LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Tennessee’s season ended in dramatic fashion on Thursday in the Sweet 16, with the Vols on the wrong end of a 99-94 overtime loss to Purdue.

Tennessee looked like a deflated team to start the game, falling behind 40-28 after a first half that saw them shoot 35 percent from the floor and go an atrocious 4-for-13 at the foul line.

It just didn’t look like the Vols’ night.

That notion got some reinforcement when Purdue pushed its lead out to 18 points with 16 minutes left in the game in the second half. At that point though, Tennessee buckled down and proceeded to cobble together what was nearly a comeback for the ages.

The Vols not only caught Purdue, they took the lead. More than once.

With 2.5 seconds left and Tennessee holding an 82-80 lead, Lamonte Turner was called for fouling Carsen Edwards on a 3e-point attempt. Purdue’s star guard would make 2-of-3 at the line to force overtime and Tennessee just didn’t have it in the extra period.

It was in stark contrast to the Vols’ previous game where they’d squandered a 2-point second half lead, regrouped and dominated overtime in defeating Iowa in Columbus.

Tonight’s outcome puts a damper on what could have been a truly magical season, but if Vol fans can take a step back, they’ll see that what this team accomplished was special and that the program just might be on firmer footing than it’s ever been.

“Go back four years ago and where we are today, there's a lot to be proud of, though right now it's hard to feel any of that, because you're always numb when this happens to you,” Barnes said after what had to one of the more painful losses of a long and distinguished career.

That first line, about going back four years ago, is something that fans who are screaming and hollering about what a choke job tonight was should take into account.

Four years ago, Tennessee’s program was on the trash heap. They’d just had to fire Donnie Tyndall after one year on the job because of NCAA issues at his previous stop. Counzo Martin had left in controversial fashion prior to Tyndayll’s brief stop over and we all know how the Bruce Pearl era ended, in true crash-and-burn fashion.

That’s a string of three coaches in five years, all of whom left town in some kind of controversial fashion, either because of NCAA issues or a perceived (or real) clash with administration and fans.

Enter Rick Barnes.

To say that he’s righted the ship is an understatement. He won a total of 31 games in his first two seasons on the job while piecing together a roster. That roster equaled that win total this year.

A team that went 16-19 just two seasons ago is catching heat from fans because of their failure to reach the Final Four.

Yes, getting bounced tonight by Purdue was a disappointment, there’s no getting around that, but to act like it’s a reason to start burning couches and questioning the direction Barnes has things headed borders on insanity.

Admiral Schofield, who nearly brought Tennessee back with 18 second-half points tonight, was part of Barnes’ first recruiting class and part of those teams that managed just 31 wins in two years.

His heart was torn out tonight after he walked off the court as a Tennessee Volunteer for the final time, but his head wasn’t down.

“I think we've got something special. I think that the biggest thing that you have to appreciate is just the culture that we built at Tennessee, winning culture, and I just really appreciate it. I'm just sad that I have to go out on this note,” Schofield said.

“I remember when we were losing 19 and 16 games and no one believed in us. I remember when we could barely get 17,000 in the arena. This year, we averaged around 20,000. God's been amazing this year. He's been amazing all my four years here and it's just a blessing to be able to call myself a Tennessee Volunteer.”

Vols fans won’t be able to forget about this one for a long time.

In fact, it might have been easier to take if Tennessee had just continued to stink up the joint in the second half like they did in the first. But they didn’t. They reminded fans of why they love this team so much.

They showed their heart. They showed their determination. They showed their resiliency, and their refusal to give up and lay down in the face of adversity. And they sucked everyone in to believing they were going to get it done one more time.

Like they did against Iowa last week. Like they did when they were down eight with less than three minutes to play against Kentucky in the SEC Tournament.

Then the dream died in overtime and Big Orange Nation was left to deal with a familiar emotion regardless of what sport it’s associated with, bitter disappointment.

I wouldn’t linger on that disappointment.

This team will look different next year. Grant Williams probably has a decision to make. Maybe others as well. What won’t be leaving though is the culture and the accountability that Barnes has built into his program. That’s something that started four years ago, long before the wins started coming.

“They've done that, left it better than they found it,” Barnes said of the seniors who are hanging it up after tonight.

“I always reference that the first year here. And Kevin Punter was the one guy that once we got here in the spring that really bought in. When Kyle and Admiral first got there and Kevin had really understood what we talked about, the culture we had to build with those guys were going to put their time in and hold each other accountable. Those were the three guys that got us where we are really today.

“There's no doubt that it's been a blessing to have these guys with us and the fact is that they definitely left it better than they found it.”

Tennessee is recruiting a different level of player than Barnes has at any point in his tenure here. There’s a 5-star on the way next year in Josiah James. There’s another potential 5-star on the way in Corey Walker in 2020 and there’s an excellent chance that he’ll have some company.

So cry in your beer tonight, lament the fact that the Vols just won 31 games but failed to get out of the Sweet 16. That’s justifiable.

What you shouldn’t do is question the direction things are headed in and the kind of talent upgrade that’s underway in a program that was a dumpster fire four years ago.