Tennessee basketball’s Final Four frustration shared by 4 other SEC programs

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This second week in April is always bittersweet for me. Spring is blooming, but I know it’ll be seven months before I watch another college basketball game.

So while the final horn of the 2023-24 season is still echoing, I’m cleaning out my Tennessee March Madness notebook.

Unlucky 13: The number of power conference schools who have never reached the men’s Final Four was reduced by one this year – Alabama.

That leaves 13, including, of course, Tennessee.

Alabama is the third SEC program in eight years to finally crack the Final Four, joining South Carolina in 2017 and Auburn in 2019.

Josiah-Jordan James (30) consoles Dalton Knecht (3) after Tennessee’s Elite Eight loss to Purdue at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on March 31.

The unlucky 13 are: Tennessee, Ole Miss, Missouri, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt from the SEC; Clemson and Virginia Tech of the ACC; Northwestern and Nebraska of the Big Ten; TCU, BYU and Central Florida from the Big 12; Arizona State of the late, great Pac 12.

As for the SEC, besides Alabama, Auburn and South Carolina, the other two one-timers are Mississippi State (1996) and Georgia (1983).

Kentucky has 17 appearances, the most recent in 2015, which is an eon to frustrated Big Blue fans. Arkansas has six, but none since 1995. Florida has five, 2014 the most recent. LSU went four times, most recently in 2006.

Big Problems: Zach Edey, Purdue’s 7-foot-4 center, was the immovable object that prevented Tennessee’s Final Four breakthrough. In hindsight, I reviewed how the Vols had handled previous NCAA tournament meetings with similar giants.

None was as problematic as Edey.

Tennessee forward J.P. Estrella (13) guarding Purdue center Zach Edey (15) during the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight college basketball game between at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, MI on Sunday, March 31, 2024.

Tennessee encountered 7-foot-4 Ralph Sampson of Virginia in second-round games in 1981 and again in 1982. Like Edey, Sampson was the national player of the year both of those…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/tennessee-basketballs-final-four-frustration-090908129.html

Author : Knox News | The Knoxville News-Sentinel

Publish date : 2024-04-10 09:09:08

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