Tennessee Men's Basketball
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Tennessee’s reign of men’s basketball dominance over Florida came to a screeching halt Tuesday night.
The Gators (20-8, 9-4 SEC) snapped a six-game losing skid against the Vols (20-7, 8-5) with a 75-62 victory. Florida took sole possession of third place in the SEC East Division before the crowd of 11,273 at the O’Connell Center.
It was an even battle until UT senior post Wayne Chism picked up his fourth foul at the 16:01 mark of the second half, relegating him to the bench with the Vols trailing 43-41.
By the time Chism returned at the 7:31 mark, Florida was on a roll, up 56-47. Chism was unable to turn the tide, fouling out with 4:02 left and the Gators up 64-50.
Florida out-scored the Vols in the paint 32-22 with Chism held to seven points and one rebound in the 15 minutes he played.
“If you look at the series historically, the team that’s won the battle in the paint has been the team that has won the game,’’ UT coach Bruce Pearl said. “Wayne hurt his back on a fall . . . and didn’t play effectively, and they had some guys in there that battled and won the boards (38-29). It was just too much for us.’’
The Gators led by as many as 20 points when Erving Walker (19 points) hit three straight 3-pointers and Chandler Parsons (19 points) added another 3-pointer with 3:02 remaining to make it 70-50.
Pearl, 8-2 against Florida, started his eighth different starting lineup of the season. Junior Brian Williams made his first start, while sophomore Scotty Hopson missed his first start of the season.
“Scotty scored 20 points in 31 minutes, and I thought he played well,’’ Pearl said. “He took the adjustment in stride and really stepped up and played with great focus.’’
Hopson’s points came on 8-of-15 shooting, including 4-of-8 beyond the 3-point arc. Cameron Tatum had 13 points in his first extended playing time since returning from an ankle injury on Feb. 6.
With Chism’s foul troubles, Renaldo Woolridge saw his first playing time, albeit only two minutes, since going 1-of-6 shooting and getting three rebounds in 24 minutes against Kentucky three games ago.
The game was tied at 37 at halftime.
Florida jumped out to a 13-6 lead, hitting six of its first eight shots.
That’s when Hopson entered the game and started lighting it up.
Hopson hit back-to-back 3-pointers to trigger an 11-0 run that J.P. Prince capped with a dunk, giving the Vols a 17-13 lead with just under 14 minutes left in the half.
UT extended its lead to eight points when Bobby Maze (11 points) hit a 3-pointer at the 5:18 mark to make it 35-27.
The Gators battled back, closing the half on a 10-2 run thanks in part to four Vols turnovers over the final five minutes.
“We just dug ourselves a hole in the second half and we couldn’t get back into it,’’ Maze said. “When Florida went on that run and the crowd got into it, we forced a couple of shots and turned it over.
“Everything happens for a reason; we’ll just go back home and get ready for Kentucky.’’
The Vols return to action at noon Saturday (TV: WVLT) in Thompson-Boling Arena against the No. 2 Wildcats (26-1, 11-1).
Kentucky plays a home game at 9 p.m. Thursday against South Carolina.
Pearl is 2-3 against Kentucky coach John Calipari — the only current SEC coach he has a losing mark against.
Oregon sends Lady Vols home from…
Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group
Comments » 221
Willis writes:
193 DAYS TILL FOOTBALL TIME IN TENNESSEE!!!!!
scott_m99 writes:
awful 2nd half...and why is pearl playing 20+ minutes?
NoSirRee writes:
I don't look forward to playing florida in ANYTHING for the foreseeable future, and no, I'm not a troll.
usnavyvolfaninva_still_getting_paid writes:
This was w/o a doubt a horrible performance by UT! I am extremely disappointed in the way this team played, they did everything wrong and NOTHING right! Pretty sad when Chism had to go in hurt w/4 fouls! Time for the Vols to get their heads on straight!
tward#641449 writes:
Still trying to understand being on a basketball scholarship but unable to shoot a basketball.
usnavyvolfaninva_still_getting_paid writes:
I have defended this team and CBP night after night... but tonight, there were no excuses! More and more of the same.... turnovers, too many 3's, fouls galore.... this is the #18th team in the country, play like it!!
SEC1 writes:
Best post ever, Gator Bait!
oldbasshead writes:
The Vols looked terrible and completely out of sync in the second half. The Vols are still suffering from the Jan 1 arrests. Smith is gone, Williams is not in game shape, Tatum is not in game shape(I know he hurt his ankle.) There was no point guard play tonight. Without Wayne Chism we have no "Bigs". Williams, Tatum, Hopson, Hall, et al will not crash the boards on either end. The Vols quit tonight. They let Florida take it to them. Hopson showed good offense, but he is a zero when it comes to defense. Maze, Prince, Woolridge, Goins all no shows. Coach Pearl is playing almost everybody on the bench in all kinds of combinations and there doesn't seem to be any chemistry between any of the starters or their subs. There are scholarship players sitting on the bench while Pearl's son is playing maximun minutes. Pearl is no offensive threat at all. Surely someone with more offensive ability could play defense well enough to win the job from Pearl's son. I felt that Coach Pearl just plain got out coached tonight by Florida. Everytime we run into a team with Bigs, we get beat.
usnavyvolfaninva_still_getting_paid writes:
NOthing to be ashamed of, we made FL look like the #1 team in the country tonight.
usnavyvolfaninva_still_getting_paid writes:
Every time they get down in the 2nd half, they feel like they have to tie the game with one shot, or within 30 secs... they PANIC when they're down!
usnavyvolfaninva_still_getting_paid writes:
CBP ought to treat them Summit style... you don't get the locker room back until you EARN IT!
cc1 writes:
Exactly right great post.
usnavyvolfaninva_still_getting_paid writes:
I realize that the depth is limited after the arrest and subsequent dismissal of TS, but they flat out SUCKED tonight! No excuses!!!!!!
usnavyvolfaninva_still_getting_paid writes:
Again, I defend these guys >95% of the time, but I'm not going to bat for them tonight! GUt check time, guys... fix you're broke selves!!
usnavyvolfaninva_still_getting_paid writes:
Still waiting for the 18th ranked team to show up tonight!
tnaseevol writes:
I thought we had a good chance of winning tonite, was hoping we were on a roll after doing SC in...surely they weren't looking ahead to KY? FL must have wanted the win much more.
Willis writes:
This team has no leader. I have an idea though! Lets bring in Ernie Grunfeld and let him speak to the team.
MemphisVol writes:
what's our record when pearl wears a t-shirt with a suit?
samvol writes:
That was the worst game ever..horrible just horrible.
usnavyvolfaninva_still_getting_paid writes:
vol4tnfan,
These guys Panic when they blow a lead and get down in the 2nd half.. They just assume they're going to get hot in the 2nd half and when they don't, rather than devise a way to get back in the game, they just continue to panic!
99gator writes:
it's not a great tennessee team this season, but tennessee is going to the tourney.
don't get too down on this group because they aren't as good as previous years.
usnavyvolfaninva_still_getting_paid writes:
to he!! with that... bring in Summit and let HER talk to them!
tnaseevol writes:
If we lose to KY, we may not even be in top 25..JMO
usnavyvolfaninva_still_getting_paid writes:
99,
you're missing the point... when a team has demonstrated that it's better, and plays like it did tonight, every vol fan on this board has a RIGHT to be angry! Congrats to the Gators, at least one team played like they wanted it tonight!!!
usnavyvolfaninva_still_getting_paid writes:
I know I'm gonna get tarred and feathered for this, but there's no way these guys beat KY... KY has always been good, but UT is too streaky...
usnavyvolfaninva_still_getting_paid writes:
and yes, I'm drunk for the 2nd night in a row!!!!
Willis writes:
That was part of Bruce's agreement in the divorce.
usnavyvolfaninva_still_getting_paid writes:
and when your team goes 0 to suck in 2.5 mins, alcohol doesn't make it any better!!
oldbasshead writes:
Why all the different combinations of players? I'll tell you why. The dicipline and moral on this team has hit rock bottom and Pearl is trying to use playing time to motivate and regain some control of the team. I understand that strategy, however in the meantime with all of these crazy combinations of players, no one is getting into a rhythm. No group is building chemistry and you saw the result tonight. It will be interesting to see what Coach Pearl does against Ky.
RockyToptoNeyland writes:
dude, how big of a loser are you to post on an opposing team's blog site, you know what, we may have lost tonight, but you losing right now
usnavyvolfaninva_still_getting_paid writes:
In fairness, they ALL sucked tonight! with or without SP, they'd have lost.
eduardo writes:
Dude I agree get the shirt and tie back on!!! I think the team plays like he looks a bunch of slackards when that t shirt is on!!!
virginiavolfan writes:
We found out several things from this game.
1. Stephen Pearl is better than tatum, woolridge, hall, mcbee, chism, goins, and williams. That's right he played 24 minutes and that was more than any of those guys.
2. Macklin and Tyrus can post up Stephen Pearl and just shoot the ball over him for layups.
3. Stephen Pearl cannot pull up at the block and bank a shot in. Please don't try this again sp.
4. It is now a fact that Stephen Pearl cannot hit a foul shot and is the worst foul shooter that a college coach has ever fathered.
5. Stephen Pearl played 15 minutes in the second half and we scored a combined 10 points during those 15 minutes. But we didn't need a shooter on the floor since they were playing zone.
VOLinGA writes:
Play the best five and don't take them off the court exept for foul trouble. We're not a pressing team anymore...so why spread the minutes. This team is not very good.
Willis writes:
The t-shirt is bad, but not nearly as bad as the rodeo clown warm-up suits.
usnavyvolfaninva_still_getting_paid writes:
So, what you're saying is SP is the anti-Chuck Norris! lol.
ms_allvol writes:
At the rate the vols are going I'm not sure they will make it to the Big Dance. If they play their last three games like they did tonight, they may not win another one.
tnaseevol writes:
go slow with the booze, we've got to be ready Sat
hopefully, things will get better. I know, the game turned around really quickly!
zigvol writes:
WOW! We truly do have the best bashing their on team fans in the nation. All u fair weather fans take a bow. 20-7 I have to say im pretty pleased considering the circumstances. Go Vols beat them cats' azzzz
99gator writes:
tennessee has lost on the road to another team that's going to the tourney. i would have been upset at the effort level, but not the loss.
i don't think there is much difference between florida and tennessee this season.
for crying out loud, how many minutes does stephen pearl get? it's not the kind of team pearl has had the last couple of years.
but, they have put together a good year and will be in the ncaa's.
all in all, i don't think tennessee (without tyler smith and with wayne chism playing with 10 to 15 broken bones) is capable of much more than that.
VOLS_0069 writes:
we could put in josh bone maybe he can do something but he hasnt seen the court sense the ole miss game
eduardo writes:
Sure felt like we should have been up double digits in the first half. What in the daylights were we trying to do in the second half on offense??? To's 5 times down the court in a pivotal point in the game with your bench on that side. Dont get that!! I thought pt guard play was horrendous on the offense side and defensive side tonight!! It is unacceptable to get lost on D in that stretch where they were banging in those 3 ptrs.
usnavyvolfaninva_still_getting_paid writes:
zig,
I have never said CBP is a bad coach.
I have never said this is a bad team.
I have never said these guys won't make the tourney.
But any objective person has to be really concerned after their performance tonight (booze wearing off).
yabadabadoo1026 writes:
we had the same league record coming in----you really think beating them at home by one measly point when it could just as easily been a loss demonstates that we're better?
should make those talking smack leading up to this game feel like idiots but it wont
ccantrell#227456 writes:
Welcome #8 Seed in NCAA...
volsn3 writes:
only good thing about this is the Vols will be in the opposite bracket of UK in the SEC seated number 4....just saying it might pan out...other than that they just didn't want it tonight.
usnavyvolfaninva_still_getting_paid writes:
thanks for your concern... coming around, but my assessment of the game hasn't changed.
tractoronthepole writes:
Did Hall play tonight? Pearl is getting too many minutes, we aren't putting enough scorers on the floor together. McBee is now adding turnovers and not scoring. Wow, didn't see this second half coming.
usnavyvolfaninva_still_getting_paid writes:
agree... looked ahead to UK and got burned.
Willis writes:
This is where this team would have been without all the distractions.
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