Charles Barkley halftime quote says it all about Tennessee vs. Michigan

Well Vols Nation, it was fun while it lasted.

Somewhere between the 10-minute and 5-minute marks in the first half, things went completely off the rails against Michigan, and it left Tennessee down by 22 and thinking about all the moves that are going to happen in the offseason (hey Justin Gainey, good luck at N.C. State!)

Charles Barkley, never one to mince words, said it perfectly.

Oh well, at least Kesean Bowman committed yesterday, and he's going to be a stud!

Charles Barkley puts a wrap on Tennessee's season

We knew that the Vols were going to bring everything they had and get a little luck to get past Michigan and advance to the first Final Four in school history. For the first few minutes, things looked good. There was Ja'Kobi Gillespie showing his quick hands and the game plan was to go right at those Michigan bigs and show they could bang with them.

As most plans go, it worked for a while and then the Wolverines adjusted, which forced Tennessee to go to Plan B and next thing we knew, the Vols were victims of a run that never seemed to end.

It's fair to say that it stunk, and it was hard to watch. Rick Barnes has done some amazing things with Vols basketball, and he's legitimately a Hall of Fame coach. But the fact that in 40 years of coaching he's only been to one Final Four shows how tough getting through the tournament is. 

This isn't a swan song for Barnes. He's got a lifetime contract, and he's clearly got Tennessee basketball in a good place. The program has reached the Elite Eight three straight seasons. That's not something that should be overlooked, especially after a few stumbles during various points this season.

But on this Sunday afternoon, Michigan was so much better and the Wolverines completely ran Tennessee off the court. That's a hard pill to swallow.