Tennessee Men's Basketball
PHILADELPHIA — Temple fans celebrated Christmas on Saturday.
Dionte Christmas, a two-time Atlantic 10 Conference scoring champion, dropped 35 points on No. 8 Tennessee in an 88-72 win at the Liacouras Center.
The victory over the Vols (6-2) prompted Owls’ fans to rush the court in celebrating their first regular-season win over a top 10 team in nearly six years.
“We’re ranked too high now,’’ said UT coach Bruce Pearl. “That’s gonna get adjusted.’’
Many of the 1,000 or so orange-clad Tennessee fans in the crowd of 8,068 probably thought Pearl would make some adjustments of his own after the Owls (5-3) took a 34-25 lead into the half.
But Christmas, who had just five points through the first 20 minutes, was like a gift that just kept giving, dropping one 3-pointer after another over the various Vols who tried to guard him.
“I didn’t think I’d get as good of looks as I did,’’ said Christmas, who was 12-of-22 shooting from the floor and 7-of-14 beyond the 3-point arc. “But the coaches told me I’d get a lot of open looks because of the way they (UT) play.
“When I came off screens, their guys had their hands down and were backed off. It surprised me.’’
Imagine how Pearl felt. The Vols’ fourth-year head coach spent the past week putting his young team through challenging practices in an effort to raise the Vols’ defensive intensity.
“We’ve got guys who are tall and long, but they just can’t defend like last year’s team,’’ Pearl said. “Who do you put on him (Christmas)? We had nobody you could put in his hip pocket.’’
The Vols missed junior wing J.P. Prince, who was injured during Friday’s walk-through practice and did not play.
Prince sprained his left ankle when he miss-stepped off the Owls’ elevated court while chasing a loose ball. He was in a walking boot Saturday and described the injury as a “high-ankle” sprain.
UT started the game without freshman Scotty Hopson in the lineup. Hopson was late for the team breakfast Saturday morning and lost his starting spot to Josh Tabb.
Not only were the Vols not 100 percent, they were not giving 100 percent when the game tipped off, and the Owls took full advantage, breaking out to a 13-2 lead 4½ minutes into the game.
UT rallied to tie at 15-15 after freshman Renaldo Woolridge hit a 3-pointer and followed with a pair of free throws at the 11:23 mark, but a Ryan Brooks 3-pointer on Temple’s ensuing possession gave the Owls the lead for good.
“Sometimes plays can change games,’’ Temple coach Fran Dunphy said. “Ryan stepped up and made a huge three right there.’’
The Vols closed within four points, at 52-48 with 11:17 left on a pair of Brian Williams’ free throws, but 34 seconds later Pearl was whistled for his first technical foul of the season and the Owls responded with a 9-2 run to put the game out of reach.
Tennessee, facing another zone defense, couldn’t score the necessary quick points from the perimeter, hitting just 6-of-26 (23.1 percent) beyond the 3-point arc.
Senior center Sergio Olmos made UT pay in the paint as well, scoring a career-high 19 points on 6-of-10 shooting and pulling down seven rebounds as Temple beat the Vols on the boards 37-33.
“We’re supposed to be pressed up on him to make him put the ball on the floor and turn it over, but we didn’t do that,’’ said Pearl, whose team forced only 11 turnovers. “He also beat us to spots in the post and hurt us there.’’
UT junior Tyler Smith led the Vols with 17 points and four assists, but made only 1-of-5 of his 3-point attempts.
“I rushed a couple of shots, and I can’t do that,’’ Smith said. “I can’t force it; that’s something I never want to do.
“This was disappointing for our team, and to me. It’s an embarrassment.’’
The Vols return to the practice court today in preparation for a 9:30 p.m. EST game Tuesday against No. 24 Marquette (7-1) in the Sommet Center in Nashville.
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Comments » 166
RCanaMoonPie writes:
overrated!
RCanaMoonPie writes:
good thing we're not in the ACC
spvol writes:
Obviously time to fire Pearl and get someone more youthful.
jimr07 writes:
it is going to be interesting if the same kind of treatment to pearl that fulmer got.
VOLorado writes:
OUCH!
Madkels writes:
I'm not worried about CBP, but this team needs to learn to play half court offense. Both Temple and Gonzaga have schooled us on how to play half court offense. If we aren't running full wide open, we can't score.
donniedem writes:
Yes, overrated indeed!
TopTenn writes:
PATHETIC!!!!!!!!!!
Waldorf writes:
Hmmm.......sounds like something that has been said for 3+ seasons now.....
walt23tn writes:
That was embarrassing!
Mr_Brownstone writes:
IN BRUCE WE TRUST
BIGEJ writes:
The honeymoon is over......
lomas98 writes:
Disagree about Tyler Smith. He can take over a game, but not in the same way Lofton could. Lofton could get you back into a game in seconds, Tyler is a totally different player. Chism seems he is getting worse. Tabb is not playing well. Woolridge is streaky. I think not having Prince for this game hurt us more than I imagined.
MidTennVol writes:
Got a lot to learn about playing half-court defense. No worries from this fan because this team is in extremely capable hands.
I don't care if we lose 10, as long as we're ready come tourney time and I have no doubt we will be.
Yes, they're young. But when these guys find their groove playing BP's type of roundball, it's gonna be a monster team. Incredible talent & depth and extremely sound coaching. What more could we ask?
chrisw2967 writes:
the only problem they have is they dont have Lofton or Smith.
Theres no intensity on the full court press but this is a young team and theres is also growing pains.
lomas98 writes:
I think we need to work more on the half court defense as opposed to the offense. I think we will get better. Rememeber we lost one of the best backcourts in the nation last year and 2 of the best 3 point shooters we have had. JaJuan Smith was also a beast at the defensive end. WE have always played our best early on, maybe this year we start playing our best towards March. Don't lose faith on this team yet.
asleep#212036 writes:
That has been the Achilles heel of the program since Pearl took over. He still doesn't have a guy or two outside that can take over a game AND play tough man-up defense. Lofton and J. Smith were too small for the D, Hopson, Prince, and Maze have not as yet shown the ability to hit the big shots from outside. Tatum has shown flashes but no consistency. Most of the games we have lost the past 2 years have been a team slowing us down to the halfcourt and making us run an offense, not just run. It's street ball vs. deliberation. Unless we can learn how to win those ugly, grind it out games, we are never going to get to the Final Four. And I agree, this team's defense is light years behind any of the other Pearl teams. He just hasn't had time to work through the chemistry issues with a man-to-man defense. Too many new faces this early in the year. I feel certain they will be ready come March. Go Vols!!!
thevoice writes:
Most of what you said is actually attributed to coaching. But this team is young, very young!! Coach will adapt to his team's trends and capabilities soon. Give them a chance to gel people.
Waldorf writes:
That alone shows your stupidity.
There is no way on earth Tyler Smith is on this team next year.
RJ_Vol writes:
That was as ugly as it gets. Prince being out was a definite factor...but still. They were barely hangin' on. If we play like we did today, .500 in the SEC might be a reasonable goal. Defense did indeed struggle w/ "inside/out" style of play. Florida has to be licking their chops. Let's hope the long talk after the game get's their attention. My gut says we are better than we played today, but not by much due to chemistry problems. Christmas was awesome.
Waldorf writes:
Like I said, you have shown your stupidity.
Waldorf writes:
Don't forget the first triple-double in school history.
b_neas writes:
These games happen, youth and playing a team that could not miss in a hostile environment. Missing JP hurt too. This team is still a top 15-20 team, but this game will make us tougher and better in the long run.
MrBamSeydu writes:
I'm simply ashamed to be from Tennessee, and more specifically be a Vol fan.
Everything from the constant illiterate redneck slang, grammar, and bad english... to the ever-popular "the sky is falling" syndrome that the fans get every time a national championship isn't won a quarter of the way into a season.
Not to mention the jokers who try to be slick with the "we should fire Pearl for someone younger" jokes, referring to what happened to Fulmer.
Here's the truth: Fulmer deserved to be fired. Sure, his overall record was good, but I promise you if I was a regional manager of an electronics store (for example) and for 7 years I built my store up to one of the best in the southeast region, then for the next 9 years continually and steadily dropped off from that peak..... I would be fired. I wouldn't even get that 8-9 years to redeem myself.
Here's another truth: Bruce Pearl's team will not be as good as last year. Get that through your heads. Last year was the best statistical year in school history. We will lose between 8-10 games this year, just as we did 2 years ago. We will be somewhere between a 3 - 6 seed in the NCAA tournament and probably get put out again in the Sweet Sixteen. So what? This was supposed to be a rebuilding year after losing 5 of our top 8 players (Lofton, J. Smith, R. Smith, D. Crews, J. Howell) for various reasons.
I'm just tired of redneck Tennessee fans venting about losing. I'm tired of trying to take them seriously when they say things like "Chism don't need to shoot no more 3s, there not going in no more like last year".....
Just listening to sentences like that makes me cringe.
Go Vols. Bad loss today, but we can redeem this loss with a win over Marquette. The 10 day layoff, JP in street clothes, horrible shooting from Tatum, bad PG play from Tabb, and the fact that Tyler hasn't shown why he is a top-15 talent yet..... which is why he came back in the first place.... all played a factor in this loss. Not to mention, Christmas pulled a Lofton on us.
Go4Two writes:
Just shows how important a Senior Guard or Senior QB is to a team.
ctownvol writes:
It's a long season. Coach Pearl will have them playing better. It's going to be ok.
Ironcity writes:
Our youth was once again exposed. We are not use to watching Freshman disappear on the road. We always had Jajuan or Chris to cover up for their shortcomings.
This is the first time I can remember a player taking over a game against us the way Christmas did since Pearl came here. Our 1/2 court defense has aways to go with so much youth and our press is just poor right now. Our freshman haven't learned what they are good at. Hopson, Woolridge and Tatum seemed to be out of control a lot during the game and take bad shoots from all over the floor.
As for Tabb, he plays hard but not very smart. For great defender, he seems to be getting beat off the dribble all the time.
This team will get better as they mature but we will have more games like this then we have had the last couple of years. Teams like this tend to be good at home and streaky on the road. Today they couldn't shoot it into the ocean.
If Chism doesn't wake up this could be a disappointing season.
I won't worry about Smith. Right now him and Maze are the only two players we can count on and today Smith had his worst game of his career.
eight6five writes:
WAY overrated!! Not even close to the top 20.
Jmxvo1 writes:
Tyler Smith could sit out the rest of the season and still be a 1st round pick.
volball7222 writes:
Very young team and Prince hurt. Tough day. Unlike football, there are enough games to get major improvement and this team will be a tough out come tournament time.
GR82BAVOL writes:
My opinion is it was just "one of those games".
We'll be all right...we just need to work on being a better road team, particularly with regards to shot selection.
Christmas just killed us today. When a player like him gets a hot hand, it's lights out for anyone; not just the VOLS.
Even if Tyler Smith could go NBA next year, I believe he needs the extra year. I seem to remember a player named Manning who made the decision to stay, and it paid off. I'm sure much of his decision will be based on how things are financially at home (unfortunately).
MrBamSeydu. I've never been on a board where everyone emulates Cecil Rhodes. If you really want to read a board full of folks wound tighter than a virgin on prom night, I'd be happy to link you to a few of the boards I moderate. My advice is to consider the sources and move on.
johnlg00#206211 writes:
Well said! Of all the deficiencies you mentioned, I think the lack of a shut-down perimeter defender might be the most damaging. I wouldn't be surprised if CBP cut the rotation down by a couple when the conference season begins. This admittedly is a coin-flip: a shorter bench might mean more consistency in the half-court offense, but it might take away from the full-court pressure and fast-break offense. CBP will have to decide which approach is more likely to keep us playing deep into March. On that basis, he may well opt for the shorter-bench theory.
Triton1 writes:
The writing's on the wall. We're mediocre at best. We have the talent to win.
I_Sweat_Orange writes:
Its Basketball. Anyone can beat anyone at anytime. Sucks but oh well.
MidTennVol writes:
You spoke for me. Amen a thousand times, friend. Reading these boards the past few years proves I am a masochist first and a Vol fan second.
thevoice writes:
It's becoming evident that the glaring weakness on this team is a lack of a consistent outside shooting threat. Gotta have both an inside AND outside game to be successful these days. No outside threat affects too many things: rebounding positioning, clogged passing lanes, difficult close-up shots. Think spread offense for basketball.
yabadabadoo1026 writes:
Seems some attitude adjustments may be in order---Hopson and Woolrich didnt start today because late for team meeting today----I recall same thing happening--may have one of these guys again--also a game or 2 back. Showing responsibility needs to be a tiebreaker in awarding playing time on a deep team---not starting but still getting plenty of PT isnt sending the message----BP needs to sit the next such offender an entire game to set example and I think he will
asleep#212036 writes:
You and I obviously agree that although flashy, the run and gun offense just can't carry you through in an NCAA tournament situation. Somebody will be well-coached/athletic enough to break the press. Now you have to play tough, grinding half-court defense and we have not, through the years, shown the ability to do that. Too many times (Vandy, Louisville last year) their best player has a career day against us - just like today. How? As you said, no shut-down defender like Dane Bradshaw or JuJuan Smith (on a shorter player). Even last season our scoring defense was towards the bottom of the SEC. Combine that with difficulty in the half-court on the offensive end, and you struggle, especially early in the season. I still say they have a lot more upside at this point of their season than the team last year. With lots of new faces, most of them either young or inexperienced, you have games like this, especially on the road. Lofton and Smith's most important contribution last year was their leadership. If somebody will step up on this year's team the upgraded talent will begin to show. And like another poster said, this was supposed to be a rebuilding year so we'll just have to be patient. Go Vols!!!
Tellicovol writes:
This team can not play a half court game on defense or offense, the only bright spot I see is no body will be leaving early for the NBA.
yabadabadoo1026 writes:
Cat, I too knew Edwardo's trash talkin so early in the season would in short order make him look like an idiot------nothing matters till March assuming u get in
BigMix writes:
I don't ever recall a Phillip Fulmer team receving the famous "overated" chant. Tennessee basketball is a long long way from being better than a Sweet16 team. Gonzaga will mop TBA's floor with us.
GR82BAVOL writes:
I about fell out of my chair when the announcers started talking about neither team having any depth to speak of. I was was waiting on the punchline, but none came.
I don't think either one of them could pass the John Boy and Billy show's "Stoopy Quiz"!!!
OLDVOL writes:
Thank you for this post. This team obviouly is lacking in a half court game, too many non shooters taking 3s. missed how many shots on put backs and layups, and still too soft down the middle. I do think they will develope because Pearl can coach. Look for a good showing midway through the conference and an NCAA berth but look out for next year.
Go4Two writes:
A Regional manager would have several Districts with-in his or her region. If your store was the Top Store in the district in 2001, 2004, 2007 you would not be fired for a down 2008.
Tellicovol writes:
I was afraid that our expectation of this young team was too high, after watching them play in the Old Spice classic, it was obvious that our full court press has little effect on any team and without a any half court game we have a long way to go, but I am confident that by tournament time we will see a much improved team.
Vawlfanpreandpost writes:
This team doesn't have anybody that will drive to the basket and create dish out opportunities or even drive and kick to a big man. They stand around in the half court and throw the ball back and forth around the perimeter instead of driving it and dishing. That was the difference. When Maze or Hopson would take it to the hole they scored. Tyler Smith tried to drive it and today he was throwing up garbage. This team has serious issues on both the offensive and defensive ends of the court.
BigMix writes:
Screw the high expectations that were leveled against a football team with a new OC and a new qb. Just fire the sob's and hopefully it will work itself out.
floridavolsfan writes:
Hammy-- give CBP another couple million dollars!! Might as well give CPS a few more million and why not give CLK a few more million! Give Foolmore a 10 million dollar buyout--we are UT we have millions to blow!!!!
floridavolsfan writes:
Hammy is a bigger blower than George Steinbrenner!!!!
tennisvol writes:
Yea, we sure miss ole Lofton when we have to rally in a game.
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