Was This the Worst Game in College Basketball History?
On December 7, #13 Tennessee (6-1) took on unranked Texas Tech (6-1) at Madison Square Garden in the Jimmy V Classic. Many expected it to be a hard-fought game where its victor will have to outwork, outplay, and “out-tough,” the other team.
Although expected to be a defensive battle, it was maybe a little more of a defense-oriented game than most thought it would be.
Tennessee came into the game with something to prove as the 13th ranked team in the nation but with really no quality wins to its name besides an 89-72 victory over North Carolina. Lots of question marks still swirled around them. On top of that, many thought this could be their 5-star freshman guard Kennedy Chandler’s coming out party.
As for the Red Raiders, they came into this matchup full of uncertainty. After the departure of Chris Beard in the offseason, many players opted to leave Lubbock too. Besides Terrance Shannon Jr. and Kevin McCullar, many of their top contributors are transfers.
After their top two scorers in McCullar and Shannon, the team’s third to sixth leading scorers all transferred in from elsewhere.
So, this game was set to be an interesting one. Most knew it would be a very defensive matchup. Both teams entered ranked in the top 20 nationally in defensive efficiency, with Texas Tech sitting at 5.
However, both clubs have some offensive woes. Neither are great three point shooting teams, let alone bad shooting teams in general. Needless to say, many question marks surrounded both teams on the offensive end of the floor, and both were ready to come into MSG and prove they can play.
Well, that did not really go as planned. Quite the opposite actually, as this would arguably be the worst game in the history of college basketball.
From the tip it was just a disaster. That is, on the offensive side of the ball. I guess you could say both teams lived up to the defensive hype they were supposed to.
Regardless, it was still painful to watch these two teams try to operate offensively. The first points didn’t even come until the 17:19 mark when Tennessee forward Olivier Nkahmoua made a strong layup through a double team on the left block.
There wasn’t much to be pleased about through the first half. The brightest spot of the entire half was probably Kennedy Chandler. He looked like he was really developing. He drove fast to the hoop off the dribble, finished layups strong, and created shots for his teammates.
Besides that, it was something to see…not in a good way. Both squads looked lazy on offense, not coming hard through screens, not crashing the boards, and not looking for smart shots. The first half ended with a 29-25 Texas Tech lead.
Then came the second half, where things somehow got worse. Forget the players just being lazy and not wanting to create good shots for themselves. In the second half, the Vols were actually doing a pretty good job of moving the ball and getting open shots. The only issue was…nothing went in.
From the 12-minute mark to the 1:56 mark, not a SINGLE field goal was made between either team. That streak would end when Volunteers wing Santiago Vescovi drained a 3-pointer (Tennessee would finish 6-40 from 3-point range on the night) and you would’ve thought the Vols just won the national championship the way the bench went crazy.
With that 3, Tennessee had tied the game up 41-41 with a minute and a half to go. Maybe the 13th ranked Volunteers can escape the upset.
With thirty seconds left, Texas Tech had gone up 3 from a layup and a missed shot from Tennessee leading to them having to foul Terrance Shannon.
After Shannon made one of the two, the Vols sprinted downcourt and Josiah-Jordan James nailed a pull-up 3 in transition to tie the game.
And as everyone needed, this game would head to OT. We end regulation with a score of 44-44 and an almost empty Madison Square Garden.
As overtime heated up, Texas Tech would get things going on offense. I mean….considering how abysmal it was for the first 40 minutes. Shannon hit a nice floater through a double team from about 15 feet away early, and Tennessee continued their nightmare on offense. Absolutely nothing would go down, and it only took a few Red Raider makes to seal the deal. Final score would be 57-52.
In the end, Texas Tech would win a basketball game against a top 15 opponent when they shot 31% from the field, 16% from 3, committed 15 turnovers, and had a mere 4 bench points all night. Somehow, the Volunteers played worse and handed Texas Tech the victory.
This could very well be the worst game in the history of college basketball. A combined 16% shooting from beyond the arc, 29% combined field goal percentage, 24 turnovers, and a final score that barely exceeded 100 with overtime.
Even though Texas Tech leaves themselves with a ton of questions to answer, I am very much on the Tennessee hype train. I love their centerpiece in Kennedy Chandler and the talented vets around him like Olivier Nkahmhoua, Josiah-Jordan James, and John Fulkerson. Stay tuned in Knoxville.
