The University of Tennessee men's basketball team's fantastic 2024-25 campaign concluded Sunday afternoon in the Elite Eight, as the second-seeded Volunteers fell to second-ranked, top-seeded Houston, 69-50, at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Sixth-ranked Tennessee (30-8, 12-6 SEC) fell to a No. 1 seed in the Midwest Regional Final for the second straight year, this time at Lucas Oil Stadium to wrap up the third 30-win campaign in program history. Senior guard Jordan Gainey and fifth-year guard Chaz Lanier co-led all scorers with 17 points apiece in their final collegiate outings.

Houston (34-4, 19-1 B12) raced out to a 17-4 lead in the opening 8:50, forcing eight straight misses by the Volunteers, who went scoreless for 3:50 during a 1-of-12 start from the field. The Cougars extended their edge to 29-8 with 4:00 left in the frame, at which time Tennessee was 3-of-22 from the field, including 0-of-12 beyond the arc, and was in a 4:42 scoreless drought.

The margin reached 34-12 in the final minute of the frame. Senior guard Zakai Zeigler then hit a 3-pointer at the other end, the team's first make after 14 misses to begin the contest, to send the teams into the intermission with a 34-15 score.

Tennessee had a strong defensive performance in the opening frame, limiting Houston to 41.7 percent (15-of-36) shooting from the floor, a 30.0 percent (3-of-10) clip from deep and just one (made) free-throw attempt. However, it posted lesser numbers of its own against the nation's top-ranked scoring defense.

After a 1-of-18 start from long range, the Volunteers buried back-to-back 3-pointers on the way to cutting the deficit to 14, 41-27, with 14:10 to play. They trimmed it down to 13, 46-33, with 9:50 remaining amidst a stretch of 2:59 during which they did not allow a point.

Tennessee continued to chip away and dropped the deficit to 10, 50-40, with 5:42 left during a span of 2:16 in which it held Houston scoreless. However, the Cougars made 3-pointers on four consecutive trips past midcourt and the 12-4 run upped their cushion back to 18, 62-44, with 3:13 to go and ended any hopes of a comeback.

Gainey scored his 17 points on a 6-of-12 field-goal clip that included a 2-of-5 ledger from deep, plus made all three of his free throws. The NCAA Midwest Region All-Tournament Team honoree scored 13 of his point in the second half.

Lanier went 7-of-7 at the line, his second-most makes without a miss as a collegian, with each attempt in a second half during which he scored 15 of his 17 points. The Nashville, Tenn., native added seven rebounds, tied for the third-most of his lone campaign as a Volunteer. Junior forward Felix Okpara co-led all players with nine rebounds and two blocks, plus made his lone field-goal attempt and both his free throws.

Graduate guard L.J. Cryer scored 17 points to pace the Cougars, although Tennessee did hold him to a 6-of-17 field-goal clip. Redshirt junior guard Emanuel Sharp, who buried three of 3-pointers during Houston's 12-4 surge, had 16 points and went 4-of-10 beyond the arc. Sophomore forward Joseph Tugler pulled down nine rebounds to lead all players.

Houston committed just five turnovers and had a 10-2 advantage in points off giveaways. Tennessee, which shot 75.0 percent (15-of-20) from the free-throw line, scored the lone three fast-break points in the contest

The Volunteers, for the first time ever, made the Elite Eight and won 30 games in the same season. Their 30 victories marked the third-most in campaign in program history.