Tennessee Men's Basketball
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl reached into his bag of tricks to find yet another way for the Vols to escape with a victory on a cold-shooting night.
“How ugly was that?’’ Pearl said after Tennessee scored a 63-56 victory over Alabama on Tuesday night. “I’ve had other Tennessee teams that, after we played that poorly in the first half, we’d have been done.
“But this team continues to defend, and that showed fortitude and toughness.’’
“Ice” was the name of the defense the No. 8-ranked Vols (15-2, 3-0 SEC) used to stymie an athletic, revved up Crimson Tide (11-7, 1-3) before a crowd of 12,098 at Coleman Coliseum.
Scotty Hopson led UT with 17 points, freshman Kenny Hall recorded the first double-double of his career with 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Wayne Chism scored 11 points despite playing only 21 minutes after running into early foul trouble.
But in what’s becoming a common theme, defense was the key for the Vols, who won back-to-back games in Tuscaloosa for the first time in 39 years and extended their winning streak to seven games heading into Saturday’s game at Georgia.
While UT shot just 39.3 percent from the floor and had 10 turnovers to eight assists, it limited Alabama’s leading scorer, Mikhail Torrance, to three points on 1-of-9 shooting and held the Tide to 37.9 percent shooting.
Alabama coach Anthony Grant looked down at the stat sheet after the game, bemoaning a squandered opportunity.
“Holding Tennessee to 39 percent from the field defensively, I would have thought that would have been good enough to win,’’ said Grant, whose team has led at the half of all four SEC games it has played, including 25-24 against the Vols. “But give Tennessee credit, they came in with a plan to load up on (Torrance) and do some different things to stop him from doing what he’s accustomed to.’’
Pearl explained how the Vols “Iced” Torrance with their new ball-screen defense.
“We try not to let the ball get to the screen; we contained Torrance, and he was the key to our scout, Pearl said. “It’s an NBA-style of ball-screen defense.’’
The Vols first took note of the defense — which prevents the ball from going middle, forcing it baseline into help defense — while scouting Gonzaga last year. Utah used it effectively against the Zags.
UT saw the defense again while on a trip to visit the Denver Nuggets coaching staff last summer and determined the defensive set was worth inserting.
But Tennessee still had to find ways to score to beat Alabama.
Hopson scored 11 of his 17 points in the first half with Chism seeing only five minutes of playing time.
“Scotty stepped up, and that was important,’’ Pearl said. “I had gotten Wayne out of the game with two fouls, and that’s one less weapon for us, and Scotty was feeling good.’’
Renaldo Woolridge scored the first four points of an 11-2 run early in the second half that put the Vols up 44-33, on a Hall dunk at the 11:19 mark.
But the Tide rallied with an 11-5 run of its own to close to 49-44 with 7:34 remaining.
That’s when Chism asserted himself on the offensive end, scoring his first points on a three-point play with 7:13 remaining.
Chism scored 11 of the Vols’ final 14 points from that point, turning back the Tide and preventing it from getting any closer than four.
“In crunch time, Chism got two baskets on me,’’ said Alabama’s JaMychal Green, who led the Tide with 16 points and 12 rebounds. “It was very frustrating; we didn’t get the stops when we needed them. They fought hard.’’
Quiet Return: Cameron Tatum and Melvin Goins, who were reinstated Sunday after being suspended four games following their arrests on Jan. 1, did not play.
Oregon sends Lady Vols home from…
Cordarrelle Patterson drafted by the…
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Comments » 107
LEXKYVOLS writes:
Great win on the road. Like that Pearl did not play Goins or Tatum in the game. May not need to play them again until next week. Georgia will be tuff game but I feel we can pull this one off with the Amazing 9! Pearl plays more minutes in first half than Chism and we were only down 1 at half you knew then we would not lose this game. Defense wins this game!
dwa7#337691 writes:
1 - great win anytime vs BAMA.
All_Vol writes:
Sloppy, real sloppy and ugly but a road win is a road win. We'll take it.
ProwlinAndGrowlinSmokeyDog writes:
JUST WIN,BABY!!! WOOOHOOO!!!
kdaff51 writes:
Let hear it for the "Nifty Nine"
mocsandvolsfan writes:
Love to beat Bama!!! Yeahh!!
Brillovol writes:
Very good win that was a true test of this team. Winning 2 in a row at that place is a feat. I wasn't going to be surprised to see us lose this one, so the fact that we won it at their pace speaks volumes.
For you Pearl haters out there, this proved his sideline coaching is top notch. You look dumber and dumber every time you try to tear him down.
GBO!
TommyJack writes:
And Bruce can't coach a lick, remember?
jhayes0926#638474 writes:
Played extremely well on defense. Hall is starting to become elite - he had some monster dunks!! Hopson looked pretty good for the most part but I wish he would quit the disappearing act on occasion. Overall grade B to B+. Hope we improve our consistency before the Ky game!
stayingorange writes:
That was a slugfest. I think part of the sloppiness was the way the refs let them play. Vols took some punches in the lane tonight and still pulled it out. Chism took over when they needed him most.
allvol9 writes:
Great win on the road for the Vols...despite a poor shooting percentage. Any win over Bama is a good win!
cdonsbach writes:
GO VOLS!
Fryinpansvols writes:
Agreed! GBO!
chl1958 writes:
Great win Vols;you sure have true grit!Beating Tuscaloosers is wonderful,but with this die hard team,anything is possible!
back2backchamps writes:
From a "troll", it seems to me that Pearl coaches better the less talent he has available. Still impressed with the job he has done with this team.
lomas98 writes:
Great win, get some rest and come back at GA on Saturday. Tatum is from GA, I expect him to get some minutes on Saturday. This wasn't their best game but anytime you can play subpar on the road and win it is special. Please don't overlook GA because they are playing pretty well. Being 4-0 would be huge going into the Vandy game next week.
Fryinpansvols writes:
Pearl is 49-12 against SEC competition in his four year plus tenure. Also, Pearl and the Vols are the only program to finish ahead of Kentucky in the standings four straight years!
pdhuff#552644 writes:
Great win in mullettvile.
You rock, Vols!
askUncleMaze writes:
it was an Ugly win.. Scotty looked real good going 2 the basket. But I see were back 2 that F***ed up rotation. How do you take your starting PG out of the game with less than 3 mins 2 go? I have never seen a D1 remove the starting PG for a 3rd sting PG @ the end of a Conf. game.. that is straight BS. B.Maze defense was on point tonight... Why does CBP only talk about His 2 Sr players.. (NEWSFLASH B.MAZE IS A SR.)
UTVOLSRROCKN writes:
We will take it! An SEC road win against Bama! Way to go men! Props to CBP for winning without playing Tatum and Goins! What is up with JP? He had 7 rebounds but look at his other stats. Every time he touched the ball, he made me a nervous wreck! These Vols are going to make us all end up on heart medications, but thats ok, because they somehow just keep on winning!!!!!!
VOLS.....TCB........KOKO......GBO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
PS. Medical Alert Warning!! Nitroglycerin is not that expensive, but for the men who take that little blue pill, you have to be really careful. It can cause sudden hypotension, plus a few other side effects. I'm serious, for real!!!
walt23tn writes:
This team is so easy to cheer for and follow right now. This is fun! Good job guys, keep it up! Win that SEC away from the overrated cats.
baldfan writes:
JP should not be allowed to shoot unless it is a layup or dunk. When him and Pearl are in the game, I have to close my eyes!
tennrich1 writes:
Well one thing is obvious, anyone who thinks BP cant coach either has an agenda or doesnt know basketball....this is his greatest coaching feat so far...without question!!!!
V_O_L_S_GO_VOLS_GO writes:
Agree 110%.
The only thing I have to complain about tonight is lack of rebounding. We were not aggressive enough on the boards, offensively or defensively.
I got to watch this game tonight with about 100 other UT fans at a movie theatre here in Chattanooga, TN, where the Big Orange Caravan came thru tonight. Mickey Adams from the '96-'99 squad was the guest speaker. Had a great time! It's great to be a Tennessee Vol!
Ironcity writes:
Uncle its called coaching. If you stopped pouting maybe you noticed Maze was back in within 20 seconds. He had just made two really bad plays and Pearl let him know it and got him back in focus and back in the game.
You may not have liked it Bobby may not have liked it but he did respond and he helped his team win the game. Good job coach good job Bobby.
rbromley7#241642 writes:
In post game interview, Coach Pearl appeared to apologize that we didn't see Tennessee basketball. If I remember correctly, that type of basketball was run up and down the court out of control, depending upon 3 pointers or driving to the basketball. While winning or losing at the time, the team did not seem to have any coaching control or team leadership or any team play. With the exit of the super athletes, Coach Pearl has done an excellent job. At two different time outs, the team appeared to follow his directions and as a result scored baskets. Prio to the exit, they did not seem to follow his lead. During the first two years, Coach Pear won with some less athletic ability but they had excellent character. It appears that is what we have nowl . A team that is not as deep, but a group that plays together and follows the coach's excellent leadership. Get rid of the stupid fouls, improve team foul shooting and keep up the excellent hustle, unselfish play and good team work equals a solid team with great potential for the rest of the season. Go Vols.
Hounddog writes:
First game in aa while outside the comfort of home. I expected a sluggish game from these great kids coached by a person UT is very fortunate to have as our basketball coach. Great win and expect they worked out the "road cobwebs.
Football question;
Can anyone tell me who is no longer listed as a one of ours on Rivals? I noticed we went from 17 to 16 on our listing.
Thanks and let's play basketball. Hounddog.
lomas98 writes:
He also put B Maze right back in after Bone had a shaky possession. Pearl has talked considerably about Maze's contribution after Kansas and Auburn. He was not playing well against Ole Miss and Bone locked down Warren.
SummittsCourt writes:
Great win, proud of the players and coaches. 6 wins in a row since losing the 4 players. Seriously, Bruce Pearl should be AP coach of the year.
MANVOL writes:
Great Road win.
rclarkfork#639958 writes:
Great job and as I've been saying for weeks, Kenny Hall is on the verge of becoming a beast. There are times that there are not many offensive threats on the floor but seems like during those times they play better defense and find a way to hang tough. This may be Pearl's best job and that's saying a lot. Great game guys.
askUncleMaze writes:
I agree with the first part.. But if you can live with JP turnovers, then B.Maze missing a shot aint so bad.. He got back in the game because Boone had a turnover real quick...
utfan15govols writes:
Need to take in consideration not only what has gone on with basketball team and player trouble, then the football phooey that weighs on these guys minds, short handed with players, Eman not being able to be there because of a death of a family member and to top it off and it was sort of overlooked, this is the 3rd game with a small lineup in 6 days. Awesome win on the road for sure!
SunshineVol writes:
That was simply "playground" ball tonight. Bama was way overmatched.
GerryOP writes:
Guys starting to show the wear. Three games in six days will do it. But, you gotta love these basketVols!
askUncleMaze writes:
That's BS & you know it.. Boone had 9 pts & Maze had 8 pts.. B.maze had to check that guy Man to Man. The had that guy coming off of ball screens & pics, that B.Maze had to fight thru.. When Boone got on Him UT was playing zone. (NEWFLASH on a ball screen you are suppose 2 switch Men. Oh yea B.Maze never said He was tired, nor did the coaches ask Him if He was tired.....
MikeInTN writes:
So proud of this group of players!!!
tennrich1 writes:
I agree....
UrbanFavre writes:
that up and under by Kenny in the first half was beautiful
go_vols_go writes:
Sloppy, but great win. BIG ORANGE!
Madkels writes:
I thought they looked like the tank is running low. It's hard to keep up the energy and drive that has been pushing these guys after the emotions running thru campus since Jan 1st. I love the team effort and hope it continues to carry them, but I sense that they can only ride the wave of emotions for so long. I hope that the cohesiveness that they are playing with carries on and they continue to improve. UK and Florida on the road would have been different outcomes than tonite. Keep up the great work and GBO!
zigvol writes:
We are playing like a team and not individuals.. Very fun to watch these guys. Kenny Hall will be starting soon. GO VOLS...
lomas98 writes:
You have said before Maze needs to get his 30 minutes. He got 28 tonight. Do you just get upset everytime he gets taken out? And if you can't get his name right, it is Bone, not Boone like you have put in every post. We all know Mase is a key componet of this team and his play has really stepped up. Don't complain about Mase's pt or the rotation, he has got the minutes in every game but Ole Miss.
UTVOLSRROCKN writes:
You are spot on! Bruce should be AP Coach of the Year! I don't believe that any other coach out there could go through what all he has been through and brought a TEAM together like he has and could WIN like he has.....NO ONE ELSE!!!!
vol4life_tr writes:
When and if Williams comes back he will be the last big man off the bench...Hall as logged some great playing time and will open get better with experience!
1vavolfan writes:
We can thank Josh Bone for the Ole Miss victory, if he doesn't shut down Warren we are done. If Bobby wasn't tired that game then not sure what was up with him. Not many coaches would have the courage to make the move of putting Bone in during crunch time and it won the game for UT, along with Chism's play. I'm not bashing Bobby, he needs to play 30 min per game, but Bone has manned up on defense when we have needed him.
stevefrommemphis writes:
Good report, but speaker's name was Mikki Allen. He went to Brentwood Academy then played for the Vols on national championship team.
I was there, now that I have returned to beautiful East Tennessee. Nice event for the Vol faithful in Chattanooga.
usnavyvolfaninva_still_getting_paid writes:
On behalf of tatervol, who apparently hasn't graced us with his presence, that despite subpar coaching, the Vols miraculously pulled it off. I call it luck, and it will run out.
LOL!!!
Okay, serious face. Great win. I don't care who you play, no such thing as a sure road win in the SEC. As always, there's things they can improve on, but overall they did great. These guys continue to play beyond themselves, and it's so much fun to watch. As far as the officiating, was it me or did these guys just blow it tonight? I've never seen so many bad calls/noncalls in one game.
NorthwestVol writes:
And isn't it wonderful to have a point guard that hits 80+ percent of his FTs. Not to mention Chism. Free throws will win this team some games this year unlike the past.
Good work guys on the improvement.
askUncleMaze writes:
1) I aint Crying
2) They just started playing like ateam in 2010.
3) Please tell Me of 1 other D1 school, where the PG comes out of the game this much.
Ex) If U took P.Manning out of the Colts offense every other 4 downs.. How good would He be 2 the Colts?
3) UT will never win a Championship with this rotation.
4) When was the last time UT had a SEC Player of the week?
5) If B.Maze can guard S. Collins the #1 Pg in the NCAA.. Im sure He wll be ok in the SEC..
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