Tennessee Men's Basketball
CINCINNATI — Perhaps all Tennessee needed to play up to its lofty preseason expectations was a good tussle.
The 12th-ranked Vols certainly got that from Xavier in their 82-75 men’s basketball victory before a sold-out Cintas Arena crowd of 10,250 Saturday afternoon.
Sophomore transfer J.P. Prince scored a career-high 23 points in 20 minutes on 9-of-14 shooting, and Tyler Smith and Wayne Chism added 12 apiece for the Vols (11-1).
The Musketeers (8-3), favorites to win the Atlantic 10 Conference, had won 14 consecutive home games.
The tone was set for a physical battle eight seconds into the game when a loose ball off the opening tip led to a dog pile of gray and orange jerseys.
The Vols led the entire first half and trailed most of the second half before closing the game on a 13-2 run to silence the rowdy, beer-chugging crowd and win their sixth consecutive game.
“We became a much better basketball team tonight,’’ UT coach Bruce Pearl said. “This was a marquee win for us. Four weeks ago, we’d have gotten run out of here.’’
Pearl just about got run out of the arena himself after being whistled for a technical foul for standing outside the coaches’ box with 4:46 remaining.
Stanley Burrell, who scored a team-high 18 points for Xavier, hit both technical free throws to give the Musketeers a 71-67 lead.
Little did anyone outside of UT’s team huddle know Pearl’s technical was worth more than the two points it cost the Vols.
Xavier, which had gone a minute without a field goal prior to Pearl’s technical, didn’t score a field goal for the rest of the game, managing only four free throws.
UT’s Ramar Smith stole the inbounds pass after the technical free throws — accounting for one of his season-high four steals — and scored to cut the Musketeers’ lead to 71-69.
“I picked up a technical foul with four minutes to go, it’s not a good time to do that, but my players bailed me out,’’ Pearl said. “They really stepped it up. I didn’t have to do any motivating … JaJuan (Smith) took care of the motivating, and that’s what seniors do.’’
JaJuan Smith said the players merely fed off Pearl’s intensity.
“That technical foul got us going,’’ he said. “It was a deal where Coach couldn’t do anything about what had happened, so I brought the guys together and said, ‘we’ve got to have Coach’s back.’ ”
JaJuan Smith and Chris Lofton combined to hit just 4 of 17 shots from the floor (1 of 9 beyond the 3-point arc), but the senior guards pulled down five rebounds apiece to split team-high honors.
Tyler Smith’s steal and lay-up at the 2:16 mark gave the Vols a 74-73 lead, and after another Ramar Smith steal, Tyler Smith tapped in a Lofton miss to make it 76-73 with 1:19 to go.
Xavier didn’t draw closer than three points for the game’s remainder. Tyler Smith and Jordan Howell each sank a pair of free throws in the final 33.9 seconds to seal the hard-fought win.
“I think tonight shows how we’ve grown,’’ Tyler Smith said. “Everyone is playing as hard as they can play.’’
Xavier coach Sean Miller, who had all week to prepare for the Vols, said the Musketters accomplished most of their goals.
“We defended the 3-point shot really well, they only made 5 of 20 (shots),’’ he said, “and our transition defense was really good.
“We had no answer for (Prince). He’s just really good off the dribble.’’
Prince, playing his third game since becoming eligible after transferring from Arizona last January, said the Vols had something to prove.
“We don’t want to be called soft or overrated,’’ Prince said. “This was a hostile road environment and we took their best shot. We just had to man up.’’
Tennessee’s next game is at 4 p.m. Dec. 29 in Seattle against No. 18 Gonzaga.
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Comments » 78
Volker writes:
What an amazing game. The last two and a half minutes was the best basketball one could hope to see. What a run to win the game in hostile territory. Way to win despite the officials. What a poorly, lopsided officiated game.
bshell12 writes:
good win, J.P way to play. JaJaun and Lofton where were they in the second half, neither played like we will need them to. Credit Chism for big rebounds and Ramar for amazing hustle and Tyler is just plain steady.
chrisw2967 writes:
I have got a question here. Maybe the reason Lofton cant get going is because oh his minutes? hes only getting like 4 or 5 minutes at a time and he is out for 4 or 5 minutes.
Its hard for anybody to get in any kind of rhythm like that.
It was a great game , I think Tenn got hammered alot with the calls.
bshell12 writes:
chrisw....thats i good point for sure.... but i have noticed that if bruce notices a player on a role he will leave them in there but that could definitely affect Lofton's rhythm
Kwitcherbellyachin writes:
Now that was an outstanding game. I would question some of the shots that were taken, but the effort, especially at the end, was stellar. Ramar Smith was terrific in transition, and that floor dive was tremendous. Tyler Smith showed up at the end on almost every play. And J.P. Prince... wow.
I have a huge issue with that stupid coaches' box rule. I didn't like the technical on Xavier's coach, and I sure didn't like the one on Coach Pearl. All he was trying to do was get his players in their defensive stance. How ridiculous is that rule?
RockyTopRK writes:
One of the best games I have seen in years. It's hard to beat a top 25 team at home and the refs as well! We have great depth and a terrific team, however, I'm worried about defense on the inside when we play a team with a big inside attack.
Kwitcherbellyachin writes:
I didn't think Lofton played all that poorly, because he drew a LOT of attention and that opened up other players (recall the Chism pick and roll dunk, for example). Lofton's value is going to be as much for the rotation of defenders that shade toward him as it is his deadly three point shot. Even though he only had 9 points, he didn't need to be a prolific scorer to contribute to this win.
seaplane#216536 writes:
There should only be two referees officiating the game. With three they have to jusify themselves being there and they call to many fouls. Let um play.
jevolball7 writes:
I'm new on this site.But officiating sucked! Without foul shots it wouldn't have been close.
dogboy writes:
Way to go guys!!! Enjoy the holidays, you have certainly earned it.
Go Big Orange
ONUV writes:
i love this team!
outermonvolia.com
GerryOP writes:
Great, wonderful, fabulous! We got to see a Tennessee team beat a ranked opponent on national TV! A really great win! Should set the stage nicely for next weekend.
chrisw2967 writes:
oh one more thing JuJuan needs to remember he is not Magic Johnson , that pass behind the back was pahetic and it was in a critical situation we were only up by 2 at that time and that could of really cost them. He is the type of player that makes alot of pressure shots and alot of stupid mistakes in pressure situations also.
Im not bashing no player , so lets not get carried away.
BluetickBlues writes:
No wonder Xavier had a 14 game home winning streak with officiating like that. Great game to watch, thanks for the early Christmas present Vol ballers.
johnlg00 writes:
Ditto all comments about the sorry officiating! Chris got hammered to the floor on a couple of drives with no call, yet seemingly every touch, real or imagined, by a Vol was a foul. I have been as hard on Ramar and Wayne as anyone this year, but they both came up BIG in crunch time. We don't win this game without a couple of big late rebounds in traffic by Chism and the unbelievable hustle steals by Ramar. JP was awesome in the first half but didn't seem to be looking for his offense in the second. Tyler wasn't looking for his shot either, but he too had a couple of big plays at the end. The last three minutes of that game showed me as much heart as any UT team ever has. Total team win!
Ironcity writes:
I usually don't complain about the refs but these guys were beyond bad. Great job by the team and the coach for maintaining there composure and putting the game away at the end. I felt bad for Williams, he couldn't look at a player in blue without getting called for a foul. Not sure how you can keep Prince out of the starting lineup. I was also excited to see Ramar and Chism play agressive down the stretch. Poor Howell he got abused all day by Lavender. I think he will be better off the bench for us then as a starter.
fundamentals83 writes:
Chism and Tyler stepped up on rebounds late. Man they can jump. This team is going to embarrass some opponents this year.
madisonvillevol writes:
good to beat a good team and the refs too!
Kwitcherbellyachin writes:
I believe that if Ramar finds his groove, Jordan won't be the starter. But as long as Ramar is a liability (like he has been for most of the season), Jordan will be in there for more minutes. That said, if Ramar plays like he played today, he'll be the starter without question.
johnlg00 writes:
Nobody can stay with Lavender one-on-one. Howell had a big 3-pointer and two clutch free throws late, so I can forgive him for not covering "the waterbug" in the open floor. He has to get minutes even if he doesn't start. I would like to see Prince at point some, but only if it didn't hurt the rest of his offensive game. I agree with you, Ironcity, that Williams was arguably the Vol worst-abused by the refs. At least two of his rebound fouls were incidental contact at most. He also got robbed on a clean block.
creepykev#228270 writes:
Really good game throughout.
DenmarkVol_aka_Mbumburu writes:
Great heart, pure talent, and fresh legs (depth) won this one for us.
We got blown away again on the boards, though. Just wait until we learn to rebound.
Wayne Chism, who plays the 4 at 6'9" and 242 lbs., needs to stay inside the arc and stop this nonsense of drifting out away from the meat and launching 3s.
Our 4 player only got four rebounds. FOUR from our power forward.
WAYNE WE NEED YOU INSIDE POUNDING THE GLASS. WE NEED AT LEAST 10 BOARDS A GAME FROM YOU.
creepykev#228270 writes:
The SEC seems really weak this year, we could really clean house. As I'm writing this I'm watching Florida, Ohio State. We can beat both those teams.
POWER_T writes:
Great conditioning. Xavier looked exhausted down the stretch.
stroker writes:
We have a coach who can get more than most from his athletes.
tenndave writes:
Anyone know what the latest on Crews is. Is his condition treatable? Can he or will he return to play anytime soon?
eduardo writes:
That was the worst officiated game i've seen. I seen UT go to Rupp and get jobbed, but those guys were so pro Xavier it wasn't even funny. After UT scored a basket, there should have been a five sec call, but Xavier got bailed on a timeout call. After coming back from the timeout you cannot run the baseline, they did. Nothing called, that's whenI lost it.Terrible officiating, but the Vols found a way to win. Sometimes you have to dig deep to take it away!
vol52 writes:
Go VOLS! Take it one game at a time.
pj_ladyvolnMI writes:
Well, all I know is that this game was a blast to watch, and a great pick-me-up after the horrible football week we've had.
james#216392 writes:
eduardo-You can still run the baseline after the time out. I agree that it should have been a 5 second call. Every time Xavier took a poor shot, the ref's would bail them out with a foul. To even the game, they called silly outside type fouls against Xavier. Fouls that make the total look even but do little else. Nice win. I hope Xavier has to come to Tennessee next year.
tigervol9802 writes:
Nice win. Always good when you win a 5-on-8 game.
Nicest part was seeing Chism and Ramar play well. Easily Ramar's best game of the year. Hope he keeps it up.
Volsrule92 writes:
the backwards alley-oop was amazing!
chefjorge writes:
Praise to all of you for not making this a forum for the oc job. Didn't see it heard the end. Absolutely wonderful win. Would go see them in Seattle against the Zags, but in here in Nashville for the holidays. Bummer. Agree with the slam on Bert and the "money" calls. I live in Seattle and while their football is bad and their basketball is okay, but their play by play guy is John Ward-like and the color guys are just killer. Wonderful insight and not just banal drivel.
CoverOrange writes:
Was at the game in person. Some observations: Several empty seats scattered around the arena, one right next to me. BP's technical was for half his foot over the line, fun to watch his theatrics though. Rebounding is about positioning and Marc was right about orange jerseys breaking down court as soon as the ball leaves fingertips or standing under the basket on trey shots that rebound 8 feet out, are they so worried about getting beat on fast breaks? Cintas center is LOUD for almost 10,000. They serve beer at a private Catholic school arena and have only a few urinals, dumb design. Too far away to comment on officiating but Tennessee slaps at more balls for steals than any team I've seen, thus more fouls. Last thing: FREE PARKING!!!!
Hunter writes:
How does BP get these guys to take better shots? I know he doesn't want to hinder their aggressiveness offensively, but we have to take better shots. No reason for Chism to shoot a 3-pointer with 20 seconds left on the shot clock unless there is no one within 10 feet of him.
That said, these Vols looked much better from start to finish today. They took Xavier's best shot and came away with a road "W." This win will look good in March, but not as good as Gonzaga, Ohio State, and Memphis. We need at least two of those three......
FatherVol writes:
WD40 -- We Catholics enjoy a good time, especially beer in moderation. Hope you got one, although the lack of urinals may have posed a problem for you later.
Hunter -- I was at the Memphis-G'town game. We have a long way to go before we can even begin dreaming about beating Memphis. I went to the game thinking their weaknesses would be exposed, but when they put it in gear in the 2nd half they were the best team in the country. FedEx Forum will be a very hostile place to play in February. The crowd hates orange.
I had to leave the television just as the T was called on Pearl. Saturday afternoon confessions, you know. I prayed very hard in the box but figured we had lost the game based on the way we had been playing up to the 4:30 point. I only learned of the win from some Memphis fans as they came out of church after the 4 p.m. Mass. The efficaciousness of prayer!
budrhon writes:
What and outstanding effort today by the Vols. JP, you're the Man. Xavier had no answer what so ever. In fact I bet he wasn't even thought of on their scouting report. Great effort all around. Chism stepped up big time in the middle. Tyler and Ramar showed tremendous competiveness. Lofton indeed drew a lot of defense attention which really enabled Prince and others to exploit Xavier. Also, this was by far the most horrible officiating I've seen in a while. I hope none of those guys are officiating anything when March rolls round.
snowvol writes:
When you consider we won on a court not many teams win on and then throw in the fact we still aren't hitting on all cylinders . . . the upside for this team is incredible.
wisonsinvol writes:
The Dive was the turning point of the game. I love that about this team. Ramar sliding under the Xavier player and finding a teammate. Awesome. I hope BP files a report on these refs. That was the mostlopsided calls I've seen in a long time. It appeared they missed 3 five second calls in the final 8 minutes or so - called a travel on Chism when he went to the ground to get a loose ball and a total BS call on Pearl
cphil writes:
How often have we all complained about the officials when calls don't go our way? BUT, this truly was VERY lopsided officiating. For some reason, it seems to me that UT has been on the short end of bad officiating so far this season much more than usual.
reedt#304042 writes:
JP, we are glad you are here, excellent!! As a matter of fact, the entire team showed great heart and effort!!
jwbendy#606312 writes:
The announcers said the head of officials was in attendance for this game which leads me to believe that the officials had to call every little thing. The over the line technical on BP was just hogwash, if thats coach K does he get that call for playing defense??? C'mon ref show some sense. Just like the color coach said, you screw up and I pay for it.
rootin4volz writes:
Hey jwraymond1...you sure you don't want to change your nickname to "Chicken Little?" Geez, is the sky falling?
Great effort Vol hoopsters; and kudos to you JP! Keep up the good work!
hdhurst writes:
I vote for putting CL @ point (allowing him to show some NBA potential, then going with Prince (low post)& Tyler (strong side) at forward, with JaJuan at shooting gaurd, and Chism at Center. I think I would experiment with that for about 10-minutes before beginning the rotation (barring foul trouble). The reason I say this is two fold, it solidifies our starting five and it gives them a chance to find a rythmn together. GO VOLS...keep building on what you have and the skies the limit.
DenmarkVol_aka_Mbumburu writes:
FatherVol, I believe the word is "efficacy."
You are forgiven.
Go and sin no more.
jevolball7 writes:
FatherVol can only not spell,but I bet he doesn't even know the meaning of the word he tried to spell!! Thank something he's not my father!! Stupid is as stupid does...spell check is free.I can't cure stupid.
OhioOrange writes:
Awesome atmosphere yesterday. Watched from a suite full of Xavier alumni and supporters, who felt like the officials gave the game to us. I guess it is all about 'perspective' huh? Finally had to ask one guy what game he was watching.
You have got to love our fans. I wondered how much orange I would see. Believe me it was noticed by the Xavier crowd. Tons of fans decked out in orange outside looking for tickets. One of the Xavier sponsor suites was decked out entirely in orange with Childress' family and friends in attendance. I heard the comment, 'How could that happen?'. God bless you all.
Lots of comments on C. Lofton. Just remember drawing two defenders consistently outside the arc opens up a lot of possibilities for your offense.
Best part of the game was every time XU began to make a run or get in some type of rhythm- big defensive and offense plays to shut it down...pretty amazing how quiet 10,000 can get after a reverse oop-#2 on ESPN TOP 10 by the way.
GO VOLS
TDTNVOLS writes:
If you ride the ref's the entire game worse than most other coaches' you aren't going to get any calls and it could eventually cost you the game.
DSaVol writes:
WOW! Great win but long ride home! Couple things:
1. Some folks need to understand that this team has several weapons now. As such, Lofton does NOT have to be a hero every game. He is doing A LOT of little things that are important including drawing attention from defenses that is most definitely opening things up for JP, Tyler, and others. Once teams figure out they had better defend these other guys just as hard, the game will open up for CLo as well. It is good to see him getting back to the penetration game even though he didn't get the calls yesterday. As for his vocal leadership - I guess since it wasn't mentioned in the media it didn't happen. Wrong!
2. The NCAA Coordinator of Officials was at this game. I have to believe that it influenced the way the game was called with the refs making sure to call the "point of emphasis" phooey. We were called for carrying the ball 4 times yet haven't had that called 4 times the entire year. The T's on both coaches were simply ludicrous. All the phantom touch foul nonsense was obviously ridiculous. The worst thing though is that the refs weren't consistent in what they were calling throughout the game and appeared to make several "make up" calls both ways after they knew they screwed up. Just really bad overall and we are fortunate to have survived it.
3. I'm not worried about rebounding. It will be fine. Yesterday we spread the floor alot with 4 and sometimes 5 guys on the perimeter. NO TEAM is going to rebound well in from those sets. I believe we'll see an entirely different result on the boards against the Zags. Sometimes this stuff is the result of styles and not effort or ability.
Obviously a resume win though and I believe this one will pay huge dividends in Seattle as well. So far this year we've pretty much had different guys leading the way most games. Can you imagine what happens when CLo, JuJuan, Tyler and JP all go off in the same game??????? OUCH! Lastly, FatherVol - PLEASE tell CHEATER CAL to get ready cause WWIII is coming and it will happen in Mempiss in Feb. The Vols WILL take down the Tigers!
johnlg00 writes:
Good points, DSaVol, except that I doubt our rebounding will improve against Gonzaga. They are a good deal bigger than either we or Xavier are. Their best big man, Heytveldt(sp?), played his first game this year (after a long suspension, I think) the other night at OK City. He will be primed to go in front of the home fans in at least his second game. On defense, I expect them to pack it in and hope we don't shoot the 3's well on the road. On offense, they will let Pargo freelance on the outside, penetrating occasionally, and then pound us on the offensive boards. It will be a somewhat different game from Xavier, but will be just as tough in its own way.
Jevolball7, I suggest you lay off the sauce if you are going to post at 4:24am. For the benefit of you and mbumburu, "efficaciousness" is a word and FatherVol spelled it correctly and used it correctly in context. "Stupid is as stupid does", indeed; you proved your own point.
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