March Madness: Tennessee falls to Purdue in the Elite 8
Tennessee’s March Madness run ended yesterday at the hands of the Purdue Boilermakers and Zach Edey. Edey was unstoppable during the game's late stages and the Vols went cold from the floor at the worst possible time. However, no Tennessee fan should be hanging their head today. This team got to an Elite 8 for the 2nd time in school history. This team won the SEC outright for the first time in 16 years. This team was exciting to watch and took Big Orange Country on a ride they’ll never forget. I will never forget Dalton Knecht’s multiple 35+ point performances or Josiah-Jordan James going off in Rupp Arena. However, the ever illusive first Final-4 for this program was still not reached and I think there are 3 main reasons why.
Dalton Knecht was the only Vol with more than 9 points
Dalton Knecht is not a superhero. While Knecht poured in 37 points against Purdue it was not enough to overcome the supporting cast going M.I.A. again. During the regular season, Zakai Zeigler and Jonas Aidoo normally supported Knecht with double-digit scoring performances. However, Zeigler couldn’t get his 3’s to fall, and Aidoo missed the only 4 shots he attempted. JJJ looked to be the man to score with Knecht in the 1st half but he went 0-1 in the 2nd half. It might have been the game plan to see if Knecht could win the game for the Vols, but in the end, he could not hit enough shots to pick up his teammates for the umpteenth time this season.
Jonas Aidoo struggled early and never recovered
Jonas Aidoo was crucial to Tennessee’s success this year, but the ending to his season was very disappointing. Aidoo made 2nd team all-SEC and first-team Defense, but in the Sweet 16 against Creighton, and in the Elite 8 against Purdue he disappeared. Aidoo only scored 4 points combined in those 2 games and he struggled defensively as well. Rick Barnes certainly noticed his poor play and chose to go with Freshman J.P. Estrella once Tobe Awaka fouled out. I hate to talk about a player who did so many good things for Tennessee this year in this way, but it is indisputable that he wasn’t ready for the big moment. Furthermore, I know no one feels worse about it than Aidoo himself, and I hope his senior season is his redemption story. When your starting center for the entire season only plays 10 minutes in the biggest game of the year you know that will fuel his fire for the following season. I just hope that fire doesn’t lead him to the transfer portal.
Zach Edey and the way the referees treat him
Call me bitter, call me a sore loser, but Zach Edey is not incapable of committing a foul. It is complete lunacy to think a starting center who played all but 30 seconds of a highly physical game could only commit one foul. On the offensive end, I don’t have much problem with how he was treated. It may be an unpopular opinion but when a guy leads the country in scoring and is 7’4/300 pounds he is going to receive calls. Add in the fact that he is the reigning NPOY and it isn’t all that surprising. Listen Edey is a terrific player and to think anything otherwise just doesn’t make sense to me. There are 2 players in the SEC taller than Zach Edey and you have most likely never heard of them because they don’t even come close to Edey’s production. A matchup nightmare like Edey is going to receive foul calls and it’s not like Tennessee is the only team that this has happened to. At the end of the day Tennessee could not guard Edey and when Jonas Aidoo is unplayable like he was on Sunday it makes it that much harder.
Tennessee basketball has a great future ahead of them. Rick Barnes is still at the helm, they are returning their starting point guard and center, and the young players on the team like Cam Carr and Freddie Dilione look like contributors for 2024-2025. Add in dogs like Jahmai Mashack and Tobe Awaka and the team looks primed for another run at a Final 4. Furthermore, the next Dalton Knecht could be out there somewhere.