March sadness: Tennessee falls to 12-seed Oregon State in First Round upset
By SDS Staff
Published:
Tennessee got off to a rough start Friday and was never able to recover as 12-seed Oregon State pulled off a 70-56 upset win over the 5-seed Volunteers.
Poor shooting had the Volunteers down 33-19 in the first half. UT fought hard in the second half but OSU was able to maintain a double-digit lead even through occasional runs from the Vols.
Oregon State out-shot Tennessee, posting a 48.2 shooting percentage to UT’s mark of 33.3 percent. It was an even larger margin from behind the three-point line. Oregon State made 47.6 percent of its three-pointers while Tennessee made just 19.2 percent.
Tennessee refused to quit when Oregon State extended its lead to 20 points on multiple occasions in the second half. Down 47-27, the Vols mounted a 7-0 run, cutting it to 47-34 before the Beavers ended their scoring drought with a three-pointer to go back up 50-34. Trailing 16, UT guard Josiah-Jordan James injured his ankle at the 10:29 mark. He returned with 5:27 remaining in the game.
The Beavers made it 62-42 later in the second half before the Vols again responded, scoring eight straight to make 62-50. Oregon State finally answered at the 2:56 mark, extending its lead back to 64-50.
On top of shooting struggles, Rick Barnes’ squad also dealt with foul trouble. SEC All-Tournament Team selection Yves Pons drew his fourth personal foul at the 11:52 mark in the second half. Fellow starter Santiago Vescovi was also in early foul trouble, drawing his third with 17:41 remaining in regulation.
Tennessee never led in Friday’s First Round game. The Volunteers end the 2020-21 campaign with an 18-9 record.
Saturday Down South reports and comments on the news around the Southeastern Conference as well as larger college football topics.
