Season In Review
As the college basketball season ended nearly a month ago, I would like to look back on the memories that this year brought to Vol fans. After being picked to finish thirteenth in the SEC, the Vols began the season with 3 wins, including a 78-75 overtime victory over #18 Purdue in the Bahamas. Then, Tennessee lost to #5 Villanova (eventual national champion) by a score of 85-76, after they held a 46-34 lead at halftime.
The Vols preceded to reel off 4 consecutive wins, including another neutral sight matchup, against North Carolina State, and a road test at Georgia Tech. With a record of 7-1, Tennessee climbed into the rankings, #20 to be exact, as they faced #7 North Carolina. Although the Tar Heels won a game in which the Vols lead for nearly the entire 40 minutes, the fans pulled off the "Checker TBA" and the buzz in the city leading up to the game was incredible.
Tennessee got off to a shaky start in conference play, losing a high-scoring game at Arkansas, as well as a home matchup with the eventual SEC Co-Champion, Auburn Tigers. I was in attendance for this game, and after the game, my friend stated, "We're not as good as I thought we were." After this, the Vols won 9 out of their next 10 games, including 2 wins against Kentucky, 2 wins over Vanderbilt, and 3 straight blowouts of Iowa State, LSU and Ole Miss.
The lowest point of the season came on the February 10 loss at Alabama, a game in which the Vols were completely dominated, 78-50. This was the start of a 1-2 stretch, before Tennessee got back on track with 4 consecutive wins to end the regular season. These wins came over Florida, Ole Miss, Mississippi State and the thrilling conference title-clinching 66-61 win over Georgia. This late stretch of wins allowed them to win the SEC regular season title, alongside Auburn.
In the SEC Touranament, the Vols handled Mississippi State and Arkansas, before losing in the tournament's championship game to Kentucky. In the NCAA Tournament, Tennessee destroyed Wright State, before narrowly losing to Loyola-Chicago. Everyone played their role this season and it would not have been the same if even one piece was missing.
I posted the following passage on my Twitter account, @PrestonJ_VFL, following the loss to Loyola-Chicago:
"This Tennessee team brought a certain sense of excitement to Knoxville that the city had not felt in quite some time. While the media picked them to finish 13th in the SEC, I believed in them the whole time, predicting that they would rise to the national rank of 13. I'm a VFL. I have not seen an abundance of good moments in Tennessee sports in my lifetime, but I have never stopped rooting for them 24/7. From Wayne Chism and J.P. Prince, Jarnell Stokes and Josh Richardson to Admiral Schofield and Grant Williams, I have enjoyed Tennessee basketball for as long as I can remember. This season, I finally got a glimpse of what it looks like to have a great team in the orange and white again. These guys fought so hard all season (watch Jordan Bone's postgame interview). He, along with the rest of the team, wants to make sure next season doesn't end like this. They need our full support. This squad is my favorite Tennessee basketball squad that I can remember, and I appreciate all of the awesome memories. The future is very bright. WE WILL BE BACK."
I absolutely love my Vols, and was very saddened when they were knocked out of March Madness. With everyone except James Daniel III, whose eligibility expired, and Chris Darrington, who transferred, returning next season, 2018-19 should be another spectacular year for the Tennessee basketball program. Rick Barnes has gained the trust of everyone in the program, including fans, and he knows what it takes to reach the team's main goal of a national championship. Tennessee could certainly find themselves at this stage next April, but the journey will be much different if so. They will no longer be the hunters, they will be the hunted.
