Heartbreak is no stranger to a Tennessee sports fan. It plays out in almost Shakespearean fashion each and every year when a sliver of hope is presented through a team, and outside of the rare exceptions that are Pat Summitt and the Lady Vols basketball’s legendary run of six national championships between 1987 and 1998, and Phillip Fulmer’s ascension to the top of college football’s mountain in 1998, the confetti and jubilation has been few and far between since.
Enter Tennessee men’s basketball. It can be argued that no program anywhere in the country encapsulates the level of hopefulness and hopelessness that Tennessee basketball can.