Recap: Tennessee vs South Carolina

Chris Lofton drilled a three-pointer with 11.4 seconds to play to lift fourth-ranked Tennessee to an 89-87 victory over South Carolina in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament.

The lead see-sawed back and forth in the final minute and South Carolina grabbed an 87-86 edge on a tough layup by Dominique Archie with 20.8 seconds remaining. Lofton, though, had the answer with a shot from about 24 feet to put Tennessee back in front.

South Carolina still had time, but Devan Downey misfired on a three-pointer from the right wing and the loose ball went out of bounds off Tennessee with one second remaining. The Gamecocks tried to inbound the ball inside and could not get a shot as time expired.

Vanderbilt beats top ranked Tennessee

Shan Foster scored 32 points as Vanderbilt University beat No. 1-ranked Tennessee 72-69, one day after the Volunteers moved atop the AP college basketball poll for the first time in school history.

Jermaine Beal added 17 points last night for 18th-ranked Vanderbilt, which has won seven straight games and improved its home record at Memorial Gym in Nashville, Tennessee, this season to 18-0.

The Commodores are 24-4 overall, including a 9-4 record in the Southeastern Conference.

Vanderbilt has now won four straight games against opponents that were ranked No. 1 in the AP poll. The Commodores most recently beat top-ranked Florida 83-70 on Feb. 17, 2007.

Tennessee, which is about 200 miles from Vanderbilt’s campus, had a nine-game winning streak snapped to fall to 25-3 overall and 11-2 in the conference. Chris Lofton scored 25 points to lead the Volunteers, who moved atop the national polls following a 66- 62 win over previously unbeaten Memphis.

Tennessee dealt Memphis its first loss

Smith scored 16 points and Wayne Chism added 13 as the second-ranked Volunteers knocked off the top-ranked Tigers, 66-62, in a thrilling non-conference contest on Saturday.

J.P. Prince chipped in 13 points and eight rebounds off the bench for the Volunteers, who also ended the Tigers’ 47-game home winning streak.

Neither team led by more than seven points in a game that featured three ties and six lead changes.

Tennessee (25-2), which will likely move up to No. 1 in the polls for the first time in school history, led for the majority of the second half before Memphis briefly surged in front.

The Tigers (26-1) used a 10-2 burst to take a 61-58 lead on a layup from Chris Douglas-Roberts with 2:28 remaining.

After Smith made it a one-point game, Memphis missed three shots on its next possession, giving the Volunteers a chance for the lead.

Smith, who made the game-winning layup on January 9 to hand Mississippi its first loss of the season, made a tough turnaround shot in the lane with 26 seconds left to play, giving the Volunteers a 62-61 lead.

The Tigers could not answer Smith’s shot as Antonio Anderson then missed a runner in the lane and Prince converted both free throws to extend Tennessee’s lead to three with eight seconds remaining.

Memphis was never given a chance to tie the game as Tennessee fouled freshman Derrick Rose, who made the first free throw before missing the second. Chris Lofton iced the game with a pair of foul shots with two seconds remaining to seal the victory.

The Volunteers outrebounded the Tigers, 50-34, including 17 on the offensive end. Tennessee also outscored Memphis, 36-16, in the paint.

Tennessee made its first four shots from the field to take an 11-9 lead less than three minutes into the game before Memphis started to gain the upper hand.

The first six made baskets for the Tigers came from the arc and, after Shawn Taggart’s 3-pointer, Memphis held a 20-14 advantage with 13:33 left in the first half.

As the defenses settled in, the Tigers took their largest lead at 31-24 on a jumper from Rose with just over five minutes left before halftime.

But the Volunteers cut the deficit to one at the break, and took a 45-39 lead with 14:43 remaining after Prince scored six straight points.

Tennessee’s leading scorer Lofton scored his first basket with 13:12 remaining and Chism later followed with a 3-pointer that gave the Volunteers a 50-43 bulge with 11:48 left to play.

Lofton scored just seven points for the game on 2-of-11 from the floor.

Rose finished with 23 points and five assists and Douglas-Roberts added 14 for Memphis, which made only 8-of-17 free throws for the game.

The Tigers had started the game making 6-of-8 shots from the arc but finished just 8-of-27 on 3-point attempts, missing their last 12 outside shots.

Final Score:
Tennessee 66 Memphis 62

Arkansas prepares for Tennessee

Coach Pelphrey, no doubt, maintains a pessimistic outlook after wins. Like most coaches, he’s bothered by imperfection. No matter what happens.

The win against Ole Miss was nice. But Pelphrey’s right to place a heaping helping of importance on righting any wrongs because of the challenges — and opportunities — that lie ahead for his team on the road.

Fact No. 1: At 6-2, the Razorbacks emerged from the first half of SEC play in position to win their first division championship 1994-95 and compete for their first overall league title since 1993-94.

Fact No. 2: They’ll go head-to-head against the biggest obstacles in the way of those goals this week. They play SEC-leading Tennessee on Wednesday and SEC West front-runner Mississippi State on Saturday.

Fact No. 3: This group hasn’t proven it can win big games on the road.

That’s why Arkansas, as Pelphrey said, has to perform much, much better.

Leaving a hot-shooting opponent open on the road can’t happen. The offensive shot selection must improve because sluggish stretches will prove costly. Missed free throws? Those are simply unacceptable.

Players acknowledged as much after the Ole Miss win. Guard Patrick Beverley said the Razorbacks must learn from their mistakes, buckle down on defense and make sure they’re doing all the little things on the road if they have any hope of staying in contention for the SEC championship.

Tennessee and Mississippi State will be difficult enough. The problem is, that’s not it. After a home game against LSU, the Razorbacks face back-to-back road tests again against Kentucky and Alabama.

Add it up. Four road trips in the next five games.

“This is going to be a big challenge for us,” center Darian Townes said.

Whether the Razorbacks are able to do more than enough to survive the stretch and win games will say a lot.

They’ll be a legitimate SEC title contender. Or they’ll be an afterthought sitting squarely on the NCAA Tournament bubble.

Arkansas takes on Tennessee, Wednesday, February 13th, on Raycom Sports, 8 ET

Vanderbilt loses second straight

Vanderbilt’s turnover and rebounding woes are not new, but now the Commodores can’t find their shooting touch either.

The Commodores, the nation’s leading 3-point shooting team a week ago, missed their first 11 from behind the arc in an 80-60 loss at Tennessee on Thursday. Vanderbilt finished just 3-for-21, 14 percent.

It was the Commodores’ second consecutive loss after a 16-0 start.

Vanderbilt also is struggling from the foul line after shooting over 75 percent most of the season.

Freshman center A.J. Ogilvy, who was averaging over 19 points a game coming into Thursday’s game, has not asserted himself at the start of games lately. That allows opponents to close out on Vanderbilt’s shooters.

Oglivy scored just two in the first half Thursday and finished with 12.

TENNESSEE 80, VANDERBILT 60: After winning its first 16 games, Vanderbilt lost its second straight.

The visiting Commodores shot just 36 percent from the field, committed 22 turnovers and were outrebounded 43-38.

The Volunteers’ unheralded center, Wayne Chism, got the best of Vanderbilt freshman A.J. Ogilvy. Chism torched Vandy for 18 points and 18 rebounds, and hit two 3-pointers to fuel a 32-15 Tennessee run in the first half.

Guard Shan Foster led Vanderbilt with 14 points, but he made just one of 11 from behind the arc.