and got fouled. Both attempts were true.
For the game, Tennessee shot 25-33 from the foul line, and it would miss a pair of free tosses when it mattered most.
Missouri tied the game at nine on another three but Phillips hit perhaps his most athletic bucket as a Vol on a broken play and Zip got an immediate steal and a bucket for a quick five-point spurt in three seconds. The Tigers would hit another three and the Vols were in a scrap. This was never more evident than when freshman Tobe Awaka was unimpressed when Tiger Mohamed Diarra got physical on a loose ball. Diarra tried to take the ball away from Awaka but he was having none of it. For whatever reason, Awaka would not see the court again in the half even though it appeared as though he was innocent in the altercation and in no way shook.
Zip hit another three as the shot clock blinked red to give the Vols a five-point lead but Missouri’s Noah Carter answered with a tip in and it was a two-point game at the under 12 minute media timeout.
Missouri took its first lead at 24-23 with just under nine minutes to go in the first half on a Sean East II three ball.
East II went on a personal 8-0 run that was started with the aforementioned three and the Tigers led by six at the 7:00 mark. At this point in the game, Missouri looked like the better team. It was certainly the more confident.
With Zeigler in foul trouble, Rick Barnes sent freshman BJ Edwards to the scorer’s table with 5:55 to go in the first half. This is the earliest Edwards has checked in at this point in his young career, especially with the Vols trailing. He ran point on his first trip and showed touch with a pull up mid-range jumper that hit nothing but nylon. Edwards looked more confident than he has in Orange and White thus far in his most important moments as a Vol.
Ultimately, Edwards spark didn’t stop the bleeding and instead Missouri stretched its lead to 44-32 before a dog named Phobia caught a bunch of frisbees at halftime. It was a weird night.
If Tennessee were going to win this one, it would have to match Missouri’s grit coming out of the break. Instead, the Vols allowed the Tigers to start the second half with a 5-0 run and a 16-point lead lead.
UT hit some shots, but it seemed as though Missouri had an answer for every attempted Vols run.
This remained the case until senior transfer guard Tyreke Key finally got the deficit below ten with 12:30 to go. He hit his biggest bucket as a Vol (up to that point) one play later with a three that closed the gap to six at 59-53. The crowd was alive and first-year Missouri head coach Dennis Gates called timeout.
Gates has done an admirable job in his debut season. If the grit and unflappable determination of Zakai Zeigler was formed into a collective, it might just be the Missouri Tigers. They’ll be a tough out in the NCAA Tournament.
Zeigler got a steal on the inbounds after the timeout and Jamai Mayshack forced Kobe Brown’s fourth foul. Brown led the Tigers with 17 points and was forced to sit for three and a half minutes that changed the game.
Key hit another enormous three (which took over as his biggest shot as a Vol) then got an offensive rebound on the Vols next possession and hit yet another (which, you guessed it, broke his own personal high set just seconds before).
This was the moment. This is why he entered the transfer portal. This is why he chose Knoxville.
Key added two free throws soon after which deflated the margin to two.
Vescovi added two more free throws and just like that the game was tied at 64 with 8:40 remaining.
The Vols retook the lead with a Vescovi three out of the next timeout. Awaka scored on the next trip down and the Vols were up by five with under 7:00 to play.
Key hit another three with 5:30 to go and Zeigler created a dunk for Aidoo a minute later.
Zeigler hit two very important free throws soon after. Still the Tigers trailed by six and six only.
Awaka proved huge on the boards and Tennessee would not have retaken the lead without his contributions, especially on the offensive glass in the second half. His confidence continues to grow and his ceiling is cloud level.
Vescovi hit a huge three with 2:30 to go then Mayshack hit two frees throws with 1:30 to go to give the Vols a three point lead.
As the clock dwindled towards zero, Vescovi was sent to the line for two shots to seal it. A 74% free throw shooter, Vescovi missed both, with the second miss being declined due to a lane violation anyways. With three seconds left, the Tigers were down two with a chance to streak down the court for a last second shot.
Junior guard DeAndre Gholston got the ball in good position steaming towards the basket and a few steps past half court, he launched a Steph Curry distance three that dropped as time expired. The officials whistled for a replay but everyone in attendance knew. The Tigers had won.
The Vols are among the most unpredictable squads in the nation again this season.
Tennessee can be completely snakebit in one contest, especially against lesser competition, while appearing unbeatable against stiffer opponents.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Tennessee beats third-ranked Alabama on Wednesday, but I also wouldn’t be surprised if it loses to South Carolina, the same team it defeated by over 40 points earlier this season, just a few games later.
Other notes:
– Julian Phillips suffered a hip injury in the contest and did not return.
– Freshmen BJ Edwards and Tobe Awaka played their most meaningful minutes to date in the contest. Edwards had four points in six minutes while Awaka had five points and seven boards (four offensive) in 15 minutes.
– Tyreke Key had his best game as a Vol with 23 points, six rebounds, two assists and one steal. The Celina, Tennessee native played four years at Indiana State, where he was the sixth-highest leading scorer in program history. Larry Bird tops the list.
