Let’s be real — Tennessee’s NCAA Tournament hopes were on life support as the Vols walked into the Arena against South Carolina. Bad losses against Georgia and Texas A&M and blown opportunities against Kansas and Kentucky already had Tennessee in a bad spot for postseason play.
But Saturday night’s meltdown against South Carolina felt like the official backbreaker.
Tennessee took control of a tie game in the final minutes against the Gamecocks. John Fulkerson and Santiago Vescovi powered the Vols to a five point lead with about five minutes to play, but the offense fell apart from there.