Analytical breakdown of Texas's tourney loss to Tennessee

A near comeback in the second half was close to sending head coach Rodney Terry and seven-seed Texas basketball to the Sweet 16 for the second year in a row.

But a second-half offensive rally led by junior guard Tyrese Hunter and sophomore guard Chendall Weaver wasn't enough to get Texas over the hump against the two-seed Tennessee Volunteers in the Round of 32 on March 23. Texas fell short of Tennessee by a score of 62-58.

Texas got within one possession of the Vols multiple times in the final minutes of the second half. But Tennessee kept hitting clutch free throws to stay ahead of Texas late in the game.

Texas ends the season with a record of 21-13 (9-9 Big 12).

How Tennessee narrowly defeated Texas basketball in the Round of 32

Here's an analytical breakdown of Texas's heartbreaking four-point loss to Tennessee in the Round of 32 in the Midwest Region at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, NC, on March 23.

Four Factors

True shooting percentage

Texas-51.4%

Tennessee-39.8%

The second-half offensive rally from the Longhorns kept the game close down the stretch. But Tennessee's saving grace was clutch free throws late in a defensive struggle tonight.

Turnover percentage

Texas-22.0%

Tennessee-14.1%

Turnovers were one of the biggest reasons why the Longhorns lost this game to Tennessee. Texas turned the ball over a whopping 11 times in the first half, including a half-dozen from Hunter alone.

Offensive rebounding percentage

Texas-20.0%

Tennessee-32.6%

Another telling stat for the Longhorns in multiple games this season was the battle on the offensive glass. When Texas loses the battle on the offensive glass, it rarely won games this season.

Tennessee owning a +7 margin on the offensive glass gave them back some valuable possessions, especially to take control of the game early in the first half.

FTA Rate

Texas-.218

Tennessee-.278

Neither team got to the free-throw line a ton in this game. But both teams shot were ultra-efficient from the line, with each side shooting well over 80 percent.

Style Metrics

Assist percentage: Texas-30.0%, Tennessee-50.0%

Assist/Turnover Ratio: Texas-0.4, Tennessee-0.9

Texas moved the ball poorly in each of its two tournament games this year. Poor passes and the weird lob issue from out of bounds by Hunter illustrated Texas's turnover problems in this game.

Tennessee turned 17 Texas turnovers into 15 points, winning the points off turnovers battle +10 over the Longhorns.

3PA Rate

Texas-41.8%

Tennessee-38.5%

Texas relied heavily on the three-ball in this game since Tennessee wasn't letting up much of anything in the paint. The Longhorns scored a season-low 20 points in the paint, compared to 36 for the Vols.

Pace

Texas-69 possessions

Tennessee-68 possessions

Both tournament games for the Longhorns were pretty slow, resulting in a combined 29 turnovers in the last two contests.

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