In some ways, it’s poetic justice. Tennessee basketball, which has lost three out of four times it faced the Kansas Jayhawks in school history, has made it a trend to be short-handed when these two face off.
We all remember the epic upset UT scored over the No. 1 Jayhawks a decade ago with four players suspended. Well, then there was their 87-81 overtime loss last year to Kansas in the NIT Season Tip-Off Championship. Lamonte Turner was hurt in that game, and despite playing and scoring 10 points, he missed far too many shots in the process.