Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy thought Tennessee might have run out of punches with two minutes to play. He was wrong.
The eighth-ranked Vols rallied from a four-point deficit by scoring the last six points to defeat the 16th-ranked Rebels 85-83 Wednesday night at Thompson-Boling Arena.
"I told the group when we were up four with two minutes to play, they (the Vols) were a little stunned," Kennedy said. "It was almost like a heavyweight fight. They had punched us hard and we didn't fall.
"I thought they got a little fatigued. We got some baskets in the open floor and beat them to a couple of loose balls, which wasn't the case for the majority of the game."
UT bounced back with a vengeance after Eniel Polynice's driving basket gave Ole Miss an 83-79 lead with 2:22 to play. That capped a 23-7 run by the Rebels, who trailed 72-60 with 11:01 left.
"We knew coming in that Tennessee is a tremendous team," Kennedy said. "I've said for the last three days to anybody who will listen that this is a legitimate Final Four team. They've got so many pieces, so many weapons.
"(UT coach) Bruce (Pearl) does a great job. They spread the floor, and we had a very hard time guarding them."
Perimeter shooting was decisive against the Rebels, who made eight of 25 3-point attempts, compared to UT's 12-for-26 shooting.
Tyler Smith's 3s resonated the most with the Rebels. Smith, who had made only four of 12 3-point tries in the first 13 games, hit two of three 3-pointers against Ole Miss.
"He's very, very difficult to guard off the bounce," Kennedy said. "And when he's making 3-pointers, come on. I've watched tape; you've seen him. Come on. When he does that, it takes his game to another level."
Smith showed his versatility on the game-winner, shifting the ball to his left hand and shooting over Kenny Williams with just over four seconds to play.
Chris Warren, Ole Miss' quicksilver 5-foot-10 freshman point guard, wasn't close on a hurried 35-footer before the buzzer.
"I didn't realize how much time was left," said Warren, who had a game-high 24 points. "I probably could have got a couple of more dribbles and got a better shot."
Despite the loss, Ole Miss confirmed its status as a contender for the SEC championship. After being picked in preseason to finish last in the West, the Rebels opened the season by winning a school-record 13 consecutive games.
"We've flown under the radar a long time," Kennedy said. "This group expects to win. They're not knocked out easily. They kept coming back and kept coming back, which speaks to what I think the makeup of this group is.
"That group is crushed in (the locker room). I've got grown men crying. We came in here with the full expectation of winning this game."
Not only did the Rebels overcome a 12-point disadvantage, they had to play most of the game without power forward Jermey Parnell, a strong post defender. Parnell, who played only seven minutes, got in early foul trouble after blocking three shots, then went to the locker room after suffering a twisted ankle with 17:21 to play.
"It took away a lot from us," Polynice said. "He's a big presence in the middle. He let his presence be known. Guys weren't coming in there easy."
The fiercely competitive game could be a preview of the SEC tournament, according to Warren.
"We could have played better," Warren said "We're gonna come back. We'll probably get them in the tournament."
Polynice hopes so.
"If we meet them in the tournament, it's going to be a whole new ballgame," he said.
Sports editor John Adams may be reached at 865-342-6284 or adamsj@knews.com.
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Comments » 29
2000man writes:
The Muhammad Ali rope-a-dope worked!
cdldoc#211897 writes:
Just shows what HGH can do. Our guys looked skinny next to their Muscle Beach bullies.
GoVols and no HGH.
dfreeman writes:
"If we meet them in the tournament, it's going to be a whole new ballgame,"
You guys need to post this in the locker room! Everyone you play is expecting to beat you. You are THE team to beat right now in the SEC!! Welcome home boys!!
jdcvols#230433 writes:
This team is limited somewhat with Chism's play. Don't really want to be critical but Chism needs to become a man on the boards and QUIT shooting 3's. That point guard for Ole Miss is really fast and tough to guard.
KENVOL writes:
I don't think we can keep getting lucky. We cannot go 7 min. without a basket. I know Lofton is now a defencive player but he got cut from the USA team because he couldn't shoot like he used to and he still can't. I hope his defence is worth it. Not that the guy isn't a good player. I just think he ruined his shot and I'm not sure he will get it back. God I hope he does.
dirtdobber1 writes:
If getting lucky means getting to the Sweet 16 every year- then bring it on. They played that way last year to.
jdcvols- would you rather them be 5 passes and shoot mentality? Chism has always shot the 3 and and cant make every shot.
keep firing chis!
Hats off to Larry Connely and Tom Hammond for needing 6 replays to see that a file was commited on Chism on the blocked shot play early in the second half where Ole Miss got hurt.
Seasontickets writes:
Has anyone noticed the quality of the broadcasts have gone downhill. I read that the Vols went with a different TV company that under bid the other company. It borders public access compared to other teams I have seen.
mattucket#231689 writes:
I thought that Jamar Smith had a good game and was stroking it from 3 point land. If Jamar plays well, we play well.
Connely is UK homer and Hammond pronounced JuJuan's name correctly once. Come Tom, you've been calling SEC games for a dozen years.
dirtdobber1 writes:
Dont mean to sound rude or negative, but Tom Hammond is more suited at covering mens figure skating ant the two man luge.
If you have trouble figuring out why Tenn. didnt rebound well last night, then you need to join Tom Hammond covering mens figure skating and the two man luge.
when you got 3 guys that are 6'8", on steroids and jump like Michael Jordan, you are going to out rebound a few teams!
I hope they beat Vandy- and yes I am looking ahead- (hate vandy early) an oldie but still a goodie!
bleed_orange writes:
I was at the game last night. It was a great crowd. I hope we have that kind of crowd at every home game. Plus, I hope we have sell-outs at all the away games too. That will get us more ready for NCAA tournament time. We were very lucky to win last night. Ole Miss was a lot better than I thought they were. They were ready to play. They came in with a mission to upset us and end our home winning streak. However, Tyler Smith put a stop to that thought. Chris seems like he has lost some of his confidence. Jajuan, RamAr, & Jordan played good. Wayne and Brian need to get tougher inside. Ryan hustled and looked a little better. It seems like TN plays like they read their press clippings and they can just turn it on full speed at anytime & win. The league may be down, but this is still the SEC. Anyone can beat you on a given night. If TN plays the whole game like they played the last 2 minutes - they win by double digits. I believe one of our problems on rebounding is effort and purpose. Ole Miss played like they wanted more most of the game. Ole Miss had 20 O-RB. They score over 20 points on 2nd chance points (that is too many). Ole Miss, I think will win the SEC-West Div. and get a NCAA bid. Now, if we can go to S.C. this sat. and play the whole game like that last 2 minutes; we will come home with a great SEC road win. Do not look to Vandy until Sunday. I hope Vandy beats KY and comes to TBA 17-0. GO VOLS!
JDS
bigbluevol writes:
Ole Miss is a good team, and when they're allowed to be physical, they're fantastic. They got away with a lot of pushing underneath the basket to get their rebounds. It was called once, early in the second half, and then the refs seemed to forget what they had finally seen. Everyone is all over Chism, but he made a key layup to get us within two after he had been getting murdered all night long. Somebody pointed it out about Connelly, but he actually tried 3 times to talk about the body control that Parnell had on his "block." It wasn't until a reverse angle was shown that he admitted that Parnell got Chism with "some body." That was the worst no call I've ever seen. This team continues to find a way to win and they seem to enjoy playing together. This should be a great season and I can't wait to watch it play out.
vol4life writes:
mattucket who is Jamar.....It is Ramar
I will second the comment on Chism by jdcvols
Timed_vol (Inactive) writes:
If Bruce ever leaves, go get Kennedy. He is a helluva coach, in my book.
whoever posted that 'ole miss knows what type team they are' is dead on. See all the post passing, all the banging around?? Sure, they fouled like crazy underneath, but that is smart if the refs won't call it.
warrens's killer, no way he doesn't go NBA after his soph year at this pace....
johnlg00#206211 writes:
I've seen several negative posts about our home crowd on various articles about the Ole Miss game. One was giving the administration a hard time about not seating the students where they could get on camera and at least one saying the fans on the sideline behind the benches don't make enough noise. I see the points here, but there is an odd problem with this that many seem to have forgotten. Back when fund-raising to build TBA began, promises were made to big donors that they would "always" have prime side-line seats in return for their donations. It would probably take a BIG buyout to get these people to give up their seats and it would almost certainly cause hard feelings among these big donors and community VIPs. Since these are almost by definition older people, they are just not going to get as rowdy as students. I understand that Pearl inquired about this when he was hired, and this is basically what he was told. I don't know what can realistically be done about it.
NatiVol writes:
First things first mparker12, Lets hope Bruce Doesn't leave. Andy is a great coach, but a Mississippi boy, born and raised there. He cut his teath under bobby huggins (what a great coach to learn from, really all he does is get wins and kids to play for him) and then took over UC for one year and did a heck of a job. I doubt he will leave Oxford, he's home. We just need to keep Bruce at him new home, Knoxville.
bleed_orange writes:
marc_ash, your right about the crowd. Johnlg00, your right too about the students and the donors. I didn't feel very comfortable last night when other people were telling other fans to sit down in their seats. I told a couple a guys- No, we should all stand up, get fired up and make some noise. That's one thing I hate about in the upper deck-sitting down so some one doesn't get upset. I think if you want to sit on your hands, you should stay at home and watch it on TV. All the games are on TV except the Auburn game (for now anyway). I'm also going this weeend to SC to cheer on the VOLS & Lady VOLS. GO BIG ORANGE!
JDS
oldorange writes:
This is honestly the best game I have seen ths year. The Mississippi coach should be commended on his athletes. I shudder to think what would have happened had this game ben played in Mississippi.
oldorange writes:
We often here individuals who choose to comment on the crowd. I am sure if there had been two people in the stands this would have still been an intense ball game. Some people will say the crowds to loud or to quiet. You will hear people whining about people standing up or not standing up. I suppose this conversation is beeter than whining about a loss. GO VOLS.......
murrayvol writes:
mparker: I'm pretty sure Kennedy will be long gone to a top tier program before Bruce leaves the Vols. I still can't believe Cincinnati let him get away but I suppose they wanted to purge all things related to Huggins including people.
CoverOrange writes:
Marc Ash, go back and read Mattucket's post again, especially the second paragraph. That was his point.
jevolball7 writes:
marc_ash..couldn't have said it better myself! Luck??? LOL. VolCR...WORST broadcast I've seen in 40 years!
dlobh writes:
VolCR, I always thought "turd" was spelled with a u; guess I've learned better . . . but I definitely have to agree about the broadcast. It's a good thing Notre Dame is stuck with Hammond for football.
pupvol writes:
Bruce almighty got out coached a little bit last night.never did adjust to pick and roll type play.but great effort at end.Kennedys a smart coach!
utclassof1992 writes:
Raycom is horrible. With the money the SEC gives this company, they could afford to upgrade to 1080i HD. I hated watching that game last night on my TV. Looked horrible. Loved the finish and the outcome.
jondadam#645313 writes:
What Tennessee has done well since Pearl has come is win at the end. Peterson was a super guy but was not very good at getting the Win. Even on bad nights Tennessee has been getting it done. Congrats to Pearl and the team for digging deep and finishing the game.
dfreeman writes:
VolCR - Great let's take em' out back and beat the phooey out of them! Spit in their mommas face and kick the dog!! LOL I actually agree.. however that was humorous!!
LongtimeVol writes:
I agree with jdcvols on Chism, we have at least 5 guys who shoot 3's better than him. We need more strength inside and he is big enough to provide it. It is true he hit a crucial layup, he also missed two others earlier. Boy, do I miss the Duke! Hope he is well.
orangebass writes:
I agree that the crowd pretty much sat on their hands the entire game. We have the best venue in the league and our fans act like we were playing Lincoln Memorial in an exhibition game. Maybe those new black seats are to comfortable we gotta do something to get are fans off their @$$es before the final two minutes against a top twenty team.
ballewville6 writes:
chism definatly needs to quit shooting threes because he isnt a three point shooter,he has to be under the basket where he can rebound so does childress big guys are there to score down low and rebound chism needs to go up strong on the inside and be physical we only got out rebounded by the top sec rebounding team by 4 or 5 that isnt bad
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