Lucas Panzica recaps and reacts to the Tennessee Vols’ Elite 8 loss to the Houston Cougars, which ended the incredible careers of Zakai Zeigler and Jahmai Mashack. He talks about where Rick Barnes and the Vols go from here, as they head into 2025-2026.
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00:00Tennessee basketball's run in the NCAA tournament is officially over and it's not just the end of
00:05a season but the end of an era for the Tennessee Volunteers. Hey, Lucas Panzeca here from 104.5 The
00:14Zone and A to Z Sports. Final score from Indianapolis in the Elite Eight, Tennessee
00:19falls to Houston 69 to 50. And this game felt over at halftime. 34 to 15 was the Houston lead
00:28at the break. 15 points. That is the lowest number in a first half by a top two seed in NCAA
00:35tournament history. It's also the lowest point total by a team in the Elite Eight since seeding
00:41began in the big dance in 1979. Tennessee just struggled to get shots to go in the first half,
00:48missing their first 14 three-point attempts and the Vols were dominated in the paint by a Houston
00:54team that shares a lot of the same characteristics as Tennessee. Physically dominant, defensively
01:00dominant, but they did all of those things a lot better than the Vols on Sunday and a successful
01:06season for Tennessee ends in their second straight Elite Eight appearance, something that has never
01:11been done in program history. Yet another 30-win season under Rick Barnes, but no doubt a
01:17heartbreaking loss as Tennessee continues to chase that first-ever Final Four appearance by the men's
01:24basketball program. And it was a bitter pill to swallow for Vols fans, not just for the season
01:29ending, but for the careers of Zakai Ziegler and Jemai Meshack coming to a close. Players sticking
01:36around at the same program for four years is a rarity nowadays in college athletics, and Jemai
01:42Meshack and Zakai Ziegler, you could argue, are the most successful duo in the history of Tennessee
01:48men's basketball. Think about the accolades during those years. 60 wins at home, three straight Sweet
01:56Sixteens, two straight Elite Eights. You're talking about one conference tournament championship,
02:02one regular season championship in the SEC. Jemai Meshack and Zakai Ziegler have seen Tennessee and
02:08helped carry Tennessee to some of their peaks in the history of the men's basketball program. So
02:14this didn't feel like any other season coming to an end for Tennessee. It truly felt like an era
02:20coming to a close, although we do expect Rick Barnes back with Tennessee next year. He has
02:26already shot down any rumors of retirement going into the 2025-26 season. So now the question is,
02:33where does Tennessee go from here after losing two program legends like Zakai Ziegler and Jemai
02:40Meshack? And it's not just Ziegler and Meshack going out the door. It's Jordan Ganey, whose
02:45eligibility is expired. He had a nice night, one of a few Tennessee players to score 17 points off
02:52the bench against Houston. You look at other players that are out the door, Igor Milichich,
02:57Jr. Tennessee has a lot to replace going into next season. They will return a few players around the
03:03rim like Felix Okpara and Cade Phillips that they can build around, but Tennessee's backcourt is
03:09almost completely empty after this year. They've had the benefit of continuity over the last few
03:15years, whether that's Santiago Vescovi, Josiah Jordan James, Zakai Ziegler, Jemai Meshack in the
03:21backcourt. That is not the case going into next season. So Rick Barnes is going to have to hit
03:25the portal heavily this offseason as Tennessee tries to retool and continue that chase for its
03:31first ever Final Four appearance. But there is no doubt this was a heartbreaking loss, as not only
03:36do we see the careers of Meshack and Ziegler come to a close, but even to the radio side,
03:41with Bob Kessling and Bert Bertelkamp closing out a legendary run calling games on the VOL
03:47network. A sobering day for Tennessee basketball after a successful season.
03:52Rick Barnes and his staff have a lot of work to do going into next year.