Tennessee’s 2023-24 season has come to an end. The Volunteers reached the Elite 8 for the second time in program history, but the Final Four breakthrough will have to wait at least another year.

In the game for the Midwest Region championship, 1-seed Purdue overcame an early 2nd-half run from 2-seed UT and held on for a hard-fought 72-66 win.

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Here are 3 quick takeaways from Tennessee’s heartbreaking loss:

Dalton Knecht vs. Zach Edey: Stars deliver all-time Elite 8 performances

In the biggest games, all eyes are on the biggest stars and if they will show up. In the case of Tennessee’s Dalton Knecht and Purdue’s Zach Edey, both showed that they came to play, giving everything they had and then some looking to will their team to the Final Four.

At the end of the first half, both stars already had standout stat lines. Edey had a double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds in the first 20 minutes. Knecht had 18 points, draining 4 triples. To no one’s surprise, neither player eased up in the 2nd half as the battle continued.

Knecht would finish with a team-high of 37 points on 14-of-31 shooting, going 6-of-12 from 3-point range. Edey, meanwhile, was the game’s high scorer with 40 points, shooting 13-of-21 from the field and 14-of-22 at the free-throw line. He had 16 rebounds over a 39-minute performance.

Edey and Knecht delivered an instant-classic Elite 8.

For Vols fans, Edey’s name will be a sore subject for the friendly whistle he received Sunday as Tennessee tried its best to defend the 7-4, 300-pound big man.

Knecht had more than half of UT’s 66 points and was the only Vol to score in double figures. He’ll be fondly remembered for an incredible season, leading the Vols to the regular-season SEC title.

Foul trouble, struggles down low catch up to Vols

On a day when Tennessee needed some people to step up facing Edey, the Volunteers ran into trouble.

Tobe Awaka and Jahmai Mashack each fouled out.

Mashack was in the starting lineup, but played just 19 minutes, going scoreless on 0-of-1 shooting with 3 rebounds and 2 assists. Awaka played just 13 minutes, logging 2 points and 4 rebounds.

Jonas Aidoo did not foul out but had a rough outing. Aidoo played 10 minutes, going 0-of-4 shooting with 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal.

3 ball kept Tennessee in the game, but it wasn’t enough

Purdue dominated the glass and the paint in Sunday’s showdown. The Boilermakers out-rebounded Tennessee 47-26. With Edey leading the way, Purdue dominated points in the paint 40-24

For the Vols, the 3-ball was almost enough to be the difference-maker. UT shot 11-of-26 from beyond the arc, besting Purdue’s mark of just 3-of-15 from 3-point range.

In the end, the 3-point advantage wasn’t enough. UT’s last lead of the game was 39-38 with 19:08 to go in the game.