What broke down for Tennessee basketball on Vanderbilt's game-winning 3-pointer

NASHVILLE − Olivier Nkamhoua strolled slowly along the sideline at Vanderbilt's Memorial Gymnasium.

He was engulfed by pandemonium. Vanderbilt students flooded the court around the Tennessee basketball forward. He wove his way through the rejoicing rush.

The Vols had lost 66-65, a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Vanderbilt guard Tyrin Lawrence delivering a horrendous loss.

“It was a defensive breakdown," Vols coach Rick Barnes said.

WHOOPS: Rick Barnes: Julian Phillips passing on late dunk cost Tennessee basketball vs. Vanderbilt

How Tennessee gave up the open 3-pointer

Vanderbilt (12-12, 5-6 SEC) called a timeout with 4.0 seconds left and the No. 5 Vols (19-5, 8-3) leading 65-63. Santiago Vescovi missed the front end of a one-and-one that could have sealed the win for the Vols.

The Commodores inbounded to forward Liam Robbins, who set a screen to hand off to guard Ezra Manjon.

"We felt like they would either try to go inside to Liam or they would get it downhill," Barnes said.

Manjon shot past Nkamhoua and Zakai Zeigler scrambled to guard Manjon, who rose for a layup. Robbins followed for a potential offensive rebound. Vescovi left Lawrence in the corner to help Zeigler, who jumped straight up to contest Manjon's layup. Manjon never took a shot. He flung the ball into the corner, where Lawrence was wide open with Vescovi having vacated the spot.

Lawrence knocked down the 3-pointer at the buzzer in front of a closing Nkamhoua, sending Tennessee to its first loss to Vanderbilt since 2017 and bringing the fans flooding across the court.

"The one thing we said, we can’t give up a 3-point shot," Barnes said.

How Tennessee failed to seal the win

Nkamhoua put Tennessee ahead by two with 50 seconds to play on a midrange jumper from the free-throw line. The Vols stopped Vanderbilt on the following possession and Zeigler grabbed the rebound with 22 seconds left.

The Commodores had to commit five fouls to force free throws, so the game of cat and mouse began. But Tennessee had an opportunity to bypass the free throws and seal the game. Vols freshman Julian Phillips passed up an open dunk which would have put UT ahead by four.

"I told him you don’t turn down a 100% shot," Barnes said. "I mean, you’ve got to do that."

Vanderbilt kept fouling until Tennessee was in the bonus with less than 10 seconds to play. Vescovi stepped to the free-throw line but missed the first shot off the back of the rim. Vanderbilt got the rebound, called timeout and drew up the game-winning play.

"It comes down sometimes to you have to get a stop," Barnes said. "We did the one you thing you absolutely can’t do there. It wasn’t a lack of playing hard. It was a lack of understanding the situation and, again, the last thing we said was we cannot give up a 3-point shot.”

Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.com and follow him on Twitter @ByMikeWilson. If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee basketball defense failed on Vanderbilt's game-winning 3-pointer