KNOXVILLE — Selection Sunday came and went with no mention of the Tennessee.
It’s the first time that’s happened in a decade.
The Volunteers won’t be in either the NCAA tournament or the National Invitation Tournament for the first time since Buzz Peterson’s final season as coach in 2004-05, a stretch of nine postseasons.
Tennessee also chose not to pursue a bid to the 16-team College Basketball Invitational, so Donnie Tyndall’s first season as coach of the Vols will end at 16-16.
“I’m obviously disappointed that we weren’t able to land a spot in the NIT field,” Tyndall said in a program statement released Sunday night.
“I know our fans-who have been unbelievable all season-loved this young team. We certainly would have loved to have given the fans an opportunity to watch this team compete again in the NIT. After some discussion with our administration, we made the decision not to pursue a bid to the CBI.
“I’m thankful and appreciative of our seniors and everything they’ve given this program. Now it’s time to get to work recruiting and developing our returning players as we build for what I believe is a very bright future for Tennessee basketball.”
Tennessee avoided the program’s first losing season since Peterson’s final team finished 14-17.
In each of Bruce Pearl’s six seasons atop the program, Tennessee was comfortably in the NCAA tournament, and Cuonzo Martin’s three-year coaching tenure concluded with an NCAA tournament bid and a Sweet 16 run after bubble teams wound up in the NIT his first two seasons.
Tyndall said last month any extra chances for his youthful roster to practice and play together would be advantageous for the program, and a couple of players were open to continuing their season after the SEC tournament loss to Arkansas.
“We would love to keep playing,” junior forward Derek Reese said. “We never talked about it. We have no clue what’s going to happen next, but if we get a bid to play some where, we’re going to play.”
Its .500 record always made it unlikely the Vols would get a call from the NIT, and the pay-your-way nature of the CBI, whose fields is heavy on mid-major conference teams, also made it an unlikely destination.
“I don’t know how all that works,” All-SEC senior guard Josh Richardson said. “I don’t what it takes to get in the NIT. If we get another chance, you know I’m going to be ready. I’m always ready. It could go either way.”
The SEC had five teams — Kentucky, Arkansas, LSU, Georgia and Ole Miss — make the NCAA tournament, while Texas A&M, Alabama and Vanderbilt will play in the NIT.
Tennessee was 4-9 against teams that made the NCAA tournament, notching wins against Butler, Texas Southern, Arkansas and LSU.
Tyndall said after Tennessee came back from 13 points down to beat Vanderbilt in the SEC tournament on Thursday night that even being in the conversation for the postseason was “quite an accomplishment” for a roster that returned just four players, lacked a true point guard and had no experienced size.
The Vols, picked to finish 13th in the SEC, exceeded those low expectations and were competitive in a majority of their losses.
“They practiced the right way almost every day,” Tyndall told the Times Free Press after the Arkansas loss. “They gave great effort every single day on game night. Our fans were incredible all season long, and our kids gave them every single thing they had.
“I certainly hope that they appreciate that and look back on this team with that scope.”
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.