Duke basketball just ran into a buzzsaw Saturday afternoon. The Blue Devils, despite being a trendy Final Four pick, fell to a tough, physical Tennessee team 65-52 behind a monster performance from senior forward Olivier Nkamhoua.

Nkamhoua dropped 27 points, exploding in the second half to lift the Vols over the Blue Devils, who shot well in the final 20 minutes. After an ACC Tournament win and 27-9 season, the Blue Devils are heading home.

Jon Scheyer praised his team postgame, saying he was proud to have been able to coach them in his first year as head coach. Here’s what he had to say following the loss:

He also praised Tennessee’s incredible game, admitting that the game as a whole had the feel of a Sweet 16 or Elite 8 game.

All in all, it was a strong first year for Scheyer at the helm of the Blue Devils program. It didn’t end how they wanted it to, but Duke won an ACC Title and showed it is still a top power in the conference moving forward with a strong end to the regular season.

It’s only a matter of time before Scheyer is making deep runs in March.