MURFREESBORO - Tennessee couldn't have written a much better script Friday night.
UT men's basketball coach Bruce Pearl said he wanted his team to face some adversity, get better, and win while getting better.
Mission accomplished.
Tennessee scored a 76-66 victory over Middle Tennessee State before a crowd of 11,802 at the Murphy Center - the second largest home crowd in the school's history.
Tyler Smith led the 14th-ranked Vols (3-0) with 18 points, 10 rebounds and four assists against the Blue Raiders (2-1).
"The thing you saw tonight, Tyler had his moments, Bobby (Maze) closed it out and Wayne (Chism) did his things,'' Pearl said. "We ground it out. We did the things we had to do on the road.
"We didn't shoot ourselves out of it. We dominated the rebounds and that was important.''
So was freshman Scotty Hopson.
The lead had changed hands 10 times through the first 15 minutes with MTSU holding a 26-25 lead at the 4:54 mark before Pearl called timeout and Hopson kicked it into gear.
Chism scored in close for the 11th lead change before Hopson hit three consecutive long-range jumpers - two 3-pointers - as UT went on a 10-0 run.
The Vols held a 36-32 lead at the half, but the Blue Raiders came back to challenge.
Demetrius Green's jumper at the 17:27 mark tied the game at 38-38.
Smith responded, scoring quickly in transition to spark another 10-0 run that Cameron Tatum capped with a three-point play to make it 48-38 with 14:02 left.
MTSU couldn't get closer than six for the game's remainder, as Maze hit 5 of 6 free throws over the final 2 1/2 minutes.
"We put the ball in Bobby's hands, they couldn't press it out of him,'' Pearl said. "And then he went to the free throw line and made his free throws.''
Preseason Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year Desmond Yates played only 1:20 of the first half after picking up his second foul, finishing with eight points in 19 minutes.
"We can take some positives out of it, but we weren't playing this game for respect,'' said Yates, whose team suffered a 109-40 loss to UT in Knoxville last season. "We were playing this game to win.''
UT overcame a 16-9 turnover disadvantage by out-rebounding MTSU 38-23 and hitting 20-of-26 free throws while the Blue Raiders connected on just 12 of 25.
Pearl said junior J.P. Prince (10 points) suffered a twisted ankle, but didn't elaborate on Prince's status for the next game.
UT returns to action Thursday against Siena (TV: ESPN2, noon) in the first round of the Old Spice Classic in the Milk House at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Fla.
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Comments » 43
TooLegit2Quit writes:
A great win for the Vols. They really needed a game like this before the Old Spice Classic.
eduardo writes:
The newcomers needed to be tested on the road before we get into conference play. Will come in handy later. Kind of concerned about the backside of the press. Also it looked like we were having trouble with the ball screens and on the ball defense. Nonetheless I'll take it better to win on the road than to lose at home to VMI. Hahhahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!!
xvolx writes:
good one
tnbigg writes:
Great job guys! Tennessee IS a basketball school with a football program...
GoVols133 writes:
At the end of the day this will be a quality win against a pretty good team. With that said we didn't play very well. I beleive we showed our youth tonight even though alot of our upperclassman were responsible for many of the mistakes. Another discouraging factor was mtsu missed a ton of freethrows and stayed close, but at the end of the day this was great experience for our young players and mtsu was a pretty good team. This win will give confidince to our team, and I truely beleive that this team has what it takes to be a real contender for another sec championship. GO VOLS!
blitzshoot writes:
WOW! have to salute the Blue Raiders from closing the gap from 60 + down to ten in one year. Good job Vols for getting in and getting out with a victory.
longtimefan writes:
Tennessee state championship still alive! Bring on Belmont!
VolBall writes:
It's great to grind out road wins by hitting free throws, controlling the boards and wearing out the opponent with depth. Not a terrific night for the Vols, but we imposed ourselves on them.
I attended the game tonight. Maze is quick as a hiccup with a strong handle. Hobson shoots amazing tear drops with unreal arch and soft touch. Negadu (spelling??) is a terrific athelete. He will be a beast. He is extremely fast running the court.
Tyler is the obvious team leader. He was very steady tonight, rebounding hitting free throws, running the floor and realizing when he needed to back it out and run the half court offense.
Not a beautiful game. But a good road win against a so-so opponent.
CleverUserNameVol writes:
It was good to see Maze attack the basket a little more. Aside from his solid D and ability to dish the ball, I think he could be a serious scoring threat.
scottmichaelmoore#540590 writes:
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
Irwin_Linker writes:
hahahaha...are we watching the same Memphis team.
scottmichaelmoore#540590 writes:
Fire itsme53792...then John Adams and then Mike Griffith.
ozoney#235138 writes:
it's sad to see these idiot memphis fans still coming to our message boards hateing because we beat them last year. and noxious knoxville?..um..have you ever been to Memphis? Not only would i rather walk the streets of atlanta or knoxville before i would memphis, but knoxville is a much better atmosphere. let go of last year, we are UT, and memphis is still the third, maybe fourth best school in the state. i'm pretty sure UT and Vandy has ranked higher than memphis in the all sports cup pretty much every year they've had it. i'll let you look it up. as far as making it to the title game?...second place is still the first loser.
Timed_vol (Inactive) writes:
didn't get to see the game. the stat line looked pretty solid.
I've read where mtsu is expected to contend in their conference this season.
It's smart what Burce is doing. This helps the in-state schools, and helps UT. Plus as Bruce said, these kids play with a little extra effort against UT, which maybe an out-of-state school would not.
OrangePower11 writes:
Very solid assesment volball...only thing I'd say is that MTSU is probably a solid opponent. This one will look better later in the year I think.
Go Vols!!!
smillar31 writes:
Hey Itsme! Only a Memphis fan would be idiotic enough to compare wins over teams this early in the season. But if you wanna go there, I'm not above being an idiot. Why do we need to compare MTSU and UTC? Why can't we compare victories over UTC alone? I think the Tigers (although they seem to have been declawed and had their canines removed...you know, the big teeth) beat UTC by, what was it, 12 points? At the Pyramid, right? Now let's see...I know I'm over 30 now so my memory sometimes comes and goes, but if I recall correctly, the Vols just beat UTC last week by 39. Does that seem right, everyone? Please refresh my memory. I don't want to pass along false information to our ever-so-astute comrades on THAT side of the state. Come back when you have something to say.
Urbiewerecomingtogetyou writes:
Good one 31!!You should be thankful that you don't have to live with these bone heads. When I retire I'll be moving east and that can't come soon enough. LOL!!
P.S. mempuss ssTater will never be first in anything.
kyvol98 writes:
Memphis is 89 in the RPI
UT (The REAL UT is in Knoxville) is 66, not that it matters at this point.
http://realtimerpi.com/rpi_Men.html
Titan writes:
Hey GladI'mNotYou - As long as the genius Calipari is coaching (?) the Tigers, you will have problems winning when it counts. BTW, has he used those two timeouts he saved from the Championship Game yet this year? You do get to keep them don't you - kind of like roll over minutes? Just wondering.
johnlg00 writes:
Stoner! Put down the pipe, man! In your 11:41 post you said you didn't think the MTSU game should be seen as a quality win. Then in your 11:44 post you said you hope the Vols don't play them in the NCAAs! Which is it? If MTSU is good, then this is a quality win; if they aren't, then why should we fear playing them in the tourney? I'm so confused(;-P)!
Orange4life writes:
BETTER DO BETTER THAN THAT BOYS
We may need 2 balls to go around with all the shooters, how bout some defence
CleverUserNameVol writes:
Pearl said, after the game, that he needed to play-call for Scotty more often. He sounded apologetic for not doing so last night. My guess is that you'll see more of Hopson as the season goes on and everybody gets into their groove a little more. I fear that it's going to take a butt stomping like UNC dropped on us in the first half two years ago to get everybody locked in and focused and start playing like the powerhouse we should be. As for Hopson, he's gonna need at least another year to get where he wants to be in the NBA draft. Just my opinion, and we all know what opinions are like...Memphis fans.
Madkels writes:
I only was able to see the final 10 minutes of the game because CSS was showing HS football here in the ATL. I listened to Kesling during the first part of the game and during the MTSU game. I think these guys are playing pretty well this early in the season and they seem to have good chemistry. If Brian Williams continues to get confidence, we could be better than last year. It's gonna be fun!!
trollhunter writes:
Why don't you get your thuggish rankings off this site before I sick my brother on you.
You booser thunk!!!
trollhunter writes:
Why don't you get your thuggish rankings off this site before I sick my brother on you.
You booser thunk!!!
trollhunter writes:
Disregard response Irwin, meant for the troll thug from the mud landfill.
chuckfromwoodbury writes:
Nice to have a coach who takes responsibility for the performance of his team, win or lose. You should have taken notes, Philly. See ya!
THE_VOL writes:
Not impressed with this and despite his comments you can rest assured BP isn't either. Anybody trying to make this a "good" win is kidding themselves. MTSU is the same team they were last year and this game should NEVER have been this close. The defense is pathetic and has been for all but about 30 minutes total in 3 games. We're getting little out of the press and MTSU made a mockery of it by just throwing over the top for easy buckets. Inbounds defense is getting virtually nothing after averaging nearly 5 TO's/game a year ago. Half court defense gives up far too many uncontested shots and isn't creating turnovers either. Just no intensity at all.
Somebody PLEASE explain how Wayne Chism does not DOMINATE this game. He's a damned junior and still pouts like a freshman. If he wants to be a star, he needs to play like one. And as expected Brian Williams was a virtual no show after his big night. As I posted the other day, he had ONE big game last year and then went in the tank. Watch Blake Griffin a time or two boys and then MAYBE you'll understand what it's about. Hell for that matter just watch YOUR OWN TEAMMATE - Tyler!
I'm also totally amazed that Hopson has not gotten a single freaking rebound in TWO GAMES!!!! How on God's green earth does THAT happen????? Hell, even our SMALL guards last year REBOUNDED! Rebounding is NOTHING but desire. It's something that ANYBODY can do - see Dane Bradshaw - no matter what else is going on in their game. And it has NOTHING to do with being "young" or inexperienced.
Offensively, way too much "my turn" nonsense going on. We've gone from 32 assists to 9 in three games against virtually the same competition. And the scoring has dropped in each contest - which in fairness is more because of the bad defense not creating possessions than anything on the offensive end.
I'm only looking at this realistically so if you don't like it, I don't really care. But the FACT is there will not be a single team in Florida this week that we can beat with any of these first 3 efforts. And it only gets tougher from there. This was our first tight game and BP essentially dropped to a 7 man rotation as the three others that played were all under 9 minutes. That says HE doesn't trust his depth either and does not bode well for the long term if he can't go 9-10 deep at 18+ minutes each with confidence. I realize there are adjustments to be made during the early season games and that alot of new faces are still learning. BUT everything I'm talking about is related to effort, desire and attitude and those are totally controllable by each individual. This has not been a good practice team so far either and it's obviously carrying over into games. Young guys need to understand this ain't HS anymore and you ain't a star until you produce like one. The season starts for real on Thursday and I certainly hope we can all continue to be thankful it's basketball time in TN!!
jclvol writes:
A study several years ago showed that if you removed the standardized test scores (i.e. SAT & ACT) of Memphis from the state's averages, Tennessee would rank in the top 50% of the nation. We're not just calling you idiots; it's been scientifically demonstrated.
Might want to check those #s yet again. Tennessee: 20, Memphis: 99. I know reading isn't your strong suit.
http://realtimerpi.com/rpi_Men.html
By the way, when you've lost the last two games to a team, I suggest waiting until you actually win to run your mouth. Talk about blowing the NC all you want...I mean making it to the NC...BP owns Memphis now.
jclvol writes:
UT is 2-0 against Texas under Pearl. We blew them out AT U of Texas..not just IN Texas. Thanks for playing.
Why don't we stop comparing common opponents and just start comparing UT vs Memphis under Pearl?
I really don't think you want to bring up football.
jclvol writes:
Oh yeah, 2-1 (with a win at Texas). Forgot about early season tourn.
Alabaster_Jones writes:
Sorry, but you lost!
Blacksburg_Vol writes:
Great win for the Vols, but let's face it: If we don't make it to the Final Four this year, it's time for Coach Pearl to step down.
TopTenn writes:
Well,the tigers won't be undefeated when they visit.
Raynoch writes:
Well, if we are going back to last year, why not just compare head-to-head?
Raynoch writes:
Sarcasm or out of your mind?
Colliervol writes:
"the Tigers are likely again to be undefeated."
A bit of misplaced optimism it would appear. Care to revise that prediction?
Seriously, both UT and Memphis are probably going to take a few lumps before January from having to integrate new players. But Memphis had better find a point guard quickly and, unfortunately, I don't see one out there that can do the job. Kemp is done, Anderson can't handle it and I figure C.J. Henry was a throw-in just to get his brother. And if you think a 6-8 freshman small forward can handle it, good luck with that.
The point guard issue won't be a problem against 90% of the teams on the Memphis schedule. The problem is that it will arise against the good teams where Memphis needs to desperately improve it's RPI. And the good teams (UT included) will chew you up if you don't have a point guard to run that offense.
TopTenn writes:
Where are the memphis trolls today?
TopTenn writes:
1. FT shooting practice?
2. Looking for Andre Allen for PG?
3. Hiding Tyreke from the police?
Colliervol writes:
I'll take door #1 Monty.
#2-They could find Andre easily if they stake out Third and Vance.
#3- I don't know about the police, but I'm pretty sure they are assisting Tyreke with his application to the Brick Mason's Union.
Raynoch writes:
Wait until we drop our first loss of the year. Then they will show up again.
trollhunter writes:
You didn't listen to what I said, you thug.
Maybe it is time to bring out my brother, the trollkiller.
trollhunter writes:
Here's one thing I am going to enjoy: my brother, the trollkiller, coming onboard to kick your you know what off this board, you thuggish punk.
I already know your master can't handle me.
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