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Tennessee's Timing Is Impeccable

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By MICK ELLIOTT

melliott@tampatrib.com

Published: March 15, 2009

TAMPA - Despite being the SEC's absolute worst 3-point shooting team this season, the Tennessee Volunteers were sufficiently capable at some of the game's other requirements to enter the conference tournament as a No. 1 seed and advance to Saturday's semifinal against Auburn.

And that's when the Volunteers hit nine of 19 attempts from the outer limits - nine of 15 at one stretch.

Need you know more?

If timing is everything, Tennessee had it all on the way to a 94-85 win in front of 10,387 at the Forum. The victory sends the Volunteers (21-11) into today's championship game against Mississippi State - not to mention an almost certain spot in the NCAA Tournament no matter the result.

"Very high scoring," Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl said. "I thought the players made the great plays. You had to enjoy the performances of some of the individuals. Just offensively, played with great fluidity.

"We are very focused on the opportunity to prove who the best team is in the SEC. We don't know that yet. But we'll have an opportunity with the victory if we can win, to be the best team in the league."

The UT team that hit 31 percent of its 3s during the regular season dropped them on Auburn like a safe from the third-floor window. If you are Auburn, you know it's going to be a bad day when Wayne Chism - he's the Vols' center - is 4-for-8 from long range.

Chism led all scorers with 27 points and also pulled down nine rebounds. Tyler Smith, possibly the best athlete in the tournament, added 23 points. Bobby Maze and Cameron Tatum contributed 11 each, and Scotty Hopson scored 10.

"Wayne came out shooting," Smith, the Vols' first-team All-SEC guard, said of his big-man teammate. "I mean, he was coming down the court just letting it go. And I said, 'Hey, he hit his first two, give Wayne the ball.'"

Auburn, which entered the game with nine wins in its past 10 outings, was resilient but eventually faded under UT's constant barrage. The Tigers (22-11) set the pace early, going up by five in the game's opening five minutes, but the Volunteers led by 14 with four minutes remaining in the first half and took a 47-36 advantage into intermission.

The Tigers closed within five once in the second half, and trailed by eight with 4:35 remaining, but could never put real pressure on the Vols.

"When they score like that, shoot the ball like that, I think they're a top-10 basketball team," Auburn coach Jeff Lebo said. "They really got out of the gate shooting the basketball from the perimeter, especially Chism. Five men that can shoot the basketball. When he's on fire like that out there, it certainly presents a lot of problems because you're not used to defending that at the five position.

"We had a couple of shots and a couple of fast-break opportunities that we couldn't finish in the second half to maybe cut it to four or five and just couldn't make a couple of plays there."
Auburn was led by forward Korvotney Barber with 24 points and nine rebounds.

Tennessee started the year as the SEC preseason favorite. At times the Vols had their struggles, in part because of a nonconference schedule that ranked among the most difficult in the nation. But beyond the schedule, they also bobbed and weaved through the season, losing six times in the conference to finish as East Division co-champs with South Carolina and out of the national rankings.

Now, they might finally be finding the stride that was expected.

"We're coming together as a team," Smith said. "We're having fun. We're getting up and down the court. Everybody's together. It's not like one guy will go out. It's all together. It's a team, and that's what we've been looking for all year."

Reporter Mick Elliott can be reached at (813) 281-2534.

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