Adams: Locking up Lofton vital against UT

They came at him from every direction. No matter which way he turned, someone was in his face — with a pen or camera.

But in a postgame crowd of autograph seekers and photo takers, Lofton probably felt freer than he had all afternoon in Tennessee's 73-69 loss to Arkansas. As long as the crowd didn't include Arkansas' Eric Ferguson, it was OK with Lofton.

If Ferguson had popped up in the thicket of fans, Lofton couldn't have been surprised. The 6-foot-1 senior guard rarely was more than an arm's length away when Lofton went up for a shot.

Thanks, in part, to Ferguson's vigilance, Lofton managed only 12 points — 5.7 below his per-game average — and made just three field goals in seven attempts. It was his least-productive performance since he made two of eight field-goal tries against Vanderbilt on Feb. 1.

"I just wanted to hound him," Ferguson said. "When he got the ball, I wanted to put my hand in his pocket, so he couldn't get a clean shot.

"He made one (3-pointer) at the end, and I was right in his pocket. He's a great player, and great players make shots like that."

You know all about Lofton's great shooting. In one spectacular four-game stretch this month, he made 29 of 41 3-point tries.

As accurate as Lofton has been, making shots is the least of his problems. He just needs to get them. Against Arkansas and in the second half against Florida, that wasn't easy.

There was nothing mysterious about their defensive success. Ferguson and Florida's Corey Brewer, who hawked Lofton for the Gators, are exceptional defenders who were understandably motivated against one of the nation's premier shooters.

The difference in the outcomes — the victory against Florida, and the loss to Arkansas — was that Lofton hit three consecutive 3s near the end of the first half to cut Florida's lead to four points and set the stage for UT's second-half surge.

Although Lofton was held in check for most of the second half, he finished with 16 points. His teammates did the rest.

UT has won games when Lofton has been off-target, but you can't expect it to beat teams of Arkansas' caliber when he only makes three field goals. Its best victory in a bad offensive outing for Lofton was against the Commodores. He scored seven as the Vols won by seven.

Freeing Lofton for shots was only one of UT's problems against the Razorbacks. Arkansas outrebounded UT 45-24, and the Vols forced just 10 turnovers. Given those statistics, it's a wonder UT once led by 14 points.

This team has overcome unfavorable stats before. It also has demonstrated great resiliency.

After losing to Oklahoma State by 16 points, it won its next game by 25. After a 14-point loss to LSU, it played well before losing by nine to a talented Memphis team, then upset Florida in its next game. After losing by 13 points at Alabama eight days ago, it rebounded to knock off the Gators.

Based on that track record, you would expect the Vols to be at their best Wednesday against Kentucky. You also might expect a big game from Lofton, a Kentucky native who scored 31 points and made seven of 10 3-pointers against the Wildcats three weeks ago in Lexington.

Kentucky was just as intent as Arkansas and Florida on shutting down Lofton. But execution is the trick.

And as Ferguson said, even when you're in Lofton's pocket, that doesn't assure success.