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Tennessee Men's Basketball
Florida Gators
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Tennessee won its first outright regular-season SEC men's basketball Championship in 41 years by saving its best for last Wednesday night.
The No. 4 Vols made a dramatic second-half charge to pull out an 89-86 victory over Florida before a sellout crowd of 12,046 at the O'Connell Center.
Mississippi State's 86-85 overtime loss to Vanderbilt earlier Wednesday night set up UT's opportunity to clinch the outright title.
But Tennessee couldn't don the SEC crown until Nick Calathes, who scored a game-high 24 points, missed a 3-pointer in the final seconds and the Vols took possession and ran out the clock.
"Our players had a will and determination to win that championship tonight,'' UT coach Bruce Pearl said. "We didn't want to wait until Sunday.''
Perhaps not, but the Vols (27-3, 13-2 SEC) waited until the second half to snap out of their doldrums after Florida (21-9, 8-7) raced out to a 55-42 half-time lead.
"There were some calls, some plays they made and then their crowd got involved,'' said JaJuan Smith, who led UT with 23 points. "We just fought through it and picked each other up.
"We're SEC Champs!''
The Vols, who trailed by as many as 16 in the first half, opened the second half on a 7-0 tear to trail 55-49 after a Ramar Smith steal led to a Tyler Smith turnaround with 18 minutes left.
The teams continued to battle over the next 10 minutes, exchanging baskets and hard fouls with the crowd growing louder at each exchange.
Finally, UT appeared to wear down the young Gators.
A Lofton 3-pointer at the 8:16 mark pulled the Vols to 69-68 and ignited a 14-0 run. Wayne Chism capped the burst - which included eight consecutive points from JaJuan Smith - with a basket inside to put the Vols up 79-69 with 6:11 left.
Florida, fighting for an NCAA at-large bid, fired back with an 8-0 run that cut UT's lead to 79-77 with 3:30 left. The Gators' charge included a physical exchange between Dan Werner and Tyler Smith that led to double technical fouls.
"I didn't want to fight, but we were trying to win,'' Tyler Smith said. "He (Werner) had that hard foul on J.P. in the last game, so that was twice for him.''
The Vols had taken an 85-82 lead on two Lofton free throws before Calathes drained a 3-pointer to tie the game at 85-85 with 1:46 left.
Chism and Calathes traded missed shots on the next two possessions before JaJuan Smith was fouled and sent to the free throw line with 44.1 seconds left.
JaJuan Smith missed both, but Tyler Smith knifed through for the rebound on the second miss and scored on a putback to put UT up 87-85.
Marreese Speights split a pair of free throws with 27.2 seconds left to pull Florida to 87-86, and then Chism took a hard foul at the other end with 18.5 seconds on the clock.
Chism, a .493 free throw shooter, calmly sank both shots to extend the lead to 89-86.
"I couldn't even hear the crowd because my ears were ringing,'' Chism said. "Coach (Steve) Forbes had worked with me on my free throws, so I wasn't worried.''
Werner charged at the other end, but UT turned the ball over on the ensuing inbounds, giving Florida the opportunity for Calathes' errant 3-point attempt.
"The difference in the game was three things,'' Gators coach Billy Donovan said. "To start the second half, Tyler Smith got them close with a lot of plays around the basket.
"And then JaJuan Smith and Lofton made some difficult shots. Those two guys do it every game, and it's a special and unique quality. You have to give them credit.''
In addition to winning their school-record 27th game, the Vols also clinched the top seed in the SEC East.
UT opens play in the SEC tournament at the Georgia Dome with a 1 p.m. game March 14 against the winner of the March 13 game between the West's No. 4 team (Ole Miss or LSU) and the East's No. 5 (South Carolina or Georgia).
The Vols will close out the regular season at 2 p.m. Sunday at Thompson-Boling Arena when they put their 31-game home-court win streak on the line against the Gamecocks (13-16, 5-10).
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Comments » 264
knoxville_born writes:
What a comeback! What a tough road win! Bring on the SEC tourney! Go Vols!!!
knoxville_born writes:
What a comeback! What a tough road win! Bring on the SEC tourney! Go Vols!!!
TommyJack writes:
Sweeeeet
volsfan327 writes:
Awesome, just Awesome! SEC Champs sounds soooo good! Thank you Coach Pearl and the mens basketball team for bringing this victory home!!! The dry spell is over!!!GO VOLS
4114 writes:
It's GREAT TO BE A CHAMPION VOL !! What a game to win it at florida makes it even more sweet.
utchris writes:
First Round bye. Will play the winner of East #5 (Gerogia) vs. West #4 (LSU, ALA, or Auburn) in the second round
lnbadger320 writes:
what a game, composure, composure, composure. even against the refs, which were pathetic.
volsfan92 writes:
GO VOLS SEC Champs
Einstein writes:
What a GRITTY performance by the Vols!!!
UTByrd writes:
Talk about home-cooking! Congrats, UT
girdle1998#233171 writes:
Tyler Smith is a MAN!
budrhon writes:
Gritty performance by the Vols and JuJuan has nothing but ice water running thru his veins.
volsfan92 writes:
what a stretch of 4 games this team showed so much heart
UTByrd writes:
Still gotta beat the 'cocks. GO Vols!!!!!
volsfan92 writes:
absolutely girdle
huntined#565710 writes:
That was a great game gators were ready in that first half...hit everything.
Good job to come back on them..
SEC CHAMPS !!! I still think fla needs to be in ncaa not nit.. if we had 21 wins we would feel as if we should be there if we had reversed roles
GREAT WIN...GO VOLS!!!
volsfan92 writes:
man the SEC is a tough league
EDis4UT writes:
I love this team! Coach Pearl has this team playing their hearts out!
jr8657 writes:
SEC CHAMPIONS!!!!!!!!! WHAT A GREAT COMEBACK. WE CAME OUT IN THE SECOND HALF AND JUST DOMINATED! THIS IS ABSOLUTELTY WONDERFUL! 41 YEARS OF WAITING IS FINALLY OVER! CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OF THE PLAYERS, ALL OF THE COACHING STAFF AND TO THE HEAD COACH OF THE 2007-2008 SEC BASKETBALL CHAMPIONS....BRUCE PEARL!!!!!!! GOOD LUCK AND LET'S GO GET'EM IN POST SEASON!!!! GO BIG ORANGE!!
MrBamSeydu writes:
where's gatornation at tonight??? yeah, that's what i thought.....
4 more W's and we should be the #1 overall seed.
chrisw2967 writes:
Just pay Pearl the money to keep him.
great win and great comeback
rabidvol1998 writes:
Yaaaahoooooooooooo. It's great to be a TN VOL.
Go Vols.
everybody contributed. Great team effort.
volsfan92 writes:
Did BP say something to the refs after Tyler got hammered on the dunk in the first half
volsfan92 writes:
Did BP say something to the refs after Tyler got hammered on the dunk in the first half
murrayvol writes:
When Widby & Co. last turned this trick I was a junior at the University. Where did all those years go? Thanks Vols!
murrayvol writes:
When Widby & Co. last turned this trick I was a junior at the University. Where did all those years go? Thanks Vols!
tnbanker_govols writes:
Another situation where another team played over their heads in the first half. Tough win on the road. Beat a good Florida team along with a horrible SEC officiating team as well. SEC officiating did their best to get another team in the Tourney but it didn't work. Tyler Smith really set the tone and J. Smith hit some clutch shots. Awesome game.....the Vols really deserve this victory, the Championship and a #1 seed in the Tourney. Congratulations Volunteers.....see ya in Knoxville on Sunday.
cdldoc#211897 writes:
Great punter, Ron Widby.
cphil writes:
This game proved what the Vols are made of....had to beat a hot Florida team and the refs. I thought the officiating in the Memphis game was bad, and the next game at Vandy was as bad, but this was about the most blatant attempt to help beat a team I've ever seen. I thought I was watching a horror movie for most of the game, "The Rape In Gainesville".
Congratulations to Coach Pearl and the entire team for overcoming the adversity and wrapping up the regular season title.
billadcock#209476 writes:
Where is gaternation now??????
Go Vols.
billadcock#209476 writes:
Where is gatornation? Hahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahha
BluetickBlues writes:
SEC is tough. How do the Vols withstand that barrage of shots in the first half and still win? Great game, refs were atrocious as usual on the road in the SEC. Thank you Commode Doors, I hate you, but thanks for helping the SEC championship arrive to KNOXVEGAS! Champions baby!
cphil writes:
Just a thought, I wonder if Teddy Valentine helped had pick this crew.
volsfan92 writes:
55 pts in 20 minutes...then I realized 42 was pretty good
hallmo11 writes:
Once again....our Vols don't panic and gut out another win!
They remain completely calm under tremendous pressure
in a tough setting. We're so proud!
OldNumber7 writes:
I really hope, somehow, Tennessee meets Florida in the big dance - it'll be an easy win. Pearl owns Donovan.
burntorangeVOLffle writes:
That was one intense game. The BBall rivalry with FL is getting as heated as the FB one. Fortunately we are on the lopsided advantage at the moment.
Congrats to the team on the SEC Championship. Now win the tourney and claim the unanimous conference crown.
StaytheCourse writes:
What a Grizzled team the Vols have become...Where you at GatorNation? Tyler Smith is a Man-beast....and how bout Chism hittin some clutch ft's. Florida record aganist the "Total Package" 1-5.
tnbanker_govols writes:
The Vols have been pretty impressive on the road this year (minus the fluke at KY). Playing on a neutral court, I believe they can go deep in the tourney this year. I'm ready to fill in my bracket!
volsfan92 writes:
great game #5 way to go
bobo_the_vol writes:
Pwned.
volsfan92 writes:
stay the course i agree the chism fts were critical
VolBall_1 writes:
Gators!Gators! Why dont you just bite my bass?
One day you guys will figure the total score for the whole game is what counts--Also, it is not figured like golf--where the low number wins. Keep coming to our board and we will help you with your sports IQ!!! Dont worry about your baksetball team--like the pool in your wonderful sports facility they are all wet..May I recomend pampers.
volsfan92 writes:
great road teamwith or without sleep, flu etc
SFOrange writes:
That's what championship teams do---overcome adversity. UNC came back down 18 @ BC, Duke came back down 14 @ NC State. That's the kind of win that show's that UT is ready for the NCAAs. Go Orange Go.
anthony writes:
We were there in 67 leading the panty raid after we beat Miss State. The campus just went wild. We were planning the raid from inside the dorm with a guy named JF leading the charge on a loudspeaker set up in his dorm room. Great memories. Finally, we win another one, i didn't know it had been that long. To God be the glory, thanks be to Him and for the hard work and for coach Pearl.It's great to be on top of the heap. I knew we had it in us and that the Tennessee fans deserved this too! Don't you really feel bad about the gator poster trying to get our goat, but we beat Billy Donovan anyway and in the Gator Dome!@!
Rockytop98 writes:
CHOMP!!!! Take a bite out of the Gators!!! Sweettttttttttttttttttttttttttttt!!!!!!!!
ULTIMATEVOLUNTEER writes:
Pearl 5 little Ricky 1.
reasonablevol writes:
GREAT GAME!
Florida is going to be really good next year :(
Teams we don't want to play in SEC tourney:
Kentucky or Florida!
Let's be honest, we're probably are going to have to play both.
SEC tourney will be very tough b/c everyone knows us in this league. NCAA tourney will be different!
GOOD LUCK VOLS!!!
hdhurst writes:
This game reminded me of the Rocky-Clubber Lang fight in Rocky III (or was it Rocky 13). Anyway, Clubber is hyped up and is extended alot of energy to beat rocky, then Rocky wears him down to take the final punch.
Sweet road victory, against the Gators, no less. This was as complete a TEAM victory as I have seen in some time. Like some of the other readers have said, we can improve our bench and will become a better team. Nice job, however, from Howell and Prince stepping it up.
Goal # 1 accomplished...SEC regular season title
Goal # 2? SEC tourney championship
Goal # 3? NCAA championship
As they say, 1 game at a game, fellas. GO VOLS!!!
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