Tennessee’s 75-46 loss to Kentucky in today’s SEC Tournament semifinal was a prime example of why this is my least-favorite UT team of the Bruce Pearl era.

After playing poorly and surviving through the first two rounds of the conference tournament, the Vols and Wildcats were engaged in a close battle for much of the first 30 minutes this afternoon, before Tennessee folded at the midway point of the second half and what was billed as an exciting rematch turned into a rout.

Now the Vols will await tomorrow’s NCAA Tournament Selection Show to find out where they’re seeded in the Big Dance. Some think the Vols could be as high as a 3-seed despite today’s debacle, while others feel they could be as low as a 5-seed. Either way, I think chances are fairly good that this team will not reach the Sweet 16. And that’s unfortunate, because they probably have Elite 8 talent.

Yes. I said it. Despite the lack of a seriously good shooter—which has been a problem for UT since Chris Lofton and Jajuan Smith graduated—I feel this might be the most talented team of the Bruce Pearl era.

Yet, throughout the season, they’ve failed to live up to potential. Quite frankly, they haven’t been much fun to watch, as I’ve repeatedly opined throughout the course of the season. Beating two No. 1 seeds-to-be was fun, of course, but the excitement was offset by performances such as the one we saw today and like we saw at Southern Cal back in December.

There’s a faction of UT fans who would agree with that sentiment. There’s another faction who feel that Pearl has “coached up” this team, turning in his best coaching performance to date.

I disagree. First, it’s going to be hard for any Pearl coaching job in Knoxville to match his first, when he took a group of players few other teams wanted from a 14-17 record to a No. 2 seed in just one season. Second, this team has underachieved, not overachieved.

Former McDonald’s All-American Scotty Hopson—thought by some to be a “one-and-done” player when he arrived in Knoxville as a true freshman—is the most glaring example, but he has plenty of company. Aside from Wayne Chism (a player who makes it easy to cheer for him), Bobby Maze and Brian Williams, there may not be a single player on UT’s roster who plays up to their ability on a night-in, night-out basis.

And today was a perfect example. On an afternoon when Kentucky plays its best and Tennessee plays its best, Kentucky should win. Period. The Wildcats are a more talented team and there’s no shame in losing to them. But to lose by 29 points on a neutral court in the conference tournament is an embarrassment. There’s no excuse for it. The problem is that it is the latest in an on-and-off series of performances throughout this season for which there is no excuse.

This team played the best half-court defense of any team in the Pearl era, by far. This team also had the best point guard play of any Pearl team since his first in Knoxville (CJ Watson). The problem was too much low-IQ basketball from too many players shining through too often. A prime example exhibits itself any time a team goes zone against this Tennessee squad. Rather than patiently working for the right shot, they settle for 3-point shots far too often…especially for a team that lacks any serious shooting threat from the perimeter. With their size inside, and the slashing ability of JP Prince, Hopson and Maze, there’s no excuse for that.

Sometimes, everyone is on the same page and playing up to their ability and it’s a dazzling thing to watch. Other times, that poor basketball IQ exhibits itself and it catches up. Today it caught up in a big way.