Recap: Tennessee
Dec. 17, 2008 4:42 a.m.
While a lot of the attention was on Tyler Smith coming into MU's matchup with Tennessee, it wound up being Wayne Chism who stole the show and almost single-handedly did in the Golden Eagles.
Yes, the same Chism who played a grand total of 14 minutes in the loss to Temple before fouling out. The same Chism who entered the night having hit just 3 of 15 three-pointers. The same Chism who reportedly drives coach Bruce Pearl nuts at times with his mental lapses.
Well, on Tuesday the 6-foot-9, 242-pound junior put it all together and turned in the performance of his tenure at Tennessee to this point, going for 26 points and 11 rebounds. He scored 15 of 19 points for the Volunteers during one crucial second-half stretch, including nine straight capped by an incredible three-pointer from deep with a defender's hand right in his face.
"Wayne had a favorable matchup and took advantage of it," Pearl said afterward. "I told our 4s and 5s, ‘We’ve got to dominate at 4 and 5 to win this game, because our guards are going to be so challenged.’"
Chism started off relatively slowly, scoring just five points in the first half as the teams battled to a 32-32 halftime tie. Tennessee, as it has been wont to do at times, didn't play all that smart over those initial 20 minutes, settling for long three-pointers, turning the ball over and generally not working to establish its strengths.
Namely Chism.
That all changed in the second half, and especially when the smallish Golden Eagles began getting into foul trouble. Save for the 2 threes, nearly all Chism's damage was done within about two feet of the basket as he had little trouble scoring on layups and dunks while MU could do little about it.
The long, active Chism also helped Tennessee win the rebounding game, although by the slimmest of margins, at 33-31, with 10 of those coming on the offensive end.
"I think Wayne’s elevated play itself was a turning point," said Pearl. "I think a big thing is we were able to win the battle on the boards. Marquette’s 8-2 now, and their only two losses they’ve been out-rebounded. That’s a hard team to out-rebound because they’re so athletic."
Added MU coach Buzz Williams: "I think he’s a pro. I think when you have a skill set with the size and the athleticism he possesses…he’s a really hard guy to guard because he’s so strong, he can get work done in the paint yet he can step out and shoot the three. I think he’s a very, very talented player. That’s why he’s all-SEC."
-- Junior forward J.P. Prince didn't play, which was no surprise since Pearl listed him as "probably doubtful" on Monday.
Even still, the Vols seemed as though they were using some gamesmanship by trotting him out for pre-game warmups in his gear, and he went through them with little problem. Anyone looking closely, though, might have noticed he was wearing diamond earrings in each ear while doing so -- obviously a no-no for guys who are actually going to see action.
-- While Williams did utilize some zone defense in the second half as the fouls began piling up, Pearl raised some observers' eyebrows by doing the same at points. That's not the normal M.O. for the ultra-athletic Vols, who usually thrive on man-to-man and pressing.
"We played zone early in the year and worked on it early in the year, and I just hadn’t seen Marquette against any zone," said Pearl. "Texas Southern was the only team we saw play them zone, and I just thought they kind of stood around a little bit, thought it slowed them down a little bit. So yesterday was the first day we put it back in.
"I thought when we spread out and switched it up, it got them standing around, which changed the tempo of the game."
-- For the most part, and especially in the first half, MU was able to keep Tennessee from playing at a breakneck pace. That was key in keeping the game close most of the rest of the way in the second half as well.
"In the first half I thought it probably played toward our advantage," said Williams of the tempo. "They had 40 possessions in the first half; it was a 32-all game. I think in the second half they had 53 possessions. Obviously we upped their average in the last couple of minutes when we were having to foul. In the games that Tennessee has lost, their possessions have been 83 and fewer. Eighty-three and higher, they’ve always won.
"So we were cognizant of that. I think what changed it…the number was somewhat skewed in the last two minutes. They’re an ultra-talented team, they’ve got 10 high-major players and they keep running them at you, and that’s why they win high-possession games."
-- As many expected, MU's starters again logged major minutes as the competition level increased.
Against UW, all five played at least 30 minutes. That would have happened again against the Vols had it not been for the foul trouble that plagued Jerel McNeal throughout. As it was, Dominic James led the way with 37 minutes, with Wesley Matthews playing 36, Lazar Hayward 35, Dwight Burke 32 and McNeal 25 before fouling out with 5:33 left in the game.
"I think we’ll fight an uphill battle, moreso than probably what most people think," said Williams with regard to the constant quest to keep out of foul trouble. "I think we’ve fought an uphill battle thus far in the 10 games we’ve played up to this point. And I don’t know how many left we have scheduled, but I think every game will be an uphill battle.
"Everybody knows who our four core players are, and they have to play almost perfect on both ends of the floor because every possession is so critical due to our small margin of error. The other five guys that put on uniforms, what’s happening is they’re beginning to understand the value of every possession, because of the way that we’re constructed they’ve got to be accountable for every possession that they play. So any time we get in foul trouble, no matter who the player is, we’re out of whack."
-- The one reserve who played big minutes in relief of McNeal was Jimmy Butler, who set a personal high with five rebounds in 21 minutes. He struggled from the line, going just 2 for 5, but was still productive overall.
"He’s getting better. He’s trying to do what we’re asking him to do," Williams said. "He’s our second-best free-throw shooter next to Wes; he went 2 of 5. That’s atypical. He had five rebounds; a couple of those offensive rebounds were really big. You can’t turn the ball over two times. But he’s getting better. He’s trying to figure it out, do what we’re asking him to do.
"But he didn’t have a choice on whether or not he was going to play because of the foul trouble. He’s got to play. We’re to the point now when the clock turns 16:59 or 12:59 or 8:59, when I’m trying to get Wes a drink of water or Jerel a drink of water, those possessions that Jimmy comes in, he can come in for Lazar, he can come in for Wes, technically he can even come in for Dwight. Then we’ll just shift accordingly."
-- While the box score read 0+ minutes, it would be dubious not to refer to David Cubillan as DNP-CD on Tuesday.
That was the first game he'd ever not registered at least four minutes in his two-plus years at MU, and just the fourth time in 44 games he failed to reach double digits in minutes. He missed one game last season with an ankle injury.
"We’ve played 10 games and suited up nine guys in those 10 games. There’s 200 possible minutes in a game, and every single minute is absolutely critical," Williams said when asked why Cubillan didn't see more action. "I think that Cooby is doing a good job. He’s getting better. He was deserving of playing more and he didn’t get that opportunity, and that was my decision."
-- Save for a few nice drives, it's safe to say McNeal's inability to stay out of foul trouble was a major disappointment. As a senior, he's been through the battles, and has to know better than to risk picking up a third or a fourth on a borderline play where he might be reaching for the basketball, or driving into traffic.
"He's a competitive player, a tough player," said Williams. "It was just tough luck."
-- James was a disappointment as well in the second half. Fouling Chism beyond the three-point line with the shot clock running down was silly (and reminiscent of his foul of Jonathan Wallace that was a big part of last year's Georgetown loss), and picking up a technical foul in a tight game -- no matter how egregious an official's call might have been -- is inexcusable for a senior point guard.
"I didn’t have much communication with the officials tonight," Williams said of the T. "Obviously I didn’t hear it; I was looking the other way trying to figure out if we were in the bonus or not because I didn’t know defensively what we needed to do. So whatever he said, he said it quick and it was powerful and it was deserving of a technical, because that’s what he called."
When asked if he viewed the T as a lesson learned for all his players, Williams agreed.
"I think everything we do is a learning point," he said. "I think our guys’ character was revealed. I’ll fight for these guys academically, I’ll fight with them as people and I’ll fight with them as their coach. They’re probably helping me more than I’m probably helping them. You get a technical foul, and so every possession is critical, as I’ve been saying."
-- James did provide one highlight, with a monster block of a dunk/drive attempt by Scotty Hopson.
-- Matthews, on the other hand, was simply sensational. He played intelligently and fearlessly, and got to the free-throw line an astounding 18 times en route to a collegiate-high 30 points.
He finished one free throw short of tying the MU record of 16, which is shared by Brian Wardle, Dean Meminger and Rube Schulz. Terry Rand holds the record for free-throw attempts in a game with 25.
He also hit 3 of 7 three-pointers, grabbed four rebounds, dished out three assists and added two steals.
The improvement he's displayed to this point in the season as compared to last year is incredible.
-- The loss technically dropped MU's record to 1-2 on neutral courts so far this season. But to consider the Sommet Center a neutral court is questionable, considering all the orange in the seats.
Even still, the experience figured to be a valuable one for the handful of newcomers who have yet to experience a true road game. Their chance will come for the first time on Monday, when MU travels to North Carolina State.
"I think our guys did a great job," said Williams. "I think this was a heck of a deal. Great college-basketball atmosphere. The Vols had great support; rightfully so. It was made for TV. I don’t know what day we play North Carolina State, and I don’t know what time. But if we don’t get better tomorrow, we’ll get beat again.
"Western Carolina won at Kent State. I know everyone was talking about Tennessee even though IPFW was very important to us. But every single day is so critical to us because we have to get better. I thought that we got better tonight, and we’re going to have to get better if we’re going to have a chance to beat Western Carolina on Friday."
-- While the crowd was heavily pro-UT, it was also embarrassingly small in an arena built to house the NHL's Nashville Predators.
The listed attendance was 9,498 -- less than half of the 20,000 it can seat in its basketball layout. Entire portions of the upper decks were empty for the nightcap. And in the opener, which featured Vanderbilt -- which is actually located IN Nashville -- there couldn't have been more than 3,000 in the house.
-- MU's 37.5% shooting was a season low...Tennessee shot 36 free throws, one more than MU. The only other time that's happened was in the Golden Eagles' loss to Dayton, when the Flyers shot three more...MU's 10 assists tied a season low established in the victory over Wisconsin...James' technical foul was the Golden Eagles' first since Trend Blackledge was whistled for one against Stanford in the NCAA tournament.
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