On Friday, March 19, the University of Tennessee’s men’s basketball team lost to the Oregon State basketball team in the first round of the NCAA basketball tournament, with a final score of 70-56. Fans across the University of Tennessee campus were devastated by the loss, as it meant that the Volunteers would not continue on in the tournament.
A photo from UT Athletics advertising the game.
The Vols performed poorly from the beginning of the game, and it was clear that this was not going to be a good one for them. One of the weaknesses that the team suffered from is that they were not able to make many of the 3-point throws that they went for. Fans had high hopes for the team going into this tournament, and many considered them to be a favorite going forward, but on Friday night that was clearly not the case.
An action shot from the game originally published by Knoxville News Sentinel.
One UT basketball fan that I spoke to, Patrick Jones, tells me that he was planning on celebrating the victory on Friday night, but when he started to see how the game was going, he decided he would instead spend the rest of the night “trying to forget the horrific loss.” He explains that he was very excited to see the Volunteers throughout this NCAA tournament, but after this loss he “doesn’t even know if he can watch the rest of the tournament.”
Fans online were also unimpressed with the Vols’ performance on Friday.
Another basketball fan and student, Nicholas Gangloff, tells me that he “doesn’t even want to talk about” the game from Friday. Gangloff points the finger to coach Rick Barnes, saying that he does not believe he has done a good job in the past couple of years to make the team improve.
Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tennessee, is the Volunteers’ home stadium. Friday’s game, however, took place at Bankers Life Field Arena in Indianapolis.
Overall, it was a disappointing night for Vols fans, and many have decided, because of this, that they do not care to watch the rest of the season.
UT student and basketball fan, Nicholas Gangloff, talks about his experience watching the game on Friday.
Cullen McCurry - News Stories 