Saturday’s loss to Auburn was shocking, embarrassing, infuriating, and...disappointing. That last one has become an all-too common descriptor for the 2019-2020 Tennessee basketball season. Sitting at 15-12 overall with a .500 SEC record has given fans plenty to think about with the realization that the NCAA tournament is likely out of reach.
Everyone expected a step back from the high point of 2018-2019. When you lose your three best players and three rotational pieces, there’s really nowhere to go but down. Not a Tennessee fan alive was thinking they’d go 31-6 again.
But if I may speak for the crowd here: Not many were thinking Tennessee would be out of the NCAA tournament running by mid-February.