All for Tennessee
Fansided

March Madness: Remembering Vols 5 Sweet 16 games this century

By Caleb Calhoun

CHARLOTTE, NC - MARCH 27: (L-R) J.P. Prince #30 and Duke Crews #32 of the Tennessee Volunteers sit on the court in the final minutes against the Louisville Cardinals during the 2008 NCAA Men's East Regional Semifinal at Bobcats Arena on March 27, 2008 in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Cardinals defeated the Volunteers 77-60. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
CHARLOTTE, NC - MARCH 27: (L-R) J.P. Prince #30 and Duke Crews #32 of the Tennessee Volunteers sit on the court in the final minutes against the Louisville Cardinals during the 2008 NCAA Men's East Regional Semifinal at Bobcats Arena on March 27, 2008 in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Cardinals defeated the Volunteers 77-60. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 6
Next
Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images
Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images /

5. 2014 Sweet 16

(2) Michigan Wolverines beat (11) Tennessee Volunteers

Final Score: 73-71

The last time the Vols made it to the Sweet 16, they were the March Madness Cinderella team. And just getting there was the story given everything that had happened. Remember, this was Cuonzo Martin’s third year on Rocky Top. His only crime was not being Bruce Pearl, who fans thought Mike Hamilton prematurely forced out.

Pearl’s showcause was set to be up this year, so an online petition gained 37,000 signatures calling for Dave Hart to fire Martin and rehire Pearl. People only got angrier at Martin for some reason after the Auburn Tigers hired Pearl. But Martin’s team responded with a strong finish to get a play-in game to the NCAA Tournament. They then won that as a No. 11 seed.

Thanks to a great draw in a bracket that had the UMASS Minutemen as a No. 6 seed and the No. 14 seed Mercer Bears upsetting the Duke Blue Devils, Martin’s team got an easy road to the Sweet 16. Then, with Martin’s seat safe and him receiving apologies from all of Rocky Top, they got to play the No. 2 seed Michigan Wolverines in a game with nothing to lose.

That became this game. led by Jordan McRae, Jerronne Maymon, Jarnell Stokes and Josh Richardson, the Vols got cheated out of a chance at the Elite Eight here. They fought back from a 15-point deficit with 10 minutes left to make it very interesting at the end. A McRae bucket with 13 seconds left made it 72-71.

Then, the Vols forced a turnover, not even having to foul. So they had the ball with 10 seconds left and a chance to take the lead. Stokes got the ball and was posted up. But a major flop by the Michigan defender resulted in the refs calling a charge on Stokes. So the Wolverines got the ball back, hit a free throw, and held on for the win.

Weeks later, Martin left and took the Cal job. But here, he truly was robbed, and his guys put up an amazing fight. It was just the last of many heartbreaking losses for the Vols when it comes to this round of March Madness.

Home/Vols Basketball