The college basketball season is almost always loaded with significant ups and downs, even for the best teams. The Tennessee Volunteers (19-6, 8-4) are the No. 6-ranked team in the nation, but they have hit a rut that will be a challenge for head coach Rick Barnes and his players.

The Vols suffered an 86-85 defeat to Missouri Saturday night when DeAndre Gholston hit a three-pointer at the buzzer. Making the loss even more difficult to accept is that Tennessee rallied from a 17-point second-half deficit to take a late lead before Gholston hit the heartbreaker. The Vols' Tyreke Key played a huge part in the rally, scoring 21 of his 23 points in the second half.

Losing by one point would be bad enough, but it's the second game in a row that Tennessee fell by that narrow margin. The Vols were defeated 66-65 at Vanderbilt on Wednesday. Tennessee also lost that game on a buzzer-beating 3-point shot as Tyrin Lawrence hit a shot from the right corner to beat the Volunteers.

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Veteran head coach Rick Barnes has seen his teams suffer painful defeats in the past, but losing two in a row by one point is a major challenge for any coach and his players. It is clearly an unusual occurrence, as the Vols had not lost back-to-back one-point losses since the 1980-81 season.

Barnes will try to rally his team and keep his players from suffering any kind of emotional letdown. The Southeastern Conference schedule is a demanding one, as the Vols will be back in action Wednesday night when they host the No. 3-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide.