Tennessee entered the NCAA Tournament as the No. 5 seed in the midwest region, drawing the Pac-12 champion Oregon State Beavers. Senior forward John Fulkerson was ruled out shortly before the game, meaning the Volunteers would be missing a key cog of the attack.
The Volunteers seemed to rally last week at the SEC Tournament without Fulkerson in the lineup, but today — they fell flat on their face.
The start could not have been worse for Tennessee. Nine points in the first ten minutes of play was the story, as the Volunteers began 0-8 from three point range.