How The Hell Did Tennessee Blow A 25 Point Lead, Bench A Star Player In OT Yet Still Win?

Well, we finally got our good game after so many bad ones. Finally got an overtime game. It also happened to be the most bizarre game I can remember watching. You had Tennessee beating the shit out of Iowa to start. You had the Iowa comeback. You had some of the worst officiating and calls (that double foul is the worst call I can remember, the 2nd worst one was how late the foul was on Turner on the 3pt shot).

Oh, if that wasn’t enough – Rick Barnes made some weird decisions. Admiral Schofiled had four fouls so naturally he was going offense/defense late. In a tie game, having the ball with the shot clock off, he didn’t put Schofield in after the timeout. Then he didn’t play one second of overtime. It was bizarre. That’s the only way to describe it. Schofield is one of the 3 best players on Tennessee and a huge reason they are able to do what they do on both sides of the ball with his versatility.

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Then in OT we had Grant Williams take over. That turnaround jumper on the baseline he had was a big time shot. But, the play on the defensive side was massive. The one where Cook caught the ball under the hoop. He had a fairly easy move (he had Williams pinned) if he spun right. Instead of opened up and Grant immediately stripped it. It was impressive.

So Tennessee’s dream season advances. Rick Barnes finally gets back to the Sweet 16 and they avoid the absolute disaster of losing a 23 point lead.