Tennessee Men's Basketball
Tennessee returned to Thompson-Boling Arena Saturday night with something to prove.
Georgia was merely in the way, though not for long, as it turned out.
"None of us were in a very good mood this week having lost (to Kentucky),'' UT coach Bruce Pearl said. "Our guys wanted to win the game and feel better.''
The No. 3-ranked Vols scored an 85-69 victory over the Bulldogs before a sellout crowd of 21,099.
Chris Lofton led the Vols (17-2, 4-1 SEC) with a season-high 27 points, hitting 9-of-17 shots including 7-of-13 from 3-point range. Lofton, the SEC's all-time leading 3-point shooter, ranks 10th in NCAA history with 374.
It's the first time this season Lofton has scored 20 points or more in back-to-back games. So why the sudden offensive splurge?
"It was that loss,'' said Lofton, who had 22 points in the 72-66 loss at Kentucky on Tuesday. "Nobody likes losing, and after that game we knew we had to turn it around. This was a must-win.
"I just felt like I was ready to do whatever I needed to do to make sure we didn't lose again.''
Tyler Smith, coming off a season-low five points against Kentucky, felt the same way.
Smith narrowly missed a double-double against the Bulldogs (11-6, 2-2), scoring 17 while dishing out nine assists and pulling down seven rebounds.
"Tyler just stuffs the stat sheet,'' Pearl said. "He is just such a terrific playmaker. To have nine assists at the power forward position is just incredible. He's so unselfish.''
Yet another highlight was the return of sophomore Duke Crews, who was greeted by a standing ovation. Crews, who was sidelined more than a month while a potential heart issue was checked out, scored nine points and had eight rebounds in his first action since Dec. 4 at Chattanooga.
The victory runs the Vols' home-court win streak to 27, which ranks as the fourth-longest active streak in the nation. Tennessee has also won seven in a row against Georgia.
The Vols were well in control by halftime, taking a commanding 44-23 lead into intermission behind Lofton's 20 first-half points.
Georgia's Jeremy Price scored the first points of the game on a dunk and the Bulldogs led for the next 58 seconds before JaJuan Smith scored on a layup in transition to make it 2-2 with 17:55 on the clock.
Back-to-back 3-pointers by Lofton sparked a 13-2 run and the rout was on.
UT shot 57.1 percent from the floor, out-rebounded Georgia 40-37 and scored 26 points off 21 turnovers.
"That's more like Tennessee basketball,'' Pearl said. "That was an important bounce back tonight.''
UT sophomore point guard Ramar Smith responded to his first start since the third game of the season with seven points, two steals, eight assists and just two turnovers in 22 minutes of play.
The Vols led by as many as 25 points in the second half when Tyler Smith threw down a dunk to cap a 6-0 run that made it 68-43 with 9:16 remaining.
Sundiata Gaines led Georgia with 20 points while Dave Bliss and Billy Humphrey scored 15 apiece.
"I would love to see what kind of game it could have been had we not turned the ball over 16 times in the first half,'' Bulldogs coach Dennis Felton said. "Their defense had something to do with it, without a doubt, but I thought our turnovers had to do with our being soft.''
Tennessee plays next at Alabama on Tuesday (TV: ESPN, 9 p.m.).
Rocky Top League opening night
Old school: Archived photos of UT…
Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group
Comments » 48
peerlessvolfan writes:
Yes!!!!! Go Chris!!!!! Well done!!
SFOrange writes:
rout.
GreerVol22 writes:
Really nice hustle, focus, and intensity tonight, nice win. Great to see Crewser back on the floor. This ESPN 360 thing is pretty nice.
Timed_vol (Inactive) writes:
Anybody notice the FT stats?? C'mon, rout of not, got to get better at those.
Glad the guys took care of business.
Ironcity writes:
Great to see the old Lofton back. I thought the team look sloppy and uninterested at times but UGA is just no match for us. We will have to play far better agasint a tough Miss St team if we expect to win.
budd#207344 writes:
any time we whip ga is a great win. wish we scored a 100
Timed_vol (Inactive) writes:
My guess at the rest of the year; the Vols hold serve at home, though Florida, Arkansas, and Kentucky will push hard. The Vols beat Memphis, as the Vols will have nothing to lose. They lose several road games.
In total, I see 4 more losses and 8 more wins for a season record of 25-6. Make your own guesses!!!!!
Loss 01/29/08 at Alabama
Loss 02/02/08 at Mississippi State
Win 02/05/08 Florida
Win 02/09/08 at LSU
Win 02/13/08 Arkansas
Win 02/16/08 at Georgia
Win 02/20/08 Auburn
Win 02/23/08 at Memphis
Loss 02/26/08 at Vanderbilt
Win 03/02/08 Kentucky
Loss 03/05/08 at Florida
Win 03/09/08 South Carolina
Hacksaw57 writes:
Looks as if the intensity is back after the KY game. Lofton looked like he's getting back to his old form,as well. Saw glimpses of it in the KY game.
I really believe we were not ready to play the Cats the other night - a lackluster performance due either from a "big head" from the rankings or, hopefully, from playing several games in a row which, they better get used to when tourney time gets here.
Kudos to Coach Pearl for getting our Vols back on track, down to earth and taking care of business tonight. It's only going to get tougher so we better get ready. Hopefully we're back on track. GO VOLS!!!!
Timed_vol (Inactive) writes:
bricker, it's tough to call. I just kind of peeked at the records.
My reason for Vandy is that I think the place will absulutley rock. Same with Bama. Miss State??? Those boys are tough, tough, and tough. They just manhanlded Ole Miss tonight, and Ole Miss made us look like little kdds around the glass.
jevolball7 writes:
mparker: No way we lose at Bama. Memphis beat the Zags by 8 today IN MEMPHIS. Toss up on that game. Your others are IMO, pretty close. Great showing tonight against a pretty good team. Hit foul shots and finish those circus oops and win by 30! The Dawgs are,in fact,Dawgs!
Orangefever writes:
i think we lose at miss. state and at florida win the tournament to be 30-4 as a #1 seed heading into the Dance!
reasonablevol writes:
if you guys noticed, Chris Lofton's shooting form was MUCH MUCH better tonight! Once he released the ball, I could see him using follow through with his wrist flexed downward OVER his head. I guarantee that is something he has been working on! I predict the CL slump is over. His form looked better tonight than at Kentucky!!!
go vols
navyvolinva writes:
I'm glad to see Lofton back! I hope the team can rally around him. It seems that J. Smith has been off a little as well.
zjcvols#543765 writes:
CL looked great tonight. The problem he was having was he wasn't being assertive at all. He also has no mid-range j which makes it much difficult to get open shots. But his shot is looking much better and I believe the slump is over. Tyler played great and props to Coach Pearl on putting Ramar in the lineup. Not only is Ramar a better penetrator and passer, we now have a 3-point shooter coming off the bench. I also wonder who is going to lose more pt with Duke coming back, Ryan or Brian?
DroopyDrawers writes:
zjcvols, Ryan for sure
Hunter writes:
We SHOULDN'T lose another game until Memphis - I think that game is a toss-up. We will lose at Vandy. At Florida will be VERY tough if their young guys grow up as expected. Losing two of the last 5 will keep us from a #1 seed. Mark my words, the UT/Memphis game will be a #1 vs. #2.
b.skelton#207404 writes:
Lose at Memphis, Lose (maybe) at Vandy, possibly lose one more. I'm thinking 26-5 at worse, with a #2 seed in NCAAs.
jevolball7 writes:
Anyone seen airforce1? Probably watching L'IL Bush re-runs KY will be LUCKY to make the NIT. Of course,they are much deeper than people think....added the players they have in stripes.
SFOrange writes:
9-3 the rest of the way (to the SEC tourney with losses @ Miss State, @ Memphis and @ Vandy.
26-5 into SEC tourney. 2-1 @ tourney.
28-6 into NCAA. 3-1 NCAA.
31-7.
JAJUAN writes:
lofton is my boy
HardcoreHottie writes:
Georgia: JUST LIKE FOOTBALL
tigervol9802 writes:
Glad to see Crews on the court.
Glad to see #5 shoot like #5.
Glad to see Tabb get some PT.
Glad to see less of Childress.
I wish Prince would quit playing like he's on NBA Jam.
Free-throw shooting....got to do better. It will cost us again eventually otherwise.
But, #5 is turning it back on, and Pearl seems to be willing to let the offense run through him more now.
Rest of the season?
2 more conference losses at either Vandy/Florida/Bama and a loss at Memphis.
I think we finally make it to Saturday of the SEC tournament, but not Sunday.
NCAA Tournament? Sweet 16 again.
Orangefever writes:
hahah "less of childress" haha! thats funny- just the way it came out
volntx writes:
Hope they make the final 4,living in Austin that would be an easy trip to take. Sometimes a loss is good,get's the focus back . So many strengths on this team,especially with everybody healthy.
2 more losses tops, this team is going to be special.
FWBVol writes:
Nice win, but 12-of-27 from the FT line won't cut it in crunch time against good teams.
zjcvols#543765 writes:
Other than lofton or jajuan (and maybe Ramar now) I don't trust anybody at the line. If I was a team that went 11 or 12 deep, i would foul tennessee like crazy especially duke, wayne, and jp.
the only way ut makes it to the final four is if they don't have that stretch they always have in close games where they go 5 minutes w/o scoring. If that happens in the sweet 16 or elite 8, its see ya next year.
rockyknox writes:
If anyone has paid attention, Bama has lost 5 of their last 7 games. No way we lose to them.
allvols7 writes:
Chris is great! So glad to have him back with the three pointers, he is the (very pretty) man. Congratulations to Crews, we love ya. Congrats to Ramar, your hard work paid off. And Josh, you almost the man tonight...good job. The Smith men, they all good. Chism, I just smile when you play.
Guys go get some Bama victory.
Love the Lofton!!
pdhuff#552644 writes:
Beat Bama.
james#216392 writes:
mparker12- No loss at "bama or Florida. Vandy and Miss St are going to be tough. We will win one of those two. 28-3 sounds better.
bugman (Inactive) writes:
our free throw shooting is horrendous.
james#216392 writes:
AS I said before, should have brought Crews in against KY for 30 seconds or so and it would have lifted the team. Pearl is a coach who plays the angles but he missed an angle in that game.
Good team effort in this one but Free Throw shooting still was not good and the inside game still lacked from time to time. Still a win is a win. Good luck in 'Bama and Starksville. Welcome back Duke. Go VOls.
budrhon writes:
Good win, nice to see Lofton getting the stroke back. What is with the crowd though? I had friend drop in asking me why the game was so quiet. We could almost hear individual conversations during the game. Wow!
mtnvol writes:
Just Like Football! Clap, clap, clapclapclap.
daddyaxe writes:
The Lofton turnaround is simple. Work for your shots and they will come. Great game . All the credit to coach PEARL.....He had them ready and to see him chew out his all american on national tv shows why we are so fortunate to have a coach that will not tolerate anything.....Look out Bama, your staring down a red hot barrel...GO VOLS
CrankE writes:
Just in case we needed more bulletin board material for the Memphis game:
"We're going to go from being Tennessee's Team to being America's Team," Calipari said.
http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/news;_y...
That deserves a strong answer from Tennessee on Feb 26.
tdvolman writes:
Great game Big Orange!! Keep working on that FT shooting.
VolCane7979 writes:
AF1,
On the same vein, word is that Billy's probation officer has an eye on him to become the head coach of the Texas penal league. That would also most certainly be laughable... "nyuk, nyuk". Enjoy that first round NIT loss to Creighton punk.
natcross24#581803 writes:
AF1, kitty kats will be a road team in the NIT
johnlg00 writes:
Some pretty good predictions for the rest of the season from several posters today. Here's my $.02 worth: 1) 'Bama is a wounded animal; they are going to be very dangerous there; strong inside with streaky outside shooters; could be a trap game unless we show up big-time; 2) Miss. St. may be the toughest opponent we have left, except maybe for Memphis; they crushed the Ole Miss team we struggled with; we will probably lose that one unless we REALLY step up; 3) Fla and Vandy will also be tough at their places. We will probably lose at least one of these, and could easily lose all five, including Memphis. The key in all these is to shoot free throws decently and avoid getting steamrolled on the boards. That is the fine line we tread; as good as we can be at times, we just don't have much margin for error, though our defense will keep us in most games. GO VOLS!!!
CoverOrange writes:
We beat Fla in Gainesville when they had 5 future NBAers on the team. We lost there last year when they had something to prove to us. Should be able to win there again.
MSt will be the most difficult game in the SEC.
Memphis? Rather beat them in April than February, if they make it that far.
My take on Lofton. We will probably find out after the season that he practiced shooting treys too much over the last summer and strained muscles/joints/ligaments. Thus he didn't practice shooting much Oct-Dec to recover. No more basis for my guess than anyone elses.
dvolsdacious#585217 writes:
Hard to figure this team out. I see us getting beat by Memphis, Florida and Mississppi State. Mississippi and Vandy are overrated and should not be in Top 25. I think next year belongs to Tennessee before Florida and Kentucy reload in next two years. Elite 8 would be good.
SFOrange writes:
AFO:
per your suggestion, lets get back together in 75 years and compare the number of championship banners---brilliant.
Your posts here are sad (we can feel your frustration)--doesn't UK have a blog that you could crawl to?
SFOrange writes:
AFO (no doubt with Bush on board) adds to the sad KY backwoods legacy of isolation. Please try to have some insight for this site or take it back to the UK pep rally.
CoverOrange writes:
AF1, yeah, you're right, ya got a lot of hardware up there and we have a long way to go to equal it...in men's basketball. However,
Football: who's YOUR daddy?
Women's BB: who's YOUR mama?
Has UK won a championship in anything other than men's BB?
mloaks#222092 writes:
Freethrows. For cryin out loud...
If Ramar can finally get consistant, land sakes; kin you say Damon... naw
Go Eli!
budrhon writes:
TouchdownTN- I agree that this game of UT -v- Memphis is getting so much hype that I hope it does live up to it's billing. I believe it will. I think Memphis defensively is bit better and Rose is the key difference. Ramar and Jordan are going to have their hands full, but Pearl may utilize Prince or J Smith to guard him. But this kid is so quick it's unreal. CDR & Dorsey are going to be difficult to handle as well. But on any given night you never know how your shooting percentage is going to go. Memphis had no answer for Lofton last year as Georgia couldn't handle him Saturday. It will be a heck of a game. Can't wait.
budrhon writes:
Pacman - Memphis conference schedule maybe cupcake, but their non conference games have been good - Oklahoma, UCONN, Georgetown, Cincy, Gonzaga,Southern Cal, Arizona. None of these teams are cupcakes. Research before you comment.
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