Photo by Rich Schultz
Texas' Connor Atchley (32) defends Tennessee's Tyler Smith (1) as Smith goes up for a shot during the second half of a college basketball game in the Legends Classic Tournament Finals at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., Saturday, Nov. 24, 2007. Texas defeated Tennessee 97-78.
Tennessee Men's Basketball
NEWARK, N.J. — Tennessee was on the receiving end of a Texas-sized payback Saturday night.
The 15th-ranked Longhorns handed the seventh-ranked Vols a 97-78 loss in the championship game of the StubHub Legends Classic at the Prudential Center.
Big 12 preseason Player of the Year D.J. Augustin scored 23 points, Connor Atchley had 22 and A.J. Abrams and Justin Mason added 21 apiece for the Longhorns (5-0).
“We knew we could beat these guys,” Augustin said. “We didn’t want what happened last year to happen this year. We’re a smarter team this year.”
Last year, Chris Lofton scored 35 points and pulled down 11 rebounds as the Vols rallied from 17 points down in the second half to score a 111-105 overtime win in Knoxville over a Texas team featuring Kevin Durant, the No. 2 pick in the NBA Draft.
This year, Lofton led Tennessee (5-1) with 18 points against Texas, but there was no comeback. The Vols were out-quicked, out-muscled and out-played most of the game.
“Bring the girls’ team next time Tennessee!” a Texas fan from within the crowd of 4,327 shouted with 7½ minutes left and the Longhorns up by 20. “We want Pat (Summitt)!”
Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl, who has seemingly had all the answers while running up a 51-20 mark in his three seasons at the helm, left the arena wearing a per-plexed look. The 19-point margin matched last year’s Lofton-less 76-57 defeat at Kentucky as Pearl’s most-lopsided defeat with the Vols.
“There was a lot of times we lacked purpose and focus and didn’t play with the passion that you need to play,” Pearl said. “I’m not sure at what point we lost it.”
The game started well for the Vols with Tyler Smith winning the opening tip and Tennessee jumping to a 4-0 lead on two Wayne Chism baskets.
The long, athletic Longhorns caught up quickly. The teams traded the lead 12 times before the Vols held their final advantage at 39-38 on a Tyler Smith bucket with 4:37 left in the half.
But then the Texas’ offense struck oil and Tennessee’s went dry. The Longhorns drilled shot after shot while gushing out to a 50-39 lead by virtue of a 12-0 run that included two Abrams’ 3-pointers.
“We’re better organized, we’re a year older, and we’re further along than we were last year in December,” Texas coach Rick Barnes said. “We did something we hadn’t done; we concentrated on playing personnel … and tried to take away the other team’s scorers.
“We wanted to push into those guys (Lofton and JaJuan Smith) and encourage their other guys to shoot.”
JaJuan Smith had 13 points on 4-of-11 shooting and Lofton got his 18 on 5-of-10 shooting. The rest of the Vols combined to shoot 17-of-46 (37 percent).
No one in Tennessee orange hit in the closing minutes of the first half, however. The Big Orange went sour from the field, missing their final 10 shots from the floor before intermission.
A pair of JaJuan Smith free throws with 53.7 seconds left in the half temporarily stopped the Texas’ strike and left the halftime score at 50-41.
It took a JaJuan Smith basket with 18:50 left in the game to cut the Longhorns’ lead to 54-43 and snap a string of 12 consecutive missed shots that spanned 5½ minutes back into the opening half.
The Vols, playing without forward Ryan Childress, who injured his ankle in Friday night’s 74-72 win over West Virginia, failed to draw within single digits the rest of the night and trailed by as many as 23.
“You’ve got to give credit to Texas,” said Tyler Smith, who scored 11 points and had team-highs in rebounds (eight) and assists (eight). “They’ve got some great guards.”
The Longhorns made 63.6 percent of their shots including 5-of-10 beyond the 3-point arc. Texas also out-rebounded Tennessee 38-30 and made 17-of-23 free throws to the Vols’ 10-of-16.
“We missed a bunch of shots we normally make,” Pearl said. “We got off to a good start with our looks but nothing went down.”
Understandably, the loss wasn’t going down too easily for Tennessee, either.
“I know this was a championship game, but from the get-go in the locker room, there wasn’t a lot of energy,” said Josh Tabb, who along with his teammates left the Prudential Center at 12:30 a.m. Saturday after Friday’s win over West Virginia.
“We’re going to learn from this,” Tabb said. “It’s kind of embarrassing, but I think it could help us down the line.”
The Vols return to action at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Thompson-Boling Arena against North Carolina A&T.
Worth Noting: Bernard King was honored as Tennessee’s legend at halftime of the game … Lofton was named to the all-tournament team … Tyler Smith and JaJuan Smith logged season-highs in minutes with 33 and 32, respectively … Pearl dropped to 9-6 against ranked teams while with the Vols … Mason’s 21 points were a career-high for Texas and Atchley’s 22 points matched his career high.
Dan Proctor draws Tennessee Football…
Georgia 8, Tennessee 6 baseball
Cordarrelle Patterson drafted by the…
Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group
Comments » 51
bshell12 writes:
Not a good showing.....offense has no continuity, and our post players need to take advantages when they get the ball inside. Texas had 4 players with at least 20 pts, there is no excuse for that, I give Texas some credit but Tennessee just looked sluggish on both ends. Oh well learn from it and get better....GO VOLS
nickperkinsalc#627224 writes:
Maybe the Vols were hungover from watching the football game.... Seriously, they were not going to go undefeated.... Pearl needs Lofton to get hot, instead of just being one of the good players on the team, he needs to play like the best player... They will rebound nicely from this loss.
tigervol9802 writes:
This team looks like Jerry Green is the head coach so far this season. To say I am disappointed through 6 games with how they have played is an understatement.
murrayvol writes:
I'm not ready to throw Bruce under the bus just yet. Texas had an early walkover last night while the Vols had to bust their butts in a late game against a tough and well coached WVA team.
And here's a flash. Texas is pretty damn good. They'll still be playing deep into March as will the Vols. Maybe we'll see them again.
ColumbusVol writes:
The Vols of 2007 are not the Vols of 2006 but it is no time to panic. We had about 2 losses at this time last year. Pearl does need to get his guys focused and start getting the guys into their roles. We have a light stretch here but will obviously need to improve in many areas, especially FT. A dose of humility never hurt anyone and hopefully this will serve to make them more humble.
chrisw2967 writes:
I dont know if the ranking has their heads swelled or what but so far this season I have not been impressed . Texas ,I think is better this year than last year. So far the vols are playing with any passion and also I have not been impressed with Tyler Smith so far. I just hope this wont end up being a bust season for them.
I know they wasnt going undefeated ,its not like 2 loses and your done but they need to pull it together.
I for one would like to see Chism,Lofton,J. Smith,Howell,Crews as starters.
Hunter writes:
Texas never missed a shot. It was just not our night. It's November - ask me again in March about this team.
Ironcity writes:
This really was to be expected. No continuity at all on offense and Texas exposed our 1/2 court defese. Texas also came in with a lot to prove (kind of like us in 2005) and we came out unable to match the intensity. In the Vols defense I got the feeling that it would be hard to play a game with such a small crowd in New Jersey. Pearl will get the rotation right in time and hopefully when he does, things will start to click. PS when practicing free throws, try practicing a few lay ups also!
nickperkinsalc#627224 writes:
I hope no one would be ready to throw Coach Pearl under the bus. I mean he has single handedly turned the program around.
So many sports fans never played sports (not saying that is anyone on this board) and therefore do not understand the ups and downs of a season. The goal is to improve as the season goes along and be playing your best ball at the end. No one wants to peak at the beginning of a season.
Pullingguard writes:
Pearl has to make a decision on his best 5 players who play together both on offense and defense and cut out all the interchanging of players for playing time. This team presently is far from being a contender, so lets don't get carried away with those lop-sided scores of the earlier competition. They have the talent, but Pearl has to mold that into the team it's expected to be.
burntorangeVOLffle writes:
A 19 POINT LOSS?!?!?! ALREADY ?!?!?! GET RID OF THESE COACHES!!! THEY STINK!!!
:p
amyslins writes:
as i said about last night's game...mediocre! we have to play with a chip our shoulder i hope that they find that chip soon!
Timed_vol (Inactive) writes:
I saw Texas getting away with a lot, and TENN makig too many mistakes. Only say the last 6 or 7 minutes.
What made Tenn great the last too years was the balls-to-the-wall, underdog, chip-on-the shoulder play.
My guess is Bruce will leverage this to get them to the level they need to get to.
Timed_vol (Inactive) writes:
PS, keep telling you, watch out for UF this year.
IMHO, Billy D is going to have one tough club.
SFOrange writes:
flat and outplayed...its game 6--so no panic...but UT (the good one) did not play with enthusiasm and was not competitive---that's cause for concern.
murrayvol writes:
Like most who visit here I expected us to lose a small handful of games this year. I didn't, however, expect us to lose to anybody by this much. I'm guessing the circumstances (late and tough game last night, small unengaged crowd, talented Texas team wanting to make a statement) had something to do with the outcome. Half court defense, finishing under the basket, and free throws need work and Pearl doesn't need me or anyone else to tell him that.
PureOrange writes:
I really had high hopes for this year, but after watching our Vols play WV and Texas, I do not think we are a top 25 team.
With all the talent we have, it is disgusting to see them giving the half-hearted effort; not being able to even hit a lay-up; and when the ball goes up, all you can see is the opponent's players around the basket.
I thought with all the players we have, we would run teams out of the gym, but we don't hustle enough to get anyone tired.
If Bruce doesn't have enough to get their attention by now, then he will not later.
Where oh where is Dane Bradshaw?
DenmarkVol_aka_Mbumburu writes:
Staggering. Jaw-dropping. Astonishing. Mind-boggling. Stunning. Breathtaking.
That's what some of these comments on here are to me.
We have lost one game, it's not even December, we're more loaded with talent than maybe we've been in 50 years, and yet some of you people are already starting to Fulmerize Pearl.
Words escape me...
Mothers, don't let your babies grow up to be sports coaches at Tennessee.
volfan73120#211815 writes:
Hey bum, You invented the word Fulmerize. I take it you don't like coaches who take the Vols to championship games.
volgrog#210164 writes:
Fire Pearl (Settle down, it's a joke). He'll get them together. It isn't what you do in December that matters, it's what you do once the SEC run starts. Pearl is like a mad scientist--he'll look for different combinations to figure out which ones do best in certain situations.
I'm sure he would like to have won tonight, but in basketball, a loss can sometimes be more productive than a win. Summit figured that out a long time ago.
vol4good#206163 writes:
I dont see the LEADER of this team. Pearl can coach, but on the floor he cant lead. Only a player can do that. Someone has to step up and be the MAN. I really think Lofton will do just that, and wow things will click. Baskets will fall, it will be cats and dogs living together--b-ball bliss! Sorry, I have had a few. Going to bed now.
spencer1989#206886 writes:
A great time to rebound from this defeat now. A loss at this point is the season will give us something to build on. Just pick up the pieces and get the fire back. We may have lost the battle to Texas today but we can still win the war. We just might come out on top when we play them again in March. If I had my rathers, I would rather lose in any fashion this time to win in March.
mtnvol writes:
It's November, people. Relax. Nothing really matters until Christmas. Besides, a team never learns as much with a win as they do with a loss. This will benefit Bruce and the Boys down the road.
B_A_VOL writes:
It is November folks. One thing I am glad to see is all the posts. I bet that before Bruce arrived, there were no posts.
Seriously, I want to build it up little by little so that we will jell in March. Its all about the post season in college ball. Lets get our 19 or 20 wins and be strong in March.
Go BP and GO VOLS!!!!
surlyguy writes:
Good grief, all you posters writing about doom and worry, even one writing "I'm not ready to throw Pearl under the bus just yet"... what in the world have you been smoking?! This is one game, in New Jersey, against a very good team in November. Relax. College basketball is littered with teams that look great in November and December but do nothing in February and March. The Vols will be there in February and March. Anyone even considering "throwing Pearl under the bus" needs a reality check. Remember our record against Fla the past two years? Remember where Vol BBall was only a few years ago? Jeez!
iamavol#244010 writes:
They miss Dane Bradshow! Don't we all!
THE_VOL writes:
Couple of observations here:
1. It's November - anybody with tired legs because they play back to back days is either not in shape or is not mentally tough enough to compete at this level. I thought we had depth that precluded this from happening. Tired legs ain't nothing but an excuse.
2. Defense - it's a mindset, an attitude, and a desire. Nobody showed ANY of the above last night. Again, a sign of mental weakness. Are you kidding me? Texas shot 63%???? In BOTH halves???
3. Offense - no continuity? That's because everybody tried to be a hero and together they managed to have a jump shooting competition amongst themselves that no one won. Oh, and nobody won the layup contest either as I lost count at 14 layups missed at least half of which were either uncontested or lightly contested.
This team needs to stop talking the talk and learn to walk the walk. Too many guys THINK they are better than they are but disappear when the competition picks up and the going gets tough. Yeah there is plenty of potential and it's still way early but they better learn quickly it's a whole different world than they've had the last 2 years. We are now the hunted and not the hunter. If they aren't careful, this team has 2005 football written all over it.
doctorvol#211700 writes:
texas is good. we'll be very good with some improvement in shot selection and in valuing possessions. We'll be an extremely good team if we do that and hit FTs.
King30 writes:
chrisw2967, You haven't been impressed with Tyler Smith so far???
He has more court awareness than anyone else on the team and HE WILL make the other players better. He's unselfish, athletic, and smart. What's not to be impressed by?
In my opinion, he IS the bright spot on this team thus far.
Oh, and 11 points, 8 boards, and 8 dimes.
Yeah...not impressive at all.
daddyaxe writes:
i am with coach pearl till the grave...the best coach in the nation period...give it time and let these guys figure out their places on this team you are dealing with all good players wanting to contribute...watch pearl he will mold this into something very special...be there tuesday and can't wait to see what coaching after a lackluster performance provides...it will be nasty for a&t
Timed_vol (Inactive) writes:
somebody asked if I'm a gator's fan. No, I'm a Vol first and foremost. But I do love SEC sports, and pull for 'em all. Billy D's a good coach.
I like one thing a lot last night: both teams played to the final whistle. I don't know if it was becasue Rick B was trying to erase the last couple of years, or he and Bruce were competing, don't know at all.
All I do know was that until the last 30 seconds, Tenn was playing like they were 6 down, not 20.
Good posts by some of you guys, you reaiize that we are good, but not great. We'll need some breaks. The players can see that too; Chris knew it, and JaJuan, but maybe the sophs didn't. They will now.
Timed_vol (Inactive) writes:
One more thing: Bruce counts on the UT fans to make a difference. I've been really happy with our 'home court', hope you guys can keep it up.
All I can do is 'mentally' be there....
sidwalkvol writes:
TX will not shoot 64% every night. TN will not shoot 36% every night. Unhappily for us, they played each other on a night when both of those things happened. It is hard for me to imagine that anyone would or would want to read too much into this game. It is WAY early, y'all. A better guage of our character, talent, coaching, etc, may be Friday night's game when we wore ourselves out on a tough, tough WVA team--one that will still be playing into March. No wonder we were sluggish. And when players are sluggish they will sometimes try to do too much and wind up looking like they are unorganized, selfish, out of sync. Besides, even ESPN thinks this is going to be a great team!
Tellicovol writes:
I don't like to say I told you so but we need to get away from the easy schedule at the beginning of the season.If you don't believe me ask Pat Summitt.
bleed_orange writes:
Texas remembered the last 2 years they had played us. Last year they had us at home and we got away with a great win. 2 years ago we went into Texas and beat them bad. So, I feel like they wanted to win more then we did this time. This will be a good lesson for the VOLS. I hope we play them again in March. We will be alot better team and a more experienced team. We do miss Dane and we do need a leader to step up. I would say by the time we are playing Xavier, Gonzaga and Mississippi there will be somebody step up and take that leadership position on the team. Let's keep gettin better. GO VOLS!
JDS
knoxdaniel#213742 writes:
Anyone heard of rebounding?! Not going to win anything if we don't start rebounding better and taking the ball inside to get on the foul line. Too many jump shots. Worst coaching job of his career at Tn.
sidwalkvol writes:
why do so many people IMMEDIATELY go to the coaching? There are times when players play badly IN SPITE OF the coaching. Every loss is NOT the coaches' fault.
pdhuff#552644 writes:
I'm a Pearlite. We can't win them all. Bruce and Pat are the TEAM! Give us the Cats!
jweaver3#395614 writes:
WOW, I understand the football boo birds because we have been a national champion before, but basketball? We have never had a coach even close to coach Pearl(outside of the great coach Mears)let's not forget we have to get Tyler and the new guys meshing into the team. We also lost the heart and soul of last years team in Dane Bradshaw. We need some loses and gel at the end of the season like last year.
I still hope to see Coach Pearl and the boys cutting down the nets in my fair city. San Antonio
TXVOLSFAN
GO VOLS!!!!!
jhenson#377512 writes:
Pearl is a system coach...dictate pace, create turnovers, get transition baskets. That's not a bad thing as he has brought his system here and rejuvenated UT b-ball. However, it's kind of a vicious circle when things are going poorly...no made baskets equals no press equals no turnovers equals no made baskets, etc. The other way to create transition is to rebound and we aren't doing that very well either. Since we aren't going to shoot 60% from the perimeter every night and since the press won't work against all teams (i.e. TEXAS) then we have to defend better in the half court, we have to stop fouling so much, we have to hit layups and free throws, and we need more continuity in our half court sets.
No worries! Obviously, if we fans see the above definiencies, Bruce is all over it and will make the needed adjustments.
BigUn writes:
Great thing about college basketball is that you have time to get things corrected and for your team to gel throughout the season.
Texas whooped us big time, but it is early in the season and we have time to recover.
With that being said, right now, we are nowhere near a top 10 team, and probably should be ranked in the 20-25 range of teams, if even ranked at all.
budrhon writes:
Better now than in March. This loss will be a wakeup call for this team. Humble pie was served so eat up boys and digest it well and hit practice with motivation and a sense of urgency. Not every team is going to lay down for you nor will you be able to sneak up on anybody any more.
Colliervol writes:
It was strange last night. Even getting the news that we had gotten mauled by Texas could not dampen my evening. It's just one game early in the season when teams are still trying to find the right combinations and chemistry. Actually, I've always thought a good beating early is good for teams that are highly touted before the season. Lets them know that just maybe there is room for improvement and it'll make them work harder.
bigcanesfan73 writes:
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
Southland writes:
cane73 you are classless and if it were not for the great state of Tennessee you poor folks would still belong to Mexico. So, try to be nice to your liberators. In fact check your ancestory, unless you are a stupid yankee transplant your ancestors came from Tennessee. We love Texas in Tennessee, it is our biggest county and Missouri is our second biggest county.
wdc341#234417 writes:
Hey I have read most of the postings. I saw this coming way before it happened. Look at who they beat. none with any talent. there is three things this team lacks. inside scoring. better selection on 3 pointer. and pass the ball an break to the basket. not pass and stand. and Box out an rebounds. Childress,Chism,and Crews has no business shooting threes. no excuses Bruce. their game is in the inside. Look at most of the top teams. the inside game is there. not on this team. and again no pick and rolls to the basket. just a few pointers. and no screens set up for the good shooters. as long as they are playing outmanned teams the weakness of this team never shows up. only when a team like Texas schools them in the basics of basketball. scoringf inside boxing out and rebounding. just another opinion.
todd#529269 writes:
time for a change!
Los writes:
There is no way Tennessee basketball will be a major force in the future. Memphis takes all the publicity!
kdub writes:
way too much panic over one early loss, I don't feel there is a chemistry issue, seems to be a big headed issue since we were ranked so high, we need to go back to having an underdog mentality & play with intensity each night out like last year. Texas had more open looks vs half our games combined last year & they're loaded, maybe we'll meet again in March. Coach Pearl is a great coach & motivator who will use this to fuel the team plus we get JP eligible mid Dec.
hueypilot writes:
You've got to understand that unlike football it's okay to lose basketball games early so long as you're playing your best basketball when the championship games come around. Uh, check that, it is like football. At least this season.
Share your thoughts
Comments are the sole responsibility of the person posting them. You agree not to post comments that are off topic, defamatory, obscene, abusive, threatening or an invasion of privacy. Violators may be banned. Click here for our full user agreement.