Tennessee basketball: Ranking all 6 Vols losses of 2018-2019 by heartbreak

4. No. 5 Tennessee Volunteers at Auburn Tigers

Saturday, March 9, 2019

Similar to the Kentucky Wildcats, Tennessee basketball’s road loss to the Auburn Tigers was not the direct reason they didn’t win a share of the SEC regular season championship. But it was the final regular season game of the year, so losing it did end their shot.

On top of that, it was a close game. The Vols had built an 11-point lead on Bruce Pearl’s team in the first half, but they simply could not hold it. Using their tempo that Vols fans themselves knew from Pearl for so many years, Auburn easily fought back.

By the middle of the second half, they were the ones in control of the game. However, it continued to go back and forth, and one of the devastating plays was a clear offensive goaltending by an Auburn player after a three-point shot didn’t go in. The refs, however, didn’t just ignore the goaltend. They have Auburn the three-pointer.

Anyway, blowing a big lead to lose close in the final regular season game of the year and costing yourself a share of the conference regular season title all make this a pretty big heartbreaking loss. So it’s higher than Kentucky or the Kansas Jayhawks one. Had this been a blowout, it probably would have been lower on the list.