NASHVILLE - Good thing for Tennessee, the SEC basketball tournament is all about winning and losing. No one gets eliminated on style points.
Otherwise, both the Vols and LSU Tigers might have been jettisoned from the tournament following UT's 59-49 first-round victory at the Bridgewater Arena on Thursday afternoon.
You didn't have to be a detached observer to appreciate the ineptitude. UT senior J.P. Prince served as both a participant and critic.
Said Prince: "I said at halftime '21-21 - that's just pathetic.' "
At another low point, Prince wondered: "Can anybody score?"
Answer: Not Scotty Hopson.
UT's sophomore guard performed a disappearing act worthy of David Copperfield. He missed all eight of his field-goal tries and didn't score until he managed a couple of free throws with 4:17 to play.
"I'd rather him miss today than tomorrow," said Prince, looking ahead to a second-round game against NCAA tournament-hopeful Ole Miss.
Hopson wasn't just missing shots. He was missing in action.
Long before the statistical evidence piled up against him, his frustration reached moping proportions. His negative body language warranted an early pep talk from teammate Wayne Chism.
Fortunately for the Vols, Chism was a better player than motivator. He had 17 points and 11 rebounds while fellow inside man Brian Williams contributed 14 rebounds. Their energy was obvious, if not contagious.
"He's a big body and he's active," LSU coach Trent Johnson said of Williams. "I think he has something to prove just from the standpoint of what went on earlier in the year with the suspensions.
"He's committed to the team, committed to the school, and he's got a lot of energy. He's a difference maker."
Williams later provided an amen.
"Not many people are granted a second opportunity," he said. "And you've got to take advantage of that."
Most of the Vols were bigger on excuses than motivation against the SEC's worst team. Excuses included slick, new basketballs; tight rims; an earlier starting time than usual; and a lack of familiarity against a zone defense, which they hadn't seen for all of two games.
Against such formidable obstacles, perhaps they should have been applauded for scoring 59 points.
At least they finished strong, though not without a huge hand from LSU, which proved the basketball axiom: "When the going gets dreadful, the dreadful go south."
I'm referring to an eight-possession stretch in which LSU shot back-to-back airballs and committed six turnovers as UT forged an eight-point lead from a tie game.
At the height of the Tigers' bungling, I expected SEC commissioner Mike Slive to arise from his front-row seat and wave them out of the tournament on general principles. But an administrative aide probably reminded him this isn't about style points, thus allowing the Tigers to carry out the final acts of a 20-loss season.
As for the Vols, they move on to a game with Ole Miss, which has thrived on the late-season realization that it could be excluded from the NCAA tournament. Its response: four consecutive victories.
The Vols also are on a four-game winning streak, although you would never have guessed it by their struggle against LSU.
"Can this team continue to win and advance throughout the tournament, playing the way they did today?" one media-type asked Pearl.
The answer was too obvious to repeat.
John Adams may be reached at 865-342-6284 or adamsj@knoxnews.com.
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Comments » 22
xliveitup writes:
man, brian williams was dominant inside.
wayne chism and JP prince played great as well.
xliveitup writes:
Also, Scotty Hopson needs to stop being such a crybaby when he is having a bad night. He played sloppy and lackluster from his opening turnover.
dlobh writes:
Brian Williams has been a rebound machine the last few games, and Bobby Maze has been very solid at the free throw line. The Vols need Hopson to contribute to move very far in this or the NCAA tournament, or maybe Bruce should just start Tatum.
nocleats writes:
"When the breaks go against you, put on more steam" : Gen Neyland.
xliveitup writes:
Tennessee is not going to go very far if Hopson is not showing up to play. He has way too many tools to be this inconsistent.
dalvol writes:
Brian Williams reminds me of Howard Bayne, the big banger whose inside presence, rebounding, and defense helped the 1967 Vols win the SEC championship.
pdhuff#552644 writes:
Good insight. Maybe the Lawd will decide to let us step it up against a team with a bye day who probably won't make the NCAA.
cloudodust writes:
To win ugly beats the alternative of losing uglier. Ask South Carolina. Don't think Tennessee worked hard on the O ball put they did work well on the D side. Today, may we have a big helping of offense and another good defensive effort. Amen
mcdevitt#229126 writes:
Glad to get the uglies out from under our belt. At least we played a lesser opponent today. While all the complaining about the seeding is going on, it might have really helped this group. Maybe that have their one bad game gone and now they can loosen up and play TN bball. I think these guys always play tight in the first game of a tournament. Not sure what Bruce tells them in the locker room but you can certainly see it on the floor. Its like they are scared to do what they have always done, instead of going out there and having fun playing ball. You could certainly see that the guys were not enjoying the game and were mentally frozen.
rockytopron writes:
The title of this article (or should I say drivel) made me skip reading it, but I did want to comment.
Since this team is clearly over achieving thanks to some great coaching, why are so many surprised when they play down to their competiton. This is the same team that beat Kansas and Kentucky and lost to Purdue (a #1 seed until their star player got hurt) by one point, yet twice have struggled to beat LSU.
Every win now is gravy, winning the tournament is going to be a lot to ask for a team made up of misfits since they have to win 4 games in 4 days.
It's more important for the players to stay healthy to compete in the big dance than to keep playing in the SEC tourney. With that said, Go Vols!
Brillovol writes:
It's BridgeSTONE Arena, not Bridgewater. You know, the tire?
As for the game, I'm glad I couldn't watch it. I guess I'd rather win ugly than lose beautifully.
GerryOP writes:
Question: Do ugly wins count the same as pretty wins? Anyone? Yes, they do.
I look at yesterdays score. We'uns scored more points than they'uns did! We won!
It's The Pearl's job to get the team ready for today and he knows better how to do that than I do. No matter how much I criticize, whine, complain, rant, and rave I can't change they way they played yesterday and I can't influence the way they play today.
So, while Pearl's taking care of his bidness, I'll take care of mine:
TV? Check!
Beer? Check!
Popcorn? Check!
Beer? Check!
Salsa & chips? Check!
Beer? Check!
Gametime? 3:15. Check!
Beer? Check!
BP and heart meds? Check!
Beer? Check!
Go Vols!
Gumby#1381110 writes:
Better to win ugly than to lose pretty!
rbhobbs73#226545 writes:
It wasn't any prettier inside Bridgestone Arena either.....let's put that one behind us and whip Johnny Reb today! GBO!
GerryOP writes:
Careful Gumby, you'll get thrown out of here making statements like that. They'll cut you into little round pieces and plant you on the end of pencils.
Our responsibility as GVX posters is to whine, complain, criticize, and wring our hands in anguish. That'll teach those miserable slackers to play the way the did yesterday.
Gumby#1381110 writes:
To win every game with style would mean you have a perfect team and no team is perfect. Is anyone looking at the positive? We beat an SEC team by 10 points that had a good game plan and was scratching and clawing for its life. Come SEC tourney time teams like this LSU team scare me more than Kentucky or Vandy because this tourney is their season. So Gerry I say let em whine! And Nopey agrees!
GerryOP writes:
Hell Gumby, to win every game ugly is even harder yet!
Gumby#1381110 writes:
Yea, but I'd take an undefeated season where every win was ugly, wouldn't you? I asked Nopey how he thought UT looked against LSU and he said "ruff", but he agrees with me that a win is a win and thats all that matters.
bkgunter writes:
Hey Adams:
What's your excuse for writing ugly ?
RoyaltyVol#280778 writes:
Ugly wins are ok. The only thing I don't like ugly is a woman.
NobodyCares (Inactive) writes:
Me too Frog. And I still have a suit against Budweiser because too many of the women that looked beautiful in the bar the night before looked pretty ugly in the bright light of the next morning!
murrayvol writes:
With all respect nobody has ever reminded me of Howard Bayne.
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