Nichols: This Isn't How It Was Supposed to End

INDIANAPOLIS -- "This isn't how it was supposed to end."

That's the saying when something so promising falls so incredibly short of expectations, right?

It certainly fits for the expressions worn by Tennessee players late Saturday night.

Kennedy Chandler hung his head, tears still streaming down his face. Josiah-Jordan James stared blankly into the distance, a reflection of nothingness in his eyes. Uros Plavsic looked straight ahead, a tight-lipped appearance beneath his furrowed brow.

Indeed, these are not the looks one would have expected — at least not this soon — to conclude the Vols’ 2021-2022 season.

Not after beating Arizona at home. Not after winning eight straight down the second most important stretch of postseason play. Not after this group came together the way it did this season.

Less than a week ago, this program was celebrating its first SEC Tournament title in 43 years.

Later that night, fans were complaining that the Vols were seeded too low -- a fact I still believe, by the way, given that Tennessee hammered a Kentucky team that wasn't half as good as the 15-seeded Saint Peter's Peacocks on Thursday.

And a couple hours before that Kentucky-Saint Peter's matchup? Well, this Tennessee team shot a season-best 58.3 % from 3-point range and appeared white-hot heading into the most important time of the year.

In those moments, couldn't you already see Zakai Zeigler chomping on a beignet, powdered sugar flying from his mouth and dark shades over his eyes, as Tennessee romped through Bourbon Street celebrating its first national championship in school history?

Same here.

Barnes wanted it for these guys, too, and they for him.

To finally reach the Final Four, yes. To finally silence those who can’t stop talking about Barnes’s apparent inability to move teams out of the first weekend in this tournament? Absolutely.

All those hopes came crashing to the floor in an iron-clanging heap when the buzzer sounded on Michigan's 76-68 second-round stunner over Tennessee inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Saturday night.

Another postseason brimming with potential and promise, only to tumble well short of the finish line everyone thought probable.

This isn’t how it was supposed to end.

Part of that finality was from Michigan's zone defense, which held UT to an abysmal 2-of-18 from beyond the arc.

The Vols also couldn't match Hunter Dickinson — who finished with a spectacular 27 points and 11 boards in a monstrous effort down the stretch — or Eli Brooks, who had 23 points with a running hook shot late to clinch the win.

"We weren't even supposed to be in the tournament," said Dickinson, who could only smirk after sparking his band's latest rendition of The Victors. "Now all the people who are hating on us will watch at home while we’re in the Sweet Sixteen."

And Tennessee will be one of those teams watching, too.

You have to feel for guys like Zeigler, who has become one of the most incredible stories of this college basketball season -- and whose NIL earnings, draft stock and Tennessee reputation should continue to soar the longer he wears the Vols' uniform.

You have to feel for guys like James, who emerged in the most incredible way to lead this team -- and who will be the integral piece for his last season.

You have to feel for guys like Chandler, who cried into the shoulder of Michigan coach Juwan Howard — a man Chandler has known since Chandler played fourth-grade AAU ball with Howard’s youngest son, Jett.

“To see his output, effort, growth, how he led his team, it was impressive,” said Howard. “Just wanted to give him some words of encouragement.”

You have to wonder, too, what that growth could mean for Chandler’s imminent future -- especially since James showed another example of leadership when he stepped in to field such an inquiry: “With all due respect, (Kennedy) won’t be answering any questions about his future today.”

But most importantly, you have to sympathize with guys like John Fulkerson, though "guys" might be the wrong term here.

After all, there is no one on this Tennessee team who can empathize with Fulkerson's current plight -- a sixth-year senior, overcoming all he has, watching his entire collegiate career evaporate in the snap of a finger.

We did not get to speak with Fulkerson after the loss, and I am not sure whether he'll be made available in the coming days.

My guess would be yes.

If not, though, one has to wonder what that locker room scene looked like.

Not just because of Fulkerson, either -- but because this team reiterated again and again just how close it became.

Because it showed, again and again, in the way these guys battled.

Because it showed, again and again, in how they behaved off the floor.

Goofy. Smiling. Exuberant.

Always pulling jokes, always messing around, and always, always locked in when the moments meant most.

One can reiterate what Barnes said Saturday about not taking trips to this tournament for granted, and they would be right -- especially in the case of a team like Texas A&M.

But, more than Chandler's next steps, locker room scenes or the intentions behind Barnes's statements, one should not and cannot forget this specific group.

The one that drew comparisons to the best Admiral Schofield and Grant Williams squads, then exceeded what even those rosters could produce -- despite the difference in NBA-level talent.

The one that had so many different players from so many countries across the globe come together for one state, one cause and one mission.

The one that drew fans in so many times, and kept them tethered with just how lovable these guys were.

The one that did so much through this season, and accomplished even more in Tampa -- yet finished with so little in The Biggest Dance of Them All.

"All I can say is how proud I am of our team and how hard they have worked all year long to get where we are,” summarized Barnes. “I'm disappointed for them. I love the work and what they've put into this program this year."

Except this isn’t how it was supposed to end.