TAMPA — Tennessee’s NCAA card had already been punched prior to their first game in the Southeastern Conference Tournament so consider Friday night’s 86-62 quarter-final win over Alabama a statement game for a team that has spent more time on the roller coaster than a Disney tourist at Space Mountain.
The Vols (20-11) advance to the semi-finals Saturday afternoon against the winner of the Florida-Auburn game. For Alabama (18-14), the dream of running the SEC Tournament table for an NCAA bid came crashing to a halt. The Crimson Tide will get a bid to the NIT, still quite an accomplishment for a team with an interim coach (Philip Pearson) that was 13-12 not all that long ago.
Alabama beat Tennessee in Knoxville just last Sunday so it was important for Coach Bruce Pearl’s team to play like a well-prepared team that had a bit of edge to them. The Vols began the season as a team many experts thought capable of making the Final Four. No question about it, Tennessee can put more talent on the floor than any team in the SEC, but that hasn’t always equated to consistency and there have been serious chemistry issues.
Judging by the way the Vols came out of the blocks Friday night — attacking the rim at every chance on the offensive end; challenging every pass on the defensive end — the chemistry issues were for at least one night, a thing of the past. Tennessee did a great job of sharing the ball and even though the Vols couldn’t heave it into the ocean from the end of the pier when it came to three-point shooting, it didn’t matter. Every time the ball hit the rim, it seemed there were two or three Vols in position to stick it back end.
Tennessee’s rotatons and help defense kept Alabama from ever establishing a comfort level. The Crimson Tide looked disjointed and out of synch the entire game.
The Vols got off to a 9-2 start and stretched that to 25-11 in the first 8:30 of the game. Alabama got it together enough to close the gap to eight (31-23) with 4:27 left in the half but the Vols regained their momentum as Wayne Chism (5) and Tyler Smith (4) combined to score nine of Tennessee’s final 12 points of the half to make it a 43-32 game at intermission.
What made Tennessee’s first half explosion so impressive was the lack of three-point shooting. Quite simply, the Vols were atrocious, hitting only 1-14, but the lack of consistency only made the production in the paint (28 points in the first half) more impressive. Tennessee wasn’t all that much better from long distance in the second half. The Vols finished the game 4-23 on three-pointers.
A 17-0 start to the second half put an end to any thoughts of an Alabama comeback. It was 60-32 with 13:52 remaining in the game and the Vols went on cruise control the rest of the way.
Tyler Smith led Tennessee with 22 points while Chism finished with 15 and J.P. Prince added 12.
Alabama got 13 from Mikhail Torrance and 12 from Alonzo Gee.