The 30 Lowest Moments for Tennessee Vols Athletics in the Adidas Era
Mar 27, 2015; Syracuse, NY, USA; Louisville Cardinals head coach Rick Pitino during the first half against the North Carolina State Wolfpack in the semifinals of the east regional of the 2015 NCAA Tournament at Carrier Dome. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports
30. Tennessee Vols Men’s Basketball Loses to Louisville Cardinals in 2008 in the Sweet Sixteen
It is hard to put this on the list because when you go back and look at it in the grand scheme of things, a Sweet Sixteen finish in Tennessee men’s basketball is always a good thing because of the history of the program. But this was the one year when there was an exception.
Every Vol fan had been hoping for an improvement on the Sweet Sixteen appearance made the year before, particularly because Dane Bradshaw was the only loss from that team, and Tyler Smith was coming in to replace him.
During the regular season, those expectations were raised. Everybody remembers Tennessee moving up the rankings to No. 3 and then, in the high point of the season, beating the Memphis Tigers to become the No. 1 team in the country.
But in addition to star shooter Chris Lofton’s testicular cancer issue that nobody knew about, there was a glaring issue on the team waiting until the end of the season to rear its ugly head: lack of true point guard play. This is where Bradshaw was severely missed.
After reaching No. 1, it cost the Vols against the Vanderbilt Commodores. It then cost them a chance to win the SEC Tournament after they were upset by Arkansas.
Those two losses dropped the team to a No. 2 seed, so the dream of the first No. 1 seed in school history was ruined. To make matters worse, they drew a terrible bracket in terms of match-ups, and the No. 3 Louisville Cardinals were waiting in the Sweet Sixteen.
Their zone defense and length was too much for a Tennessee team with no point guard and whose shooters did not get hot when needed. The season ended in a blowout loss despite it being the best season in school history. And just like that, Tennessee went no further than it had gone the year before.
Only this time, they were actually losing significant talent in Chris Lofton and JaJuan Smith. Yeah, that loss hurt.
Next: #29: Football Loss to Florida in 2006