Tennessee Makes the Wrong Kind of History With Dreadful First Half Against Houston

Tennessee was just plain awful during the first half of its Elite Eight matchup against Houston during on Sunday.

The No. 2-seeded Volunteers only scored 15 points in the first 20 minutes as they ended the first half trailing the No. 1-seeded Cougars 34-15. Rick Barnes's team's first half showing wasn't just bad, it was historically bad.

Tennessee's 15 first-half points are the lowest in NCAA tournament history for a No. 1 or No. 2 seed. Not just in the Elite Eight, but in any round of the tournament.

Tennessee's 15 first-half points are the lowest in NCAA Tournament history by a team with a No. 1 or No. 2 seed.

Lowest not just in an Elite Eight game — lowest in any round of the tournament. Ever.
— Matt Norlander (@MattNorlander) March 30, 2025

The Volunteers were 6-for-28 from the field, which is a woeful 21.4%. They were also 1-for-15 from three-point range, which was bad enough for 6.7%. Feix Okpara and Jordan Gainey were the team's leading scorers with four points each. Meanwhile, Zakai Zeigler was a brutal 1-for-7 from the field and hit 1-of-4 three-pointers. If that wasn't bad enough, Houston outrebounded Tennessee 26-17.

Yikes.

The Vols better figure something out quickly or no one will be singing "Rocky Top" tonight.