KNOXVILLE – On Feb. 23 the Tennessee men’s basketball team lost 82-80 in overtime to then 13th-ranked LSU in Baton Rouge, the Volunteers’ second loss in three games after a 19-game win streak.
Had that game been played last Saturday, neither the LSU head coach nor the Tigers’ best player on Feb. 23 would have been available.
LSU head coach Will Wade during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Florida in Gainesville, Fla., Wednesday, March 6, 2019. (AP Photo/Gary McCullough)Coach Will Wade – a former University of Tennessee at Chattanooga coach – was suspended indefinitely by the program last week after being linked to an ongoing federal investigation into corruption in basketball recruiting.
Wade was caught on a FBI wiretap discussing a “strong offer” made to freshman guard Javonte Smart in the summer of 2017, when he was a senior in high school.
Smart, averaging 11.4 points per game this season, was held out of Saturday’s victory over Vanderbilt, which gave the Tigers the Southeastern Conference regular-season title with a 16-2 league record. They finished a game ahead of both the Vols and Kentucky, another team they beat on a final-second play.