Tennessee Basketball: Another Heartbreak

Was this the best team in Tennessee basketball history? No doubt about it, said Tennessee Volunteer coach, Bruce Pearl, after his team lost for the second straight year in the Sweet 16, this time 79-60 to Louisville in Bobcat Arena in the East Region semifinals on Thursday. "I told the guys that tonight's game doesn't take much away from the finest season in the history of Tennessee basketball,'' said Pearl after the game. "No team has accomplished the things that these guys accomplished this year, and I'm awfully proud of them.'' The Vols set new standards for wins in a season with 31 and also won the school's first outright SEC championship in 41 years while going 14-2 in SEC play—two more wins than any other team in the league. Not only did the team produce a lot of wins, but the wins came against the nation's toughest schedule. Five of the teams on Tennessee's regular season schedule made it to the Sweet 16 and the Vols were 4-1 against those teams. They beat West Virginia, ... [link]