Strange: Calling plays in defense of Pearl

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Wins in Coleman Coliseum come few and far between for Tennessee men's basketball. And they never come in pairs.

So chalk up another culture change for the Bruce Pearl era.

The Vols' 63-56 win over Alabama on Tuesday night follows on the heels of a victory the last time UT came to town, two years ago.

But this one looked almost nothing like that one, a 93-86 shootout that featured JaJuan Smith and Chris Lofton raining 3-balls.

For one thing, the Crimson Tide has a new look. I ran into Mark Gottfried the other day, but it was in Knoxville. The old Alabama coach was doing TV commentary during UT's win over Ole Miss.

His successor is Anthony Grant, a Billy Donovan disciple. The Tide will, in all likelihood, emulate the Florida Gators in time. But for now he doesn't have the horses.

Tennessee, however, has undergone a more drastic facelift than Alabama.

Pearl is still calling the shots, but he's calling different ones.

With a roster reduced by four since Jan. 1, the erstwhile go-go Vols are morphing into grind-it-out specialists.

Alabama was the sixth straight opponent that failed to shoot 40 percent from the field. If the Vols don't watch it, they're going to flip-flop from leading the SEC in offense to leading it in defense.

"We're making an identity for ourselves, playing hard defense,'' said senior Wayne Chism.

They couldn't have won any other way Tuesday night.

The first half was brutal offensive basketball. An ESPN audience would have seen more artistry at a UFC cage match.

The Vols shot 33.3 percent the first half. They had six of their shots blocked - but none, at least, by Terrence Cody.

Chism, Tennessee's undisputed inside go-to guy in the post-Tyler Smith era, picked up two early fouls and sat on the bench 15 of the 20 minutes.

And somehow Tennessee trailed only 25-24 at the break.

"We hung in there,'' said Pearl.

Kind of like the football Vols did a few blocks west down Paul Bryant Drive in October.

There wasn't a Heisman Trophy winner to come to Alabama's rescue in the second half. But as the final stanza played out, an odd subplot was unfolding.

Chism still wasn't scoring. Nor was Mikhail Torance, Alabama's leading scorer on the season at 15.9 points a game.

As the clock moved under 8 minutes, both had goose eggs beside their name.

Finally, Torrance broke through with a big play. The Tide forced a turnover and Torrance went streaking for a transition basket at the 7:37 mark that ignited the crowd of 12,098.

And Chism answered a big play with a bigger one.

Their 11-point lead suddenly whittled to 49-44, the Vols looked inside for Chism and he responded with his first basket. He was fouled and added a free throw for dessert to make it 52-44.

Once Chism broke into the scoring column Alabama couldn't shut him off. He accounted for 11 of Tennessee's final 14 points and all four of its baskets.

"They called the right plays at the right time,'' said Chism.

Nothing tricky about those calls, either.

"Where were we going with the game on the line?'' Pearl asked rhetorically. "We're going into him.

"J.P. (Prince) made some terrific passes and Wayne made some great catches. Again, he was the best player on the floor and at the end of the game it showed.''

At both ends of that floor. With UT protecting a 58-53 lead and less than a minute to play, Chism stood his defensive ground like a veteran and blocked a shot by Alabama's splendid young big man, JaMychal Green.

Next Alabama possession, he altered a driving shot by Anthony Brock, snared the rebound, was fouled and sank both free throws for an insurmountable 62-53 margin.

So maybe that's your formula as Tennessee redefines itself for a run at March:

Hard-nosed defense, some timely assistance from a balanced supporting cast - it was freshman Kenny Hall's turn Tuesday night - and a fair amount of weight placed on Chism's broad shoulders.

"That's what seniors do,'' said Hall. "He's a senior. That's what we expect of him.''

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