Tennessee Men's Basketball
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Tennessee’s Bobby Maze lived up to his nickname in the clutch, as his 10-foot jumper with 5.4 seconds left proved to be “the solution’’ in the Vols’ 74-72 win over Arkansas on Wednesday night.
The Razorbacks had two shots to send the game into overtime after Maze’s basket, but Stefan Welsh missed on his drive to the basket and Michael Washington was closely guarded by Wayne Chism on a put-back attempt that missed at the buzzer.
“We’re obviously very fortunate to get out of here with a win,’’ UT coach Bruce Pearl said. “ The biggest difference in the game was our bench, where we out-scored them 19-2.’’
Thirteen of those points came from Maze, who continues to thrive in his role playing behind Josh Tabb at point guard.
“Coach (Pearl) has a lot of confidence in me, and he’s told me to get in the gym and get those extra shots in,’’ said Maze, who in 25 minutes of playing time was 5-of-7 shooting — 3 of 5 beyond the 3-point line. “I can’t tell you how good I feel shooting the ball.’’
Tennessee (14-7, 5-2 SEC) moved to a half-game behind Eastern Division leader Florida. Arkansas (13-7, 1-6) sent the crowd of 16,064 at Bud Walton Arena home disappointed.
Wayne Chism led the Vols with 22 points and nine rebounds, Smith scored 16 points, and J.P. Prince had 13 points and six assists.
Pearl said Prince’s assists — he also had nine in the win over Florida — are a byproduct of teams playing zone. Prince, at 6-foot-7 and with point guard skills — can see and pass over the top of those zones.
Welsh led the Razorbacks with 22 points, Courtney Fortson had 19 points and six assists, and Washington had 18 points and 11 rebounds.
A game of big runs gave way to a see-saw affair that featured 15 ties or lead changes in the final 14 minutes.
Arkansas held a 35-33 lead at the end of the topsy-turvy first half.
The Vols jumped out to an 8-1 lead, quieting the crowd.
But then the Razorbacks went on a 16-0 run, taking advantage of four UT turnovers to go up 17-8.
It was UT’s turn. The Vols reeled off a 12-0 run, accentuated with Scotty Hopson’s 360-dunk in the open court to put UT up 20-17.
Arkansas scored the next eight points, but the Vols hit four 3-pointers in the final four minutes of the half — two by Maze, two by Cameron Tatum — before Washington’s lay-in right before the buzzer gave Razorbacks the halftime edge.
Maze said the team huddled at halftime.
“We were all saying this is a game we need to win,’’ said Maze, who was tabbed “The Solution” to UT’s point guard woes during the summer. “We wanted to get on that airplane to head home tonight with smiles on our faces.’’
UT opened the second half on a 9-0 run to match its largest lead of the game, going up 42-35 at the 17:05 mark on a Smith 3-pointer.
Arkansas rallied with an 11-2 run to reclaim the lead at 46-44 on a Welsh drive with 14:18 left.
The give-and-take followed, with the teams swapping the lead and the momentum as the Arkansas fans roared.
“It feels great anytime you can hit a game-winning shot,’’ Maze said. “That’s why I came to Tennessee.’’
The Vols return to action at 1 p.m. Saturday at Auburn, which along with Ole Miss are the only two places in the SEC that Pearl has yet to win.
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Comments » 161
mdvol writes:
Great road win! Great way to build on the Florida win. Let's go on a little run and get some mo' before tourney time.
TopTenn writes:
Go Vols, play better D. Soooooooooo Pig
eb502us#225637 writes:
UGLY against a bad team, but we'll take it.
huntined#565710 writes:
Not on tv here in Fla,,trying to pick up wlac hard to get but I did get final score..WOW that was too close
b_neas writes:
bad team??? this team at home is very very capable of being good as shown by wins vs ou and texas........road wins against any team in conf are good....give some credit
b_neas writes:
show me a freshman that is consistent and i will show you a one and done 1st round pick.....enough already this team still has to grow a lot....be happy they at least look good at times instead of bad the entire game.....dude its a conf road win....nuff said
allvol9 writes:
JP came alive finally and really lead this team in the 2nd half. Close win but any road win is great. Go Vols.
b_neas writes:
still do not understand why negedu is not cutting into williams minutes big time.....williams is so slow its sad....he only needs to play where there is a big heavy body on the other team....negedu is a freak who is strong and quick and can shoot ft's better than anyone on the team
b_neas writes:
ever think that the reason the inside was open in the 2nd half was because they were defending against the 3 because we shot so many in the 1st half??? the coach may be smarter than u are...imagine that
ULTIMATEVOLUNTEER writes:
55% in second half. scored on every possession in last 3 minutes. ugly?
lomas98 writes:
All the threes they made against FL was fools gold. It made them think they are a good 3 point shooting team. It is almost like they jack up as many as possible to see if they are hitting, then decide to do what they need to do to win. MOst of the 3's taken though were open shots, so at least they were not forcing them. Second half was much better. Did Hopson score after the 360 dunk? Step one complete to go 4-1 in this 5 game stretch. This strech will solidify our NCAA seed or knock us out completely.
MiserableFloridaVol writes:
Big road win tonight. Still 1/2 game out of first! Keep winning.
b_neas writes:
forgot to mention 6-15 3pt in the 1st half....40% is shooting it pretty good.....something worked well in the gameplan, we won
cdonsbach writes:
That Fortson kid is a BALLER.
Great win, GO VOLS!
eduardo writes:
Glad to see something good happen to Bobby Maze. Had a good night overall. Definitely glad to get a road win with that crowd and all, oh yeah and a clueless ref named Valentine. That guy is pathetic. We have seen some bad officiating over the course of time in this conference, but that guy takes the cake. Its always a good week when we win and kenlucky doesnt hey scratch!! hahahahahahaha!!!!!
SeanJean writes:
I am 100% with the Negedu for Williams argument. I have no idea how Williams gets any minutes with a guy like Negedu on your bench. Williams adds nothing to this team. I simply don't get it. It seems like Pearl just has too much invested in him or something. He cant defend, can't rebound, can't hold onto the ball, can't hit free throws, can't post up, etc. I just don't get it.
That being said, HUUUUUGE wins for the vols. Verrrrry lucky to get this one. We actually hit some big 3's (which were often awful shots) and really buckled down in the clutch unlike in the Memphis, Gonzaga, or LSU games. Really big win, and hopefully a confidence booster for this team.
My bottom lines of the game:
1) Get Chism the ball down low. He's our best player, and the best low post player in the SEC period.
2) Tyler Smith needs to stop driving from the perimeter. This is more often than not a turnover waiting to happen. He has no control. Play him at the 4 and let him post up like he did last year.
3) Play Negedu over Williams. There is no way on earth Negedu can't give us what Williams is. I simply don't believe it.
cdonsbach writes:
Williams is hot and cold. I think the potential is there, but sometimes he seems like he's a step behind the game.
King53 writes:
whew! finally won a close one. I have never seen a team that does not value each possession like these Vols. Hopefully they will get it together and finish strong.
Layla_Kiffin_is_hott writes:
I bet we would hit more threes if we acually jumped off the ground when we shot them, but then again Scotty "skyball" Hopson might kill a bird in the rafters if we did that...
Layla_Kiffin_is_hott writes:
I Heard Negedu can run a 4.3 forty not to mention his unbelievable vertical... hrmmm.... Marlon Shmarlon put Negedu in pads and that should boost our down recruiting year.
JohnsonCity_George writes:
It only took a little over three years for VOL fans to become basketball scientist. PLEASE......I'll take any win over anybody on any court anytime.
yabadabadoo1026 writes:
good road win but so much for Hopsons second "coming out"--maybe hell come out again in another 2 or 3 weeks------but the consective game airball streak was broken tonite it seems
tennrich1 writes:
Somebody..please...tell our bigs "DO NOT PUT THE BALL ON THE FLOOR in the POST"....great win though!!!
Vol_Jokes writes:
Memphis won it's 50th straight conference game at Southern Methodist tonight. Thirteen in a row 2nd longest win streak in the nation. We beat the teams we are suppossed to beat decidedly. Way to win a nailbitter against 1-6 Ark.
tennrich1 writes:
he is a "Chris Lofton" look-alike!
b_neas writes:
the same ark team that beat ou and texas at ark
tennrich1 writes:
that vol-jokes is Memphis' banner win.....at least you better hope it is....
jhayes0926#638474 writes:
Will Hopson ever become consistent? Chism, Maze, and J.P. were the only ones that came to play. Anyone else think the announcers for Raycom are really bad?? especially Booker!!
GoodKnightInTheBurg writes:
wecoradio.com has every game on the radio. tune in and listen
keithvol1971 writes:
Not sure where you live, but I'm in Tallahassee and I was able to get it on the Sunshine Network with Comcast. I hate you missed it. I kind of found it by mistake.
b_neas writes:
was not on here in greensboro, nc either, but if u go to utsports.com they had a watch live link to raycom sports and u can watch free over the internet on your computer....i have watched 3 games like that this year
ULTIMATEVOLUNTEER writes:
Does anyone really care about conference USA? seriously. ESPN will show highlights after womens tennis if you are lucky. Join a big boy conference and you can lose heavily in every sport.
doctorvol#211700 writes:
happy with win. Chism, Prince, Tyler, and Maze played clutch late. I wish we'd value possession better the first 33 minutes of the game. Still, 3-0 on road in any league is commendable. Lots of work to do, but showing signs.
Now, let's go get the Lebos!
FWBVol writes:
It depends on where you live in Florida as to whether or not you got the game. I'm up here in Northwest Florida, Fort Walton Beach to be exact, and we picked it up as part of the Raycom network on a station that is considered Mobile, Ala./Pensacola.
It was an interesting game, and I was glad to see the team show some heart at the end. We still have a decent shot of making the Big Dance and even winning the SEC East. This is the year of anything can happen in the SEC.
b_neas writes:
im sure these guys run a lot more than u ever did ...lol....and thats prob when they win
Ironcity writes:
Them and the refs. Maybe I am getting older but the refs in the SEC are getting worse every year.
volunteer11 writes:
we are capable of winning every single game we have left before the tournament. one game at a time tho
Chartervol writes:
Bolivar, from downtown.
eduardo writes:
Yeah I think Booker can stick it. That vandy candy shill. He made the comment during the game after Tabb missed the layup that was like Jajuann Smith. Backhanded slap on Smith who was one of the more celebrated players to ever play at UT. I dont like Brando either. Who can you like on this raycom deals, because they are all on kenluckys payroll. Just pitiful!
MANVOL writes:
Game plan is to win. Can we not enjoy a win? GO VOLS beat Auburn.
b_neas writes:
when u play as hard as E man you foul.....would rather have that than williams 20-30 minutes a game
VOLKING writes:
Good win over SMU. You can hang that banner next to your national championship banner. Oh wait, you have just as many as we do...zero. In the last 10 head-to-head meetings, UT 7, Tiger High 3. We OWN you. If you don't win it all in the NCAA's, getting to the final four means zilch. Now you may go away and return when you need to be slapped upside the head again.
DroopyDrawers writes:
It was on Dish 450 fox sports south Florida.
Hope that helps in future.
givehim6 writes:
With all the football drama going on forgot about the game tonight. Good to get a W, will make sure I watch sat.
ect1983 writes:
Gotta respectfully disagree ----Even with teddy Valentine, they let em play....only a few bum calls, but they did not take over the game, which is also why it ended in exactly 2 hrs. Above average officiated game tonight.
trl_x writes:
Very good win! JP continues his enigmatic ways. Maybe he’s finally getting healthy. He was key down the stretch. Vols shot way too many 3’s but pounded the paint late. Allowing 44% FG shooting is unacceptable. And I can do without the 360 dunks.
But I’ll take a SEC road win any way I can.
Timed_vol (Inactive) writes:
say much more about your conference than it does your team. I could probably pull for Memphis, except some of you UMem fans are SUCH PRICKS>
Timed_vol (Inactive) writes:
oh, I guess I'd add:
we Vol fans KNOW we ARE NOT VERY GOOD RIGHT now. You appear to think lucking out a win over a bad UT team is a great thing??
Maybe come in and beat us when we are ranked in the top 5 and playing well, and you can run your fricking mouth.
smokeyvol1 writes:
Speaking of Booker and Brando, did anyone hear Brando call Tyler Smith-Tyler Green?
volmattna writes:
Huge win!! Lets keep it rolling. And man we need to start shooting better because we are a force inside. GO VOLS!!
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