Men's College Basketball, NCAA Basketball NEWS
Vols Topple Tigers, Take Over Top Spot in Polls
Published by MoonDog on February 24, 2008
I was wrong; almost entirely wrong about everything. I thought the game would be high-scoring. I stated the Vols don’t play well on the road. I didn’t believe the Tennessee Volunteers could come to Memphis and beat the No.1 Tigers. As a Vol fan being wrong never felt so right.
The Tennessee Volunteers employed a tightly-packed zone defense and simply out-hustled the Memphis Tigers en route to a 66-62 victory before 18,389 stunned fans at the FedEx Forum Saturday night in Memphis.
On a night when Bruce Pearl copped a feel from Erin Andrews, the Volunteers head coach watched his team chase down loose balls, hit big shots and even bigger free throws to earn the victory.
With the Vols trailing 61-60 with less than 30 seconds remaining, Tyler Prince hit a short jumper in the paint for a 62-61 lead Tennessee wouldn’t relinquish.
Chris Lofton stepped to the line with 4.5 seconds remaining and hit two free throws, sealing the victory. The Vols, 25-2 overall, 11-1 SEC, shot a respectable 12-for-18 from the from the charity stripe.
Earlier in the week, Memphis head coach John Calipari appeared on ESPN’s PTI and was asked about his team’s poor free throw shooting. “On a list of 25 things I look at, free throw shooting is number 26,” said Calipari.
As badly as Memphis played, the Tigers had chances to take the lead in the final 28 seconds, but poor free throw shooting eventually caught up with them. The Tigers shot 8-for-17 from the line, missing key free throws near the end of the game. I wonder if Calipari still believes free throw shooting isn’t important.
The Tigers, 26-1 overall, 12-0 C-USA, missed easy shots and were pounded on the boards by a 50-34 margin. After the game Calipari said, “they out-scrapped us, I thought we had them at end.” “They made plays and we didn’t, which is really unusual for us.”
The atmosphere prior to the game was electric, and the first eight minutes of the game was just as electric. Both teams hit 3-pointers with regularity, with Memphis hitting 6-for-10 from behind the arc. Memphis made their last 3-pointer of the game with 8:51 remaining in the first half. The Tigers finished the game 8-for-27 from behind the arc.
The Vols Jujuan Smith hit two 3-pointers in the opening minutes as the teams raced up and down the court at a frenetic pace. It looked like the predictions of a high-scoring affair would come to fruition.
With both teams missing shots and turning the ball over, the pace slowed considerably. Memphis took a 33-26 lead late in the first half, but the Vols fought back to close the gap to one with Memphis taking a 35-34 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Neither team led by more than seven throughout. The Vols led 53-46 with almost nine minutes remaining in the game, but Memphis used an 11-to-3 run to take a 57-56 lead with just under four minutes left.
Chris Douglas-Roberts made a layup with 2:28 left giving the Tigers a 61-58 lead. Memphis would score only one point down the stretch, opening the door for the Vols.
Tyler Smith led the Vols with 16 points and six rebounds, while Wayne Chisum added 13 points and seven rebounds. Memphis native J.P. Prince chipped in 13 points and eight rebounds. Tennessee’s leading scorer, Chris Lofton was limited to just seven points.
The Tigers were led by freshman Derrick Rose with 23 points, with Chris Douglas-Roberts adding 14.
The Tigers three big men, Joey Dorsey, Robert Dozier and Shawn Taggert combined for 12 points, 14 rebounds and eight blocked shots – hardly the type of performance the Tigers needed from all three to win the game.
Bruce Pearl told his team prior to taking the court, “I don’t know if we’re the best team in the country, but we’re 40 minutes away from being No. 1.” The Vols earned the right to claim the No. 1 ranking for the first time in school history.
The Vols will have to maintain their current level of play if they wish to remain No. 1. Tuesday night the Vols travel to Nashville to face the No. 16 ranked Vanderbilt Commodores.
For Memphis, it will be a bitter pill to swallow. The Tigers were looking to avenge last season’s loss to Tennessee and regain bragging rights. Moreover, the Tigers were hoping to silence their critics. Many believe Memphis achieved its No. 1 ranking by getting easy wins in Conference USA.
Barring any collapses by either team, Tennessee and Memphis should be No. 1 seeds for the upcoming NCAA Tournament in March.
Memphis returns to conference play Wednesday night at home against Tulsa.
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