We lost. It wasn't good.
Obviously, we needed this win to cement our ticket to the NCAA tournament. I guess it's still possible that the Rebs will get an at-large bid, but it's highly unlikely.
For the first half, we implemented the approach of trying to find Zach Graham or Chris Warren open for three, and it worked really well. Warren scored sixteen points but did all his damage in the first half. In the second, it was one turnover after another for the point guard. Warren finished with nine turnovers and looked inept when handling the ball. He was also a liability on defense, allowing Tennessee's guards to score at will.
Murphy Holloway went 0-5 from the charity stripe. That's just totally unacceptable. While I really like what Murphy has done this year, he needs to do a lot of offseason work on his shot, namely the free throw. I hope that he never, ever practices threes, because that's just a waste of time for him.
Zach Graham is the unexpected story of the game. Graham went 5-12 for 15 points and only two turnovers despite playing for 32 minutes due to the Eniel Polynice suspension. Graham also pulled down six boards. While one particular lazy pass that was intercepted sticks out, he didn't make too many mistakes on offense.
Terrico White played well, but his shots just didn't fall. He was 6-14 with seven boards and 13 points, but that's really all that White contributed. You would like to see more production from a guy that everyone else says is our most talented player.
Terrance Henry generated offensively, and Trevor Gawskins did too, but neither was enough of an impact to change the game. Reggie Buckner was out of position all night, drawing four fouls and blocking zero shots. He's got a lot of growing up to do.
Deaundre Cranston made no significant contribution other than his surprising ability to not foul out this game.
Tennessee deserved the game. They played disciplined basketball and made their free throws.