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Pretty is in progress for Vols
Second half starts with 17-0 run
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It wasn't the prettiest win in Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl's 68-game tenure with the Vols, but it was the most lopsided.
No. 7 Tennessee won easily over Division II Arkansas-Monticello 101-44 before a crowd of 17,946 at Thompson-Boling Arena Wednesday night.
UT led 45-25 at halftime, despite being out-rebounded by the scrappy Boll Weevils (0-1) through the first 20 minutes.
A 17-0 run by the Vols (2-0) midway through the second half iced the game and sent some fans headed to the exits early.
Those who left missed a trivial part of history: It was the fourth-largest margin of victory in UT history, and the biggest since 1954 when the Vols defeated David Lipscomb 95-38.
UT also forced 26 turnovers.
"I thought our defense was good pretty much start to finish,'' said Pearl. "I was disappointed we couldn't be more effective in our full-court press. Press is something we'll need against certain opponents.''
Senior JaJuan Smith, one of UT's leaders in steals, said fans need to keep in mind that Pearl's "Controlled Chaos'' defense isn't always pretty.
"Yes, it did look sloppy at times, but nine out of 10 times, that's what we want to do,'' said JaJuan Smith, who had 14 points, four assists and two steals. "We want to make the other teams look sloppy with us and make them play faster than what they're used to.''
Sophomore Tyler Smith had the best looking offensive game for the Vols with a game-high 15 points on 7-of-11 shooting along with three rebounds and three blocked shots.
"Tyler was active and he got himself open,'' Pearl said. "He's getting a better understanding of where his looks are coming from. Part of it is film study, and part of it is doing it. There's a huge learning curve.''
Tyler Smith, who transferred to UT from Iowa, said it's all about familiarity.
"It feels great to get to know the plays,'' Tyler Smith said. "It's just learning the spots I need to be in, finding daylight and making a play.''
Wayne Chism, who had had 13 points and a team-high seven rebounds, said the better Tyler Smith gets, the better off the team will be.
"The way Tyler is penetrating, it's opening up more outside shots,'' Chism said, "and it's helping us inside when he drives because then you get the spoon-feeds from him.''
Ramar Smith scored 12 points and Jordan Howell 10 to go with five assists apiece.
Senior All-American Chris Lofton, meanwhile, scored just five points on 2-of-7 shooting (1-of-5 from 3-point range) and missed his only free-throw attempt.
Sophomore center Duke Crews also scored five points after being inserted into the lineup for the first time this season with nine minutes remaining.
Crews, coming off an ankle injury that forced him to miss 1 1/2 weeks of practice, also had four rebounds and a blocked shot.
The game was the first of four in the StubHub Legends Classic tournament, which includes UT's home game against Prairie View at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
The Vols will play host to Middle Tennessee State at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday before concluding the Legends Classic in Newark, N.J., on Nov. 23-24 with games against West Virginia and either Texas or New Mexico State.
"The value (of Wednesday's game) is that it's a long year, and we're going to play a lot of tremendous opponents,'' Pearl said. "We just need to be good enough to beat the teams we play on the nights we play them.''
Arkansas-Monticello coach Mike Newell said the loss was a victory of sorts for his young team.
"Our goal was to try to keep them less than 100 points,'' Newell said. "Tennessee has an excellent team; they are deep, and they are going to be tough to contend with. I do not see them losing at home.''
The Vols' home winning streak stands at 18.
© 2007, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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Posted by volfans_1 on November 14, 2007 at 10:41 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I really hope Chris Lofton is just laying off and this is not a sign of his upcoming season !!!!!!!
Posted by SFOrange on November 14, 2007 at 10:44 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Think about it...its Lofton, its 2 games....he'll come around...watch next weekend vs. WVU and TEXAS or NM State.
Posted by nickperkinsalc on November 14, 2007 at 10:52 p.m. (Suggest removal)
This was a nice early season blowout win against a team the vols should have blown out. It was nice that everyone got in the game and contributed. Jordan Howell had a nice floor game.
Posted by amyslins on November 14, 2007 at 10:55 p.m. (Suggest removal)
they did have a great game, i was impressed with them over this win, even though they were d-II. but i loved that we went inside often. and i am with you, i really hope that lofton gets something going. i hate seeing him struggle like this during his seinor season.
Posted by Orangefever on November 14, 2007 at 11:23 p.m. (Suggest removal)
DUKE CREWS BABY 5 points and 4 rebounds in 9 minutes he is our man!
Posted by iowavol on November 14, 2007 at 11:39 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Glad to see Crews in the game and perform. Good to see Vols win like this with their ace taking a few games off.
Posted by hdhurst on November 15, 2007 at 12:21 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Mr. Lofton...no one doubts your abilities; regardless of the naysayers, just let the game come to you. With your history at UT, you don't have anything to prove. Work on the PG play, penetrations, etc. and the rest will work itself out. Love your attitude man!! GO VOLS!!
Posted by bugman on November 15, 2007 at 9:14 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I'm just happy the fans were there. way to support the VOLS knowing it was going to be over early.
Posted by marc_ash on November 15, 2007 at 9:20 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Let me play the devils advocate here for a second. Shooters do have slumps, but sports is all about statistics...and from a statistical standpoint this is the worse Chris Lofton has shot ever. He has never had this type of a start nor has he shot this poorly in exhibition play moreless the regular season.
Lets at least entertain the idea that his lack of touches is hurting Chris' game. In the pervious 3 years, the #1 option was Lofton. Now, every starter on the floor has the same opportunity to pull the trigger as Lofton AND THEY DO. With the addition of T Smith and the play of JuJuan, that leaves Lofton losing quite a few shots per game.
Last year it was mainly Lofton and Smith with the freshman adding minutes where needed. Now, its a new ball game and the playing field is starting to equal. This may be something to watch as the year progresses. I hope they run some sets for Chris, he needs to find that rhythem to have a good year.
Posted by hoskinsfive on November 15, 2007 at 9:31 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Stay off Loftons ass! He's the best player we've had since B. King, and he's all orange.
Posted by Orange4life on November 15, 2007 at 10:24 a.m. (Suggest removal)
lets hope so, leaders lead and dont try to fit in. He needs to step up and take the lead role to pearl. Watching him seems like hes content to watching and such. Good players fill the role, great players demand respect and the ball. I dont think shooting was ever or ever will be the problem. "follow me" Im going to the top is the attitude he needs to be great.
Posted by Chainsaw on November 15, 2007 at 10:42 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Keep chuckin' that rock, Chris. They'll start falling.
Posted by VolnAZ on November 15, 2007 at 11:19 a.m. (Suggest removal)
To all the people who are worried about #5..... We are winning as a team,isn't that the goal of a Basketball team??? 5 WILL BE THERE WHEN WE NEED HIM!@!!!!!!
Posted by GerryOP on November 15, 2007 at 11:29 a.m. (Suggest removal)
It is so refreshing to see the national sports pages, SI jinx aside, highlighting our BasketVols ... with positive coverage. I guess winning big and having a coach who knows the importance of open, honest comments helps. Will we win it all? Who knows? I certainly don't. March 2008 is a long ways and 30-some games away, but it is gonna' be a fun ride and the bandwagon is filling up!!!
Posted by marc_ash on November 15, 2007 at 11:58 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Jraymond, good points. What a lot of folks don't understand about basketball is there are numerous ways to play the game. Some teams have 1 or 2 "go to" guys (like the Ron Slay teams of the past and the Lofton/Smith teams of the last couple of years). Some teams have a cohesive unit where everyone is an interchangable part. Floridas team was a lot like that over the past couple of years.
I think the style of play is starting to change. Pearl has stated himself that he wants to be known more as a defensive force this season and rely a lot more on the half court offense. What is good about this, is he now has the team to do both of those things.
I think it will be important for Lofton to find his niche on this team. The question should be asked, "Is this Lofton's team". Last year it was...is it viewed that way now?
Shots are available in limited numbers. Lofton will have the opportunity to take his, but every time you have J Smith hitting a 10 footer or T Smith dunking or R Smith getting a steal and a layup...you are going to see far less shots from Lofton.
He'll be fine, but will probably have to completely redefine his game. The beauty is instead of teams focusing on 1 player, they have to focus on the potential of all 5. Its GREAT to be a Tennessee Vol!
Posted by kkebean on November 15, 2007 at 1:28 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Do not worry about Lofton!!! he is the lead man on this team! he is also a team player who will show his mettle when its time!!!! BANK ON IT!!!!!
Posted by marc_ash on November 15, 2007 at 2:03 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Don't think its a pretty game that Pearl wants. A lot can be said about Pearl's "controlled chaos". This system is one that takes risks. Shooting lanes, over pursuing, anticipating....all attributes of a run and gun mentality. This is a high risk high reward system. The problem UT had last year is they only played that system until they got a big lead. Then, they tried to play in the half court to protect the lead...something UT didn't have the personel to do.
This teams biggest obstacle will be gelling. The talent is there, the system is proven and the Vols have been there before. It will take 10-12 games before the Vols hit their stride and find the rotation that works best. It will come, it will just take time.
Posted by ZacharyUTK on November 15, 2007 at 6:16 p.m. (Suggest removal)
From what I saw last night, our inside game is light-years ahead of what it was last year. It was very, very impressive.
Know what else I noticed? Lofton looks like he's kinda stepped up into the niche that Dane Bradshaw left. He made SO many drive-and-kick-outs last night. And you know what? That that makes him even more dangerous. He'd got great vision, and can do the assist-thing -- but on top of that he's still the deadliest J in the SEC.
We're gonna hurt some teams this year. This is the deepest Tennessee team in decades.
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