for a second game in a row, Tennessee falls at the buzzer
Photo by Randy Sartin / USA TODAY Sports
Knoxville, Tennessee (PSF) - The final buzzer has not been kind to the Volunteers as of late. Tennessee dropped its second straight game Saturday afternoon as Missouri’s D’Andre Gholston hit a deep three-pointer from just inside half-court as time expired. Both games were lost on buzzer-beaters from Tennessee’s opponents. The final score was 86-85.
Maybe call it a streak of bad luck, but this loss for Tennessee was eerily similar to their previous buzzer-beater loss to Vanderbilt. In both games, Tennessee held a late two-point lead in which senior guard Santiago Vescovi was fouled with their opponents trying to extend the game.
Against Vanderbilt, Vescovi missed the front-end of a one-and-one, leading to a Vanderbilt buzzer-beater for the win. Against Missouri, Tennessee was in the double bonus, giving Vescovi two shots. He missed his first free throw and also his second, although a lane violation on the Volunteers waived off the attempt. This gave Missouri a chance to set up a play and inbound the ball with 4.2 seconds remaining.
Gholston would take the ball just over half-court and would sink the shot to give the Tigers the win, and to hand Tennessee their second consecutive one-point loss on a buzzer-beater.
The Volunteers were 12.5-point favorites, but Missouri didn’t play like the underdogs. The Tigers controlled the tempo of the game and held a lead as large as 17 points in the game. Tennessee used a second-half surge to regain the lead, but Missouri hung around just long enough to have a chance at the buzzer, and Gholston’s miraculous shot capitalized on their opportunity to upset the Volunteers.
Kobe Brown led the way for the Missouri Tigers with 21 points and five rebounds. Gholston added 18 points. For the Tennessee Volunteers, Tyreke Key came off the bench to lead the scoring effort with 23 points, 21 of which came in the second half. He also added six rebounds. Vescovi had 16 points and five rebounds, and Zakai Zeigler added 11 points and 10 assists.
Tennessee was missing two starters due to injury, but they have now lost three of their last four games. As a team with high expectations this season, Tennessee will need to figure out how to win some games and get back on track in time for the NCAA Tournament where a last-second loss can end your season.
The schedule doesn’t get much easier for Tennessee, as they’re next game will be at home versus the new number one ranked team in the nation in the Alabama Crimson Tide. Regardless, it’s a great opportunity for Tennessee to get back on track at home against one of the best teams that college basketball has to offer. Missouri travels on the road to take on Auburn, which should be another great matchup in the SEC Conference.
