Strange: UNC Asheville's futility only gave Vols 'exercise'

Tennessee basketball coach Bruce Pearl, center, is presented with a framed jersey Tuesday commemorating his 100th victory at Tennessee.

The early-season college basketball schedule can be paved with treacherous surprises.

Ask Syracuse. The Orangemen were stunned by LeMoyne College in an exhibition.

Ask Mississippi State. The Bulldogs were cold-cocked by Rider in their opener at home.

Ask Alabama. The Anthony Grant Era opened with a rip-roaring loss to Cornell in Tuscaloosa.

Ask No. 4 Kentucky. Only a basket at the buzzer Monday night against Miami of Ohio prevented the first embarrassment of John Calipari's reign.

North Carolina Asheville's visit to Tennessee at Thompson-Boling Arena on Tuesday night didn't exactly follow the script, either.

But the "Upset Special" light never illuminated. No proverbial hearts were in any proverbial throats.

No, this one veered off course in the other direction.

It wasn't just the final score, although 124-49 was eye-catching enough.

But the story wasn't just what Tennessee could do. It was what UNC Asheville couldn't.

We're talking about the essential element of the sport that James Naismith invented:

Put the ball in the basket.

Forgive me for belaboring you with play-by-play from a 75-point rout, but this was remarkable.

"I've never seen anything like that,'' said Eddie Biedenbach, UNC-Asheville's veteran coach.

"Not in biddie basketball, grade school or high school.

"That's not the way you're supposed to play.''

The first media timeout came at 15:50. Tennessee led 18-0.

At 14:53, his team down 20-0, Asheville's Terrence Turner, a freshman, bricked his first free throw.

But he hit the second. This eliminated the possibility a lid was on the basket.

By the "Kiss Cam" timeout at 11:07, still no field goal for the Bulldogs. UT up, 31-5.

Scotty Hopson drilled a 3-pointer, then another, on consecutive trips. In between, three Asheville shots clanked off the rim. There was the half in a nutshell.

Moments later, Sean Smith missed a 3-ball. Asheville was 0-for-12.

J.P. Prince's running dunk at the other end perpetuated the contrast. UT, 39-6.

"They're picked second in their league (The Big South),'' UT coach Bruce Pearl would say later. "They're going to have a good year.''

But, oh, a miserable night.

Some minutes down the line, Tennessee guard Bobby Maze was on the run after a Bulldog turnover.

He drove into traffic in the lane, threw up a wishful shot off the backboard, got his own rebound and scored to make it 57-8. It was as if the Vols couldn't avoid scoring.

With 3:09 on the clock, Turner - remember him from the free throw? - got the ball down low, rose up and his shot climbed over the rim into the basket.

A mock cheer - perhaps it wasn't even mock - came from the crowd. No one on the Asheville bench responded. Not even a fist-pump.

And it was no turning point. Asheville's next possession produced three more misfires, followed by a Hopson 3-pointer to make it 61-10.

Turner got another basket at the 1:09 mark. His halftime box score showed 2-for-4.

Everybody else was oh-fer.

Pearl, who would celebrate his 100th victory at Tennessee, was asked if he felt empathy for a colleague suffering through a nightmare on the other bench.

"You absolutely do,'' said Pearl. "We took the press off and didn't do any trapping in the half-court.''

Nevertheless, Tennessee's lead topped out at 83 points before Asheville "rallied" at the end.

When time ran out on this early-season adventure, both teams were relieved. Biedenbach more than Pearl.

"We want to come in here,'' he said, "and make them pay, make them learn, make them a better basketball team. We didn't do that.

"All we did was give them some exercise.''

Mike Strange may be reached at strangem@knoxnews.com or 865-342-6276.