Tennessee Men's Basketball
Tennessee’s depth was put to the test Tuesday night in the first round of the NIT Season Tip-Off at Thompson-Boling Arena.
The Vols passed the test — barely — holding off Belmont after a 17-point lead had dwindled to one in an 85-76 men’s basketball victory.
The Bruins’ Mick Hedgepeth split a pair of free throws with 36.6 seconds remaining to cut UT’s lead to 77-76, but the Vols proved cool in the clutch, going 8-for-8 from the free-throw line the remainder of the game.
Foul troubles at the post and an injury to senior point guard Melvin Goins led to the Vols going three deep at those positions en route to the victory before a crowd of 16,783.
“Tonight we survived and became a better basketball team,’’ UT coach Bruce Pearl said. “But there were some costly, costly mistakes by a lot of new guys that were out there.’’
Tennessee (2-0) plays Missouri State (2-0) at 7 o’clock tonight in Thompson-Boling Arena with a trip to the NIT Season Tip-Off semifinals (Nov. 24) at Madison Square Garden in New York on the line.
The Bears defeated Arkansas State (0-2) in the first game of the doubleheader, 80-71, advancing to play the 24th-ranked Vols.
Virginia Commonwealth, a 90-69 winner over Wake Forest on Tuesday, awaits the winner of the Knoxville Regional.
Scotty Hopson led the Vols with 18 points, Tobias Harris had 16 and Cameron Tatum scored 14 in leading UT over the Bruins (0-1).
Much of the scoring took place at the free-throw line as the teams combined for 60 fouls.
Tennessee was 32-of-40 from the line, none more important than the two Tatum hit with 34.9 seconds left to give the Vols a 79-76 lead.
After a Belmont missed 3-pointer, UT freshman Trae Golden hit two free throws with 20 seconds left to make it 81-76.
Harris and Hopson each went 2-for-2 from the line as Tennessee closed things out in the final seconds.
Goins left the game at the 13:16 mark forcing the Vols to turn point guard duties over to Golden and sophomore Skylar McBee.
Pearl said Goins first re-injured his side in the win over Chattanooga on Friday before re-aggravating it Tuesday. Pearl said Goins is doubtful for tonight’s game.
Centers Brian Williams and John Fields were plagued with foul troubles throughout the game before fouling out, leading to sophomore Kenny Hall seeing a season-high 14 minutes.
“We used all of our fouls at the five,’’ Pearl said. “Kenny was on the scout team this week, so I was limited in my play calling.’’
UT led by as many as 17 points in the second half when Renaldo Woolridge dunked with 6:58 left to close a 9-2 run and make it 71-54 before Belmont rallied to cut the lead.
The Bruins scored on a five-point play in the process. Belmont’s Drew Hanlen hit a 3-pointer and Williams was called for his fifth foul right after the shot, sending Hedgepeth to the line. Hedgepeth hit both free throws to make it 75-70 with 3:21 left.
The Vols, who turned the ball over 17 times in the second half, held a 41-35 lead at intermission.
Mike Griffith covers Tennessee men’s basketball. He may be reached at 865-755-5599. Follow him at http://twitter.com/mgrif32 and http://blogs.knoxnews.com/askgriff/
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Comments » 80
chrisw2967 writes:
From what I seen . Harris is all Tn has , Hopson still cant dribble and Mcmiss has no reason to even be on the floor.
Dobervol writes:
Happy for the win, but Trae Golden, while talented, simply isn't ready for prime time yet. He couldn't handle Belmont's pressure and make sound decisions. If Goins can't go, we'll do well to win Wed. night, and VCU will kick our fannies if play doesn't improve. Time to grow up quickly. It does appear Hopson elevated his play tonight, a great sign for the future.
MrBamSeydu writes:
Hopson is about as good as last year, not much better (especially on defense and with his dribble drive... still loses the ball in traffic about half the time.)
Brian Williams still doesn't know he's 6'10" and should be replaced by Fields in the starting lineup.
McBee and Steven Pearl have no business getting more than 5 minutes per game. And that should be during mop-up duty.
And on a side note: If that's how basketball is going to be called the rest of this season, I have no interest in watching it. I could really care less about watching 2 teams have a free throw shooting contest. The refs need to be LESS involved in games, not MORE involved. Ridiculous.
UTVOLSRROCKN writes:
On a positive note, we did hit 32-40FT's, so that is an improvement. We need to play with more energy and aggressiveness. They just seemed to be going through the motion, however, with so many fouls being called, I guess it would make it hard to get down with it. We will need more fire to win tonight. That's as critical as I will get.
VOLS......TCB.....KOKO......GBO!!!
azorange writes:
I trust the Vols will get better and perhaps they weren't up for their opponent but this team looked uninterested, undisciplined and just plain sloppy. They showed a few flashes of solid team play scattered among the turnovers. The good news is the season is long and will provide lots of opportunities for this team to shine. Go Big Orange!
iLOVEtheVOLS writes:
Harris is solid. He's already beyond being a freshman. Hopson and Williams, while good basketball players, appear to still have attitude issues on the floor, and Hopson remains loose with the basketball. Golden will be fine. I see Tatum as more of a step up/go to guy moreso than Hopson. Woolridge same as last year, not to be counted on except for celebratory wrap songs. McBee is not a point guard at the SEC level. Pearl, a lot of hustle, all the other concerns remain. Fields, not sure that he's sure about what he's doing out there. Where's Jordon McRae? Kenny Hall, he tries hard. This team is a far cry from the early days of Chris Lofton and JaJuan Smith. I see another streaky team, with mental breakdowns, lack of discipline, poor defense, but explosive fast break offense.
jacob0391 writes:
WOW. You people on here are amazing. I will be the first to say I don't believe that we played our best game. Belmont has a pretty good player, not saying it should be that close, but we are just not experience enough right now. We should of won by 15 at least I will bet you right now when we play them again in Dec we will beat them by 15. We had a freshman PG make some stupid passed toward the end of the game we needed goins, but he was hurt.
richvol writes:
That was just awful to watch. Terrible officiating...the entire game.
Sloppy offensive game by UT. We never ran a play or worked for a good shot. If we can't show more patience on offense then the season will be a struggle. Just a bunch of one on one and Hopson still can't get to the basket without being stripped.
Golden was a turnover machine at crunch time,McBee has not hit a shot at all and Williams can't stop fouling.
I would bet that Belmont outrebounded us on the offensive boards in spite of no height and lesser athletes.
Very disappointing display of execution AND I did not see Pearl do any coaching to correct it.
volfan2002 writes:
We were doing alright until we started choking with seven minutes left. You have to play 40 minutes and looks like we relax or just can't maintain a lead. Without Goins were weak at the point. We'll be lucky to win tonight.
vol98champ writes:
Totally agree. Nobody on this team seems to know how to throw or catch the ball. Surely, there is a point guard on campus as good or better than what I saw last night.
pdhuff#552644 writes:
Methinks we are on course to get our bell rung a few times this season.
1bigvolman writes:
We only beat Belmont by 1 last year and that was no disaster, I think we'll be ok by March.
HtownVol writes:
Our guys looked just like they have no experience. They were nervous. What is up with all the fouls?? SP played a lil better than last year (although he got away with the biggest travle ever) so maybe I cant bad talk him so much.
Hopson is CLEARLY the best player on the team and until he takes over it may be a tough season.
iowavol writes:
I must not know anything about basketball based on these comments. The fifth fouls on Williams and Fields were horrible, but so were some of the fouls on Belmont. I thought we were tight, but played with energy and the guys looked like they were having fun. It seems to me Hopson has matured and is handling in game adversity much better. Golden will learn how to throw proper D1 basketball practices - probably in practice today as Pearl takes out his ire on him.
We played a team that is experienced and deadly from 3pt range. That extended our defense and tested our depth. We will lose some games this year no doubt, but we will also win our annual 20+ and be in the dance.
Go Vols!
kb7398#233189 writes:
Obviously since you're not the coach McBee has earned minutes with his work ethic and his ability and gets as many minutes as CBP deems he should play...it's fairly obvious as well that he won't ever live up to some folk's standards while he's on campus so we'll read all the drivel that preceeds out of everyone's brain on the subject.
We need all kinds to make this world work I guess...
JohnnyD writes:
Drop the "WOO" from Rocky Top fight song. Osborne Boys didnt have this in the original lyrics...nothing Coo about the Woo!
brentrod writes:
wayne chism where are you? to fields' credit...the refs blew the whistle on him every time he breathed on somebody. hopson will find his groove, i hope. things will get better when josh bone gets back in there too.
SunshineVol writes:
For an early season game... loved it. The ten man rotation will carry the Vols deep and Harris is the real deal. These Vols are not afraid to shoot, which is another change and pleasure to see. Ohio State looked scary good.
GR82BAVOL writes:
I can't believe what I'm reading here. It happens every year, particularly when a team has to plug in so many newbies...watch them about mid-January...they won't look like the same team...they already don't at the free throw line.
GBO!
licknpromise777#651578 writes:
With the game on the line;McBee took over at point guard and missed an open 3!!The coaches should have pulled him aside and reminded him..THIS IS WHY YOU WERE ON THE FLOOR STUPID!!!!!To make the big shot!!! Very frustrating
JohnnyD writes:
I thought Hopson gave good effort in the first half. Could have been his best half of his career. Way to go Scotty!
richvol writes:
Not gonna happen...doesn't matter if you don't like it. It's here to stay.
arkyvol writes:
my crystal ball shows a coming blow out at the hands of v.c.u.
licknpromise777#651578 writes:
Craft???Are you kidding;His name is Sullinger;2 double/doubles in his first 2 games..Sullinger will be Big Ten player of the year
murrayvol writes:
27 turnovers usually gets you beat.
AVOL4EVR2 writes:
32 of 40 from the line....Are you kidding?? Great!! That is more like it!!!!
Ironcity writes:
The announcers commented on it and I agree. Our point guard play is awful right now. the reason we see no team play is because we don't have a guard that can get the ball to his playmakers in a position to score. Goins is no different from last year, he dribbles into trouble jumps in the air and then looks to throw it to someone or he just inexplicably chucks it out of bounds. Golden has potential in that he is a much better passer then Goins but he is a weak defender and lacks experience. How long before Bone comes back because we desperately need him. That game was difficult to watch. Belmont is a lousy team and that game should not have come down to the wire.
On a high note Harris is the real deal, Hopson looks great on the mid range jumpers and and we did hit our free throws.
TopTenn writes:
I totally agree, these comments are absurd. We have an inexperienced team that haven't played together a lot. This team is a work in progress. All these critics will become the biggest fans in March.
VolunteerLifer writes:
C'mon guys, its early. There is a lot not to like now, but that's true at this time every year. I wouldn't come to any conclusions based on what we've seen so far. Our main problem is a lack of playing time together, the team looked sloppy and disjointed. I think Tobias will become the straw that stirs the drink, and that our play will revolve around him. But that will take some time to evolve. I was very encouraged by what I saw from Tatum at crunch time, and others who were hitting their free throws then. Belmont is a good team, and well coached. Last year's team probably would have lost this game, remember how bad they looked early in the year. so, lighten up. Let's see more from them before we make any judgements.
LifetimeVolFan98 writes:
Harris is better as a Frosh than Hopson is as a Sr. I think Scotty just needs to let the 3-pt game come to him. He's a deadly mid-range shooter as shown last night. All in all though, Harris will be a super-star if he stays around. He can hit from all areas of the floor and can shott both right and left handed.
tennrich1 writes:
Not saying McBee is Larry Bird but I was sure glad we had him on the foul line a couple of times!
jhayes0926#638474 writes:
Think I'll post on a more positive note. Fields can be a difference maker, he plays the post and rebounds really well. Hopson showed some brilliant flashes. Why hasn't anyone bashed Steven? I thought he played an excellent game last night; Tobias plays like a senior All-SEC player already. Tonight will be tough, hope our PG learns how to pass.
sheep writes:
Why are some of you on Mcbee? He has proved himself in the past, and he will do so again this year. It's not like Hopson set the woods on fire at all last year, or this year till last night. Some players start slow, and we have beared with Hopson, Goins, and Tatums growing pains. Skylar will get going, just be patient. The kid only gets about 4 shots a game, it is tough to get in a groove when you are looking over your shoulder everytime you shoot. A lot of the other guys take really bad shots, and miss them teribly, and they make many more turnovers than he has yet they are allowed to play on even when they are killing us. Skylar had 1 turnover, and did not take any bad shots last night. He dosent take bad shots, that is why when he shoots, he has to make it count. I agree he has started slow this yera, but he did last year as well. He is only a sophomore, who came from a smaller school, but he works his tail off, and he plays as best as can be expected at this point. He has not hurt us when he is in the game, and when we need a big shot, he will be there. As to the rest of the freshmen, none ot the rest of them are playing as best as they can. It seems to me that everyone forgets what happened last year with J. P. throwing the ball away at least 5 times a game, Hopson being invisible for most of the year, and Williams playing like a 6 foot post player, and we survived that. Mcbees shooting percentages were almost as good as Hopsons last year with many fewer attempts. Mcbee and the rest will be fine, just be patient.
randyarnold writes:
While UT was sloppy many times during the evening (and were the officials being paid by the frequency in which they blew the whistle?), one thing to remember: It's November. Let's see how well these men mesh together in the next three months.
hikerdude writes:
How many assists did Goins have last night? I think he had 3 in the first game. Three. In a whole game. From the point guard. Unless that number improves a lot, its going to be a long season.
born2ride writes:
Without Chism we have NO inside game. John Fields is a good addition but Brian Williams is still wasted on weed or something. We are going to get killed inside against bigger teams.
Harris is talented. Hopson will never live up to the hype. Weak at PG too.
We will never beat Kentucky!
licknpromise777#651578 writes:
Bruce's 10 man rotation experiment has begun and I guess now is the time to do it..Clearly we are missing Wayne and Co. which showed the most in the last 2 minutes..Thank God Harris is the real deal!!Hopson is asserting himself somewhat as the team leader and has developed a nice mid range shot..Hall is making a nice turnaround from last year.You can see a clear difference in his confidence;especially at the free throw line..Fields is slowly coming along and with the direction Williams is headed((9 minutes/5 fouls))Fields is going to need to avg. near 10 ppg.in put backs and FT..As expected this is a team learning how to execute Pearl's half court offense and has a long way to go on the defensive end..As you all know it was great defense that won those games in the Big Dance.Golden was pretty bad at the end against the press(((Pearl should have had Tatum or Woolridge with him giving options on those inbounds)))But as a Fresh. Golden has made some great passes to cutting players and is up to speed in the running game;something we need way more of!!With that said; we are probably looking like a 3rd place finish in the east and another trip to the tourney..Iam just glad to see it's basketball time in Tennessee and look forward to hearing from from other basketball junkies like Plastic;Rich;Htown and others
licknpromise777#651578 writes:
Good point man;Fields got some real bad calls;Iam also wondering about Bone;I don't think he's a true point guard but he was a spark in some big games last year and should have been the first option when Golden was folding at the end
licknpromise777#651578 writes:
Did anyone catch the San Diego vs Gonzaga game last night..SDSU is the team that almost sent us packing last year in round 1..It was fun watching them dominate Gonzaga;sending their zealot fans and poindexter coach in tears out of their own gym;What more could you ask!!
johnlg00#206211 writes:
Never have gotten the "hate" on Steven Pearl. Last night, he went 2-for-3 from the field, had at least four rebounds, a couple of assists, and at least one good screen that got a layup for another guy. That is nearly as much as the Vols got out of Williams, Fields, Hall, and Woolridge combined. I exaggerate, of course, but I am still amazed at how overlooked Pearl's contributions are. McBee is another story; he has lived for nearly a year on that big 3-pointer against Kansas but I don't think he has made a half-dozen since and is a liability on defense.
Agree completely about the refs! It was pointed out during the telecast that the conference supervisor of officials was in the stands for the game; maybe the refs wanted to show off how much whistle-blowing endurance they had!
On the other hand, the Vols WERE doing a lot of reaching on defense instead of moving their feet. Our perimeter defenders seem to be a step slow. They constantly try to cut off drivers but bump into them or grab them instead. When you are playing a quicker offensive player, the first step you take is straight BACK to keep the guy in front of you and force him to try to take the pull-up jumper, which many of our perimeter defenders are tall enough to contest even from a step away. I would rather see them beat us that way instead of letting them around the corner and gently fouling them from the side as they lay the ball in the basket!
johnlg00#206211 writes:
One more thing: Our post players MUST realize that they CANNOT MOVE AT ALL on screens. When you are a big guy out on the perimeter right in front of the ref, they are GOING to call you EVERY TIME when you lean or stick that hip out! Move to your spot and then go RIGID! It is not that hard to do and it WILL save a couple of cheap fouls per game.
Ironcity writes:
Bone broke a bone somewhere otherwise I think he would be playing. Goins had 1 assist and 4 turnovers in 18 minutes. Thas unacceptable against a team with slow guards. He got abused by Indy also. I have a feeling by the end of the year he will not be our starting point guard. He has to start playing with his head up and stop making the same mistakes over and over.
Mule_Days_King writes:
Two question for you VandyGrad:
1)Were you dropped on your head as a child?
2)Are you ready for the takover of that high school stadium on Saturday and the a**kicking of that pitiful school of which you are a supposed alumnus?
indorider writes:
Rocky Top is overplayed! Save it for when something REALLY good happens, not every other song. I'm a die hard big orange fan but the overuse bothers me.
robvols#366273 writes:
Vols, please win tonight so my tickets for Madison Square Garden next week don't go to waste!
dtacker#607308 writes:
Too early to be making rush judgements. They have to play a few games to start gelling. Everyone take a chill pill!
Go Vols!
UKblue02 writes:
Don't know that i would agree with that statement at this time we have inexperience players also and not much of an inside threat as of now i would say its a toss up
murrayvol writes:
I think we may be a lot better in January....maybe not.
NO_DIGGITY writes:
Dear GoVolsExtra,
Here is your user agreement:
"Comments are the sole responsibility of the person posting them. You agree not to post comments that are off topic, defamatory, obscene, abusive, threatening or an invasion of privacy. Violators may be banned."
It looks like the comment from "Mr. Pearl" is defamatory to Tobias Smith and his family. He is accusing him of taking money. Any way to ban this dude from Morristown that lives close to the Toothpaste factory?
On Topic: The Team is still learning to play together. Give them time becasue we have 3 new starters. Belmont always plays us tough because Rick Byrd is a very good coach. Hopefully Vols peak this year the same time they did last year.
Regards,
NO_DIGGITY
murrayvol writes:
Some players burn through entire careers w/o figuring that out.
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