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WATCH: Tennessee falls to second-straight game-winning three, loses to Missouri

by:Austin Brezina•02/11/23•

AustinBrezina59

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Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images

For the second game in a row, the Tennessee Volunteers fell to a game-winning three-point shot as the Missouri Tigers won 86-85. An incredible second-half rally by Tennessee to take the lead proved to be not enough after a blown pair of free throws gave Missouri time to shoot for the win.

DeAndre Gholston drove just past half court before heaving the shot, knocking it down in front of the stunned Knoxville crowd. The game marks the third-straight game for the Volunteers that ended with drama in the final seconds — with two of them going against Tennessee.

Missouri profited from the three-point heroics while Tennessee suffered, winning five of their last six games now to stay red hot. Adding to the drama between the teams in the SEC rivalry, the road team has now won the last five games in the series with the Tigers winning on Saturday.

Over the past week, Tennessee has felt the pain of SEC play more than any team in the nation possibly has this season — beginning with a tough 46-43 win over Auburn at home. The game ended with its share of controversy after a shot attempt by Wendell Green Jr. was not called a foul despite the protests of Auburn and Bruce Pearl.

From there, a road loss at Vanderbilt on a last-second shot seemed to be a gut-check moment for the Volunteers as they pursue a top seed in the NCAA Tournament. With home court advantage on Saturday night, extra motivation after falling to Vanderbilt and a favorable matchup with a Missouri team that was 6-5 in conference play — it appeared to be a chance to rally and regroup.

Instead, the Tigers shot a dominant 53.8 percent from the three-point line in the win and built a lead as large as 17 points. Tennessee made a huge comeback against Missouri in the second half to erase the deficit and take a large lead with time expiring, but a missed free throw followed by a foul during the second free throw attempt left the door open to an upset for the second-straight week.