This year celebrates the centennial season of men's basketball at Tennessee. The News Sentinel continues its series looking into the players, teams and events that have molded an exciting history.
The name is J.P. Prince, not P.J.
That was the message Tennessee’s sophomore guard underscored last February after what was arguably the biggest men’s basketball game ever played in the state of Tennessee.
The FedExForum was Ground Zero for college basketball Feb. 23, hosting a battle of No.1 (Memphis) vs. No. 2 (Tennessee). The viewing audience of 5.28 million was a record for an ESPN college basketball game.
Fortunately, the game lived up to every bit of the hype.
The Vols won 66-62, and none other than Prince, a hometown Memphis kid spurned by the Tigers, was the hero of heroes.
Prince, a 47 percent free-throw shooter, went to the stripe with UT nursing a 62-61 lead with 8.8 seconds to play. He hit both tries for a three-point lead that helped the Vols hold on for the upset.
Prince, who was motivated by Memphis coach John Calipari referring to him as “P.J.” during the build-up to the game, scored all 13 of his points in the second half of the game that ruined Memphis’ perfect season and ended the Tigers’ 47-game home winning streak.
Calipari this week admired the intensity of another Vol, Tyler Smith, who scored 16 points that night. His contested jumper in the lane put UT ahead to stay, 62-61, with 28 seconds left.
“Tyler Smith, really, the last three baskets, his will to win was unbelievable,’’ Calipari said.
“You see the tape again and it’s like, ‘Holy cow, where did he get that from?’’’
Tennessee was greeted by hundreds of fans when it got back to Knoxville in the wee hours of Sunday morning.
On Monday, the Vols were voted No. 1 in the Associated Press poll for the first time in the history of the program.
And on Tuesday, they were upset at Vanderbilt, assuring the reign atop the rankings would last only one week.
Vanderbilt 93, Tennessee 79, Feb. 9…
Tennessee 69, South Carolina 57 men's…
Vanderbilt 65, Tennessee 47, Jan. 24…
Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group
Comments » 5
utvolz#637682 writes:
As a native Memphian now living in Manchester....RIGHT ON BROTHER! Damn a bunch of Tiger High!
Frank (broadcasting live from Coffee, County Tennessee!)
Pearl08 writes:
By far most excited I have ever been for a bball game. All the hype and the game lived up to it. Calipari had to burn a timeout less than a min. in when JaJuan nailed the deep 3. They shot lights out in the first half, but we battled and stayed close. Then J.P. got hot and gave us the lead midway through the 2nd half, but then Rose caught fire for the Tigers, and they regained the lead. Tyler was a man inside, and willed us to victory. The lasting image of that game for me though will be Joey Dorsey acting like a thug by trying to get in Prince's face before he sank his free throws. What a game and what a win.
johnlg00#206211 writes:
I hope he got it, hope he looked at it, and hope it helps! His memory will live forever from that game for Vol fans, but I suspect it won't be the last major highlight of his career. GO JP!!! GO VOLS!!! TAME THE TIGERS!!!
cowvols writes:
well i guess its back to losing for the vols, hopsons D is awful!
WE__ARE_MEMPHIS writes:
Who is Prince??? Go Gators. You will love the taste of vul meat. Real soft and goes down easy. Try it with a little fresh squeezed orange merinade, nice. keep living on youtube from last year vul nation. Your thug tear drop tattoo team and your oompa loompa coach are a joke. This series is over after next year. Cal goes up 3-2 over the pearlvert and switches to a home and home with Stallings and the classy people of Nashville. You guys are a joke. At least you could have held onto your ranking a little longer for CBS sake so it could have been 2 ranked teams.
ITS GOOD TO BE A MEMPHIS TIGER!
Share your thoughts
Comments are the sole responsibility of the person posting them. You agree not to post comments that are off topic, defamatory, obscene, abusive, threatening or an invasion of privacy. Violators may be banned. Click here for our full user agreement.