Tennessee unable to overcome Zach Edey and the officiating in 72-66 loss to Purdue

It’s tough to beat a good basketball team in the Elite 8. It’s even more difficult when the number of opponents against you on the basketball court is eight, and that often felt like the case on Sunday afternoon in Detroit when the Tennessee Vols took on the Purdue Boilermakers with a trip to the Final Four on the line.

Unfortunately, Tennessee couldn’t make their five stand up higher than Purdue’s five and the three individuals in the striped shirts that also were unfortunately on the floor. The Vols fell 72-66, ending what looked to be a dream season one game prematurely.

Purdue’s Zach Edey finished with 40 points and 16 rebounds, making 14 of 22 free throws. Tennessee shot just 11 free throws for the game. Dalton Knecht kept Tennessee in the game, scoring 37 of Tennessee’s 66 points on 14-31 shooting from the field, including 6-12 from beyond the arc.

Edey helped Purdue open up an early lead, as the Vols got into early foul trouble among Jonas Aidoo – who was completely unable to do anything positive in the first half – and Tobe Awaka, who both picked up 2 fouls each before anyone could blink. For the game, Tennessee was whistled for 25 fouls compared to 12 for Purdue.

However, the Vols went on a torrid 15-2 run to take a 32-21 lead late in the first half with Knecht, Josiah-Jordan James, and Zakai Zeigler draining threes. Sadly, they couldn’t hold serve as they allowed a 15-2 Purdue run to end the half at 36-34.

Unfortunately for Tennessee, they were facing a player in Edey who is permitted to push off, swing elbows, hook and hold, and get away with it in the paint. This is the type of nonsense – with Awaka getting shoved out of the way with Edey’s elbow before he draws a foul call – that Tennessee was dealing with for much of the afternoon.

And unfortunately for Tennessee, Aidoo was a complete and total liability in the paint today for Tennessee. After getting whistled for early fouls, missing wide open mid-range shots, and turning the ball over, Rick Barnes pulled him in favor of Awaka and J.P. Estrella for most of the rest of the way. A disastrous time for the big man’s worst game of the season by a country mile.

Tennessee just couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn for much of the second half, as Purdue slowly pulled out to a 54-46 lead with around 10 minutes left in the game. However, Knecht and Jordan Gainey delivered some much-needed hope to Vol fans with a 12-4 run that tied the game up at 58.

Frustratingly, Tennessee’s offense went cold again, and Purdue’s Lance Jones hit a three to put Purdue up 66-60 with a little over two minutes left, which proved to be the dagger. Purdue had plenty of looks on the perimeter for much of the game thanks to Edey’s dominance in the paint, but they missed most of them (3-15 for the game). Unfortunately, they made that third one, which really put Tennessee in a hole. Knecht missed a three, Edey drew another foul, and Purdue was in command at 68-60, with it all being over but the shouting at that point.

It’s unfortunate that Tennessee’s storybook season ended when it did, and it’s even more unfortunate that Tennessee had a shot if someone else besides Knecht become a factor in the game. James had his moments, making 3 of 4 shots and totaling 8 points with 3 steals, but they were too few and far between. Zeigler was just 1 of 8 from three and 3 of 12 from the field, missing multiple open short runners and being generally ineffective on the offensive end.

Truly disheartening for Tennessee fans, and unfortunately, that will be the last time ever that Tennessee fans get to enjoy watching Knecht, Santiago Vescovi, and James in a Tennessee uniform. Now, it’s on to next year.