Tennessee basketball falls to Texas Tech in abysmal offensive game at Madison Square Garden
NEW YORK — Santiago Vescovi got a clear look at a 3-pointer on the wing with less than 5 seconds to play Tuesday.
His attempt was long — another missed Vols 3-pointer in a game defined by them — and Tennessee basketball and Texas Tech headed for overtime.
The crowd at Madison Square Garden — a blend of Tennessee and Texas Tech supporters and the early arrivals for the Syracuse vs. Villanova nightcap — booed. No one wanted overtime in the slugfest but got it anyway.
Texas Tech cobbled enough offense to win the offensively challenged game. Tennessee fell 57-52 after shooting 6-for-40 on 3-pointers.
John Fulkerson led the No. 14 Vols (6-2) with 10 points in the Jimmy V Classic. He was the lone Vol in double figures. Both of UT's losses this season were in neutral-site games.
Oh, the shooting woes
Josiah-Jordan James scooped up an errant Texas Tech (7-1) pass and ran alone down the court toward an unchallenged dunk. He jumped in the middle of the paint and tumbled to the court, the ball bouncing away to Texas Tech.
The Red Raiders missed a dunk on the other end, but UT was called for a goaltend and Texas Tech snapped a 7-minute, 38-second field-goal drought. It was Texas Tech's only field goal in the final 11:57 of regulation.
Tennessee could not make a 3-pointer for almost 20 minutes, spanning from late in the first half until late in the second half.
The Vols missed 18 straight before Vescovi hit one with 1:55 to play, ending a UT field-goal drought of 9:55. James made another with 31 seconds remaining to tie the game 44-44 and send it to overtime.
Rick Barnes shrinks the playing group
Tennessee played nine players for at least six minutes in the first half. Six did so in the second half.
Olivier Nkamhoua and Uros Plavsic played three minutes each. Justin Powell played two.
Tennessee utilized its three point guard lineup at stretches with Vescovi, Kennedy Chandler and Zakai Zeigler.
Santiago Vescovi’s foul trouble is troubling
Santiago Vescovi didn’t pick his first foul until the 9:07 mark of the first half. But he picked up his second barely a minute later. He was called for two fouls going for steals defensively and went to the bench with the 7:51 mark.
Tennessee led Texas Tech 15-12 when Vescovi drew his second foul. The Red Raiders went on an 8-0 run in the following 1:12.
Vescovi also picked up two early fouls at Colorado on Saturday. He sat for the final 11:22 of the first half in UT’s 69-54 win.
Up next
Tennessee hosts UNC Greensboro on Saturday (4:30 p.m. ET, SEC Network).
Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.com and follow him on Twitter @ByMikeWilson. If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Offensively challenged Tennessee basketball loses to Texas Tech
