LAWRENCE, Kan. - Tennessee junior Tyler Smith scored a team-high 21 points and grabbed nine rebounds in the 92-85 loss to Kansas on Saturday.
But Smith's mind is on what he didn't do for his team - not what he did.
"We got off to a bad start, and that's on me, all of it,'' Smith said. "I feel the weight of the loss. I have to find a way to get us off to better starts.''
Smith missed his first two free throws before scoring inside three minutes into the game.
But Smith didn't score again until the 10:49 mark, and by then, his bucket only drew 14th-ranked UT to 25-11.
Smith finished 6-of-13 shooting from the floor, but he was 0-of-2 beyond the arc and only 9-of-15 at the free-throw line.
"Tyler played well, but he can play better,'' UT coach Bruce Pearl said. "You can't win on the road starting the way we started.''
Smith said the Vols need to get in sync before Wednesday's game with Gonzaga at 9 p.m. in Thompson-Boling Arena. Tennessee's 37-game home-court win streak is the second-longest active streak in the nation after BYU lost to Wake Forest on Saturday.
Only Notre Dame's 43-game home-court streak is longer.
The Vols are confident they can get back to their winning ways in the comfort of TBA.
"We've got the talent,'' Smith said, "but we haven't shown our full potential.''
J.P. Prince tried to take some of the blame for the Kansas loss from Smith, calling himself out for getting into foul trouble.
"I've got to be there and have Wayne (Chism) and Tyler's backs,'' said Prince, who was limited to 21 minutes and fouled out with 5:27 remaining and the Vols down by 11. "I was ready to go; I had my energy back and my legs back.
"We have to learn from this as a team.''
Pearl said that even though Prince's numbers against Kansas weren't impressive (2-of-8 shooting, six rebounds, five points, three assists and two turnovers), it was the best Prince has looked.
Freshman Scotty Hopson looked good on a few occasions, too, scoring five of his 11 points in the final 1 1/2 minutes of the first half.
"My first time playing on a stage like that was crazy,'' said Hopson, who had 11 points and made two of his three 3-point attempts. "We just didn't come out with the intensity we had talked about.
"This is a total learning experience for me as well as the team.''
Big Game, Big Minutes: While Smith was playing 35 minutes, Kansas played center Cole Aldrich 37 minutes.
"That was too many minutes for Cole,'' Kansas coach Bill Self said. "I think we used to play him 30 at the max.''
Nice Record: Chism became the fourth Vol to block six shots in a game, joining Elgrace Wilborn, Doug Roth and Reggie Johnson, who did it twice.
UT's 10 blocked shots were the most against the Jayhawks in nearly three years - Colorado had 11 on Jan. 11, 2006.
Tennessee's signing class for 2012
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Comments » 40
VOLFORLIFE writes:
Tyler's a great leader, and a great player. But for him to shoulder the blame is unfair. The team just didn't seem ready to play, for whatever reason, which is a rare occurrence for one of Coach Pearl's teams. They just seemed totally out of sync the entire game. But maybe, as they said, this can be a learning experience and bode them well later on into the season.
Oh, well, we did get to see the Lady Vols make some history by coming back from 20 points down. Soon as that game ended, I switched back to the men hoping they could pull the same miracle, but it wasn't to be.
GO VOLS!!!
JUGHEAD
bugman (Inactive) writes:
we'll be all right...legit tourny team for sure
THE_VOL writes:
Until it changes, it's just talk. Stop talking to the media, go into the locker room and call out some freshmen. Call out Williams. Call out Tabb. Call out Chism. On second thought, grab em by the throat or knock 'em into the fifth row in practice if needed BUT somebody needs to get their attention and quick. The only thing worse than the defense on this team is the leadership and the former ain't gettin' better without the latter. Half way through the season and hearing the same excuses that were thrown around in November. Defense ain't nothing but desire and attitude. Bring Ron Slay and Dane Bradshaw back for a couple hours practice. Survivors get to face the Zags. I guarantee it wouldn't be a 10 man rotation!
lastlap writes:
I think (just an opinion) TN peaked to early last season and was done after the Memphis game. Hopefully we'll be playing at our best when March comes a calling and we'll be peaking then.
thevoice writes:
"We've got the talent,'' Smith said.
True, but talent's nothing if it's not combined with a team concept. You boys better start playing as a team: hand out assists, block out better, learn how to pass smartly, stop standing around, and PLAY DEFENSE.
cainclifton23 writes:
Oh well,
We'll be ready come march.
1volk-nowi-tall writes:
The vols were doing fairly well until Self called out the officials. He should have been teed the second time. After his in their face rant the calls seemed to turn against UT. Several quick ticky-tack fouls were the result of Self's rant and they all went against the vols. Prince took a charge with a no call and next time down the floor a vol was called for the same contact with a charge. Officiating makes a huge difference and coaches can get what they want all too often. North Carolina almost stole tonight's game from a very deserving BC team with all the calls going in NC's favor. That is one reason UT has not arrived yet. They can't dictate the calls from officials as KY. Duke, NC and some others are able to.
FeelVol writes:
No doubt we have some issues on this team,they've probably all been mentioned.My biggest concern is that this team doesn't seem to value possessions like previous teams,I'm not suggesting some slow down tempo just that we might not play what seems so out of control sometimes.I personally like what Negedu brings to this team and would love to see more of him but Coach Pearl certainly has his hands full trying to share the minutes I believe in time he will probably cut some players minutes just an observation.
Ironcity writes:
It seems like no one knows where anyone else is on the floor. I have never seen so many passes to space. On defense it almost appears that everyone is waiting for someone else to step up for the charge or to rotate. I hope the guys start trusting each other and truly start picking up for each other (rotate on defense!!).
Slystone writes:
Tyler has yet show me this season that his game has elevated from last season. Has anyone else noticed this? I expected him to be a 20/10 guy each night and there have been times when he has disappeared. Just my observation.
kbart4033#247331 writes:
This performance was scary bad--a lot like some of the no-shows that Jerry Green's teams coughed up. With the
gosh-awful headbands, matador defense and fundamental-less
fast breaks, Vols looked like a highly-disorganized AAU
group. How many times did our big men leave their man to
try to block a shot (would have been goal-tending) and then
leave Kansas big man all alone to slam in the uncontested rebound? Three? Five? I really don't mind Chism shooting
a 3-ball late in a possession--or as a trailer on the break--
but he should sit everytime he throws one up on the first
pass of a possession. He is leading contender to replace
JaJuan Smith as all-time Vol dumb-azz playmaker. Final
note: would someone please identify the hoops guru who
told S. Hopson that he was a one-and-done NBA prospect--
and then ban the fellow from every gym in the free world.
Probably the same "expert" who was rating HS quarterbacks
4 or 5 years ago...!
MidTennVol writes:
Wow -- I sure hope some of you people are not denying Bruce Pearl the benefit of your basketball wisdom. Maybe you should send your resumes in to Mike Hamilton???
volguy41nlouisiana writes:
If my Aunt had nutzzzz...shed be my Uncle too.
JayTee writes:
Bruce needs to look on the bench to see if he has a guard that knows how to run a half court offense and make a shot beyond 15 feet.
They have no half court defense or half court offense. If it's not transition basketball they look lost escpecially against a zone defense.
Just stating the obvious but somethings amiss with this team.
crappieking writes:
We are simply not as good as last year. As good as Tyler is, he is NOT ready for the NBA yet. No transition defense at all. The press stinks this year too. Hopefully we will get better and I think we will but right now we are average. Everyone says the SEC is down this year, but until BP gets this fixed, and we learn to play defense, we are going to keep struggling.
overatedvols writes:
Guys, I wouldn't react so harshly. I mean all the great teams lose sometimes. Just look at North Carolina yesterday.
(Did I just put the vols in the same sentence with carolina?). You'll be ok. If Gonzaga doesn't get your home win streak Memphis will and then you won't have that to worry about. Sometimes when these things happen it can change your season. Memphis will be more than happy to help change your season.
Jan. 24th
dirtdobber1 writes:
F Kansas, F Bill Self. I dont give a dang about Fog Hat Stadium. Its easy to see why they have a 32 game winning streak at home. Not only is the other team intimidated but so are the officials. They were horrible. Hats off to Jay Bilas...he does alot for the gay community. ESPN is on top of things...more ways than one! F ESPN!
dirtdobber1 writes:
All you negavite posters...you have to remember we have a young team. When you lose the 2nd best 3 poinst shooter of all time and another guard that could hold his own with anybody...there will be a few bumps in the road getting started.
LifetimeVolFan98 writes:
lol!!!!!!!!!!!
LifetimeVolFan98 writes:
Mark it down - the kitties won't even be within 20 inside TBA
overatedvols writes:
There is good news on the horizon. No, there are no more cupcake tours but Gonzaga is struggling. They are in a slump. They are losing most every game they play now. Should be an easy win for the Vols since everybody has been beating Gonzaga. Both Gonzaga and Memphis are unranked while the vols are. Looks like you'll be getting a couple of big wins within the next few weeks....right???
bkgunter writes:
Defense is MUCH more than desire and attitude. Must be nice to see the world in such black and white clarity! This team has a long way to go. Your quaint drill-instructor-solution to their issues was hysterical. You were trying to sound like you were channeling a pimple on Bobby Knight's a**, right?
Raynoch writes:
Not that this matters, but did anyone else notice on the broadcast the UT fan wearing the green KU hat? At one point when we were getting whipped, he took his UT sweat shirt off only displaying his KU hat. Then we go on a run and he puts his UT sweat shirt back on. ESPN kept showing him and the broadcasters kept commenting on how he appeared to be fair weather. As at UT fan, I was very embarrassed. I know that kind of fandom exists, but it is really sad to see it on a national broadcast.
bkgunter writes:
OverStatedFlaws:
There is always good news on the horizon when Memphis has yet to roll around (over) on the schedule.
volboy81 writes:
I cant believe that Kansas team is unranked! Id like to see 25 teams better than them...! We'll be ok...we hung in there and didnt quit. Beat Gonzaga on Wednesday!!! GO VOLS!
johnlg00#206211 writes:
Well, desire and attitude does have a lot to do with it, but, IMHO, there is a technical issue with the defense as well. The hardest thing for players to learn about helping out on defense is not the immediate help rotation, it is the SECOND rotation. When a player penetrates from the wing and a post man moves over to cover, the other post man or a wing man on the OPPOSITE side must rotate back to at least attempt to block out the other big man or disrupt a pass to him. The closest post man is SUPPOSED to rotate over to help against a driver, but HIS man shouldn't then be left uncovered. Someone ELSE must rotate down to cover. That is how you stop that big guy from getting the wide-open dunk on the weak-side. That is why it is so important for every man to move every time the ball moves, to be aware of where the penetration may come from, and to know where each man must go to help on defense. It IS hard to learn to react instinctively in that situation, and our guys clearly haven't gotten there yet. Of course, it would be a big help if our perimeter players could do a better job of stopping dribble penetration on their own!
johnlg00#206211 writes:
BTW, while I am still disappointed with our team play on both offense and defense, UNC's loss at home to a good but not great Boston College team shows how incredibly volatile college basketball is this year. Wake Forest may in fact be the beast of the ACC--that was no fluke the way they beat BYU at their place, ending the country's longest home winning streak. IF the Vols can take care of their own business, they will have as good a chance as anybody of getting hot at the right time. It also means that they had BETTER bring it every night, because they can LOSE to anybody too!
houvol#438636 writes:
I have said it since the beginning of the season. Tenn. will get blown out at Kansas. People did not want to listen. I'm telling you this team is not good. We have a long way to go. We need to remember this is Bruces first team. He has been carried by Buzz's players these past two years and still has not got them past the sweet 16. Time to step up now. They all should look in the mirror because the big orange is in trouble.
IMAVOL2 writes:
this team , if you want to call it that , will lose 5-6 conference games and will be veiwed as a disappointment in the end. i see no improvement.
it may be better next year after swallowing a dose of humility.
DadwasaVol writes:
I don't believe that removing basketball players' headbands or cutting football players' hair improves the play of the teams. It just seems silly that so many Vols fans/posters get hung up on that on this and other boards. There are way many more fundamentals in coaching, practicing, preparing, and scheming that lead to better play and wins than hair length and headbands.
TopTenn writes:
These two big wins at home of Gonzaga and Memphis will build the young guys confidence.
johnlg00#206211 writes:
That was one of my concerns about this year's team as well. CBP has always been great at winning with lesser talent; he surely didn't have many HS All-Americans at his previous stops. It is not easy for the best of college coaches to penetrate those bullet-proof egos of highly-touted youngsters.
trollhunter writes:
DIDN'T I TELL YOU TO GO PLAY OUT IN THE WOODS TILL I GET MY SHOTGUN READY?
YOU GUYS ARE NOT RANKED SO YOU HAVE NO BUSINESS OPENING UP YOUR MOUTH.
THE NEXT TIME YOU SHOW UP, MY BROTHER SHOULD HAVE YOUR CIVIL WARRANT READY FOR YOU.
hueypilot writes:
While Bruce's previous teams have played very well early and have faltered in crunch time in the tourney (Okay, I'm being harsh, the 1 point loss to Ohio State was pretty close to the max potential of that team) it's encouraging to me to see this YOUNG team play the big time opponents regardless of the outcome. Playing at Lawrence has got to help them out as we go down the road. Pat has followed this formula for years. She plays a rigorous non-conference schedule and in the years she won her titles, her teams were playing their best in March, not January. Knight's championship teams at Indiana were the same way. They improved up to tournament time. We will see as this group matures. And you gotta like the team leader taking the responsibility for his teams performance, whether he's right or wrong.
VolsInYourMouth writes:
They havent impressed me this season as of yet. I mean who have they beaten? georgetown? Big whoop! They are losing the games that count. They lost to temple, marquette and now kansas. All who were unranked and tennessee just looked sloppy in all those games. I think its about time for pearl to differentiate himself from the team. He needs to be their coach, leader, and not just one of the guys. Hes trying to be one of the guys, one of the dudes and hes failing as a coach.
VolsInYourMouth writes:
scratch the loss to marquette, i meant gonzaga.
TopTenn writes:
We beat Marquette
VolsInYourMouth writes:
"we" did? whose "we"? you play on the team? Maybe you shoulda read my post prior to yours and you would see where I corrected myself.
Smallmike4pres writes:
Yeah, and if we had Dale Ellis, Bernie, & Ernie & Allan Houston coming off of the bench we would be #1 right now. Nice point Captain Obvious.
kctcloth writes:
I was at the game and the KU crowd thought EVERY call should have gone against UT. I agree that after the Self rant, UT started getting more fouls.
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