Tennessee's Miracle Win Over No. 1 Kansas

Mike DeCourcy - SportingNews.com

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- It might have been worth the fine. What's the going rate for a court-storming in the SEC? What does commish Mike Slive hit you for that? Five grand? The thing to do would have been to write that check and cut the kids loose.

Bruce Pearl hugs his son (and Vols player) Steven after Tennessee's shocking victory over Kansas.All that was lacking from the most improbable college basketball result of the season was a swarm of frat kids pogo-ing on Summitt court and the sight of taller ballers in Tennessee uniforms dishing out high-fives while surrounded by their schoolmates.

Instead, the players had to take their celebration to the audience, so they stood on courtside tables and the chairs that served as the visitors' bench. A few went into the stands and exchanged hugs and hand-slaps. The Volunteers reveled in their 76-68 upset of top-ranked Kansas the way the Jayhawks quite possibly will when the NCAA championship trophy is awarded in three months.

It wasn't too much. The Vols earned these moments and all the applause showered upon them by an ecstatic crowd at Thompson-Boling Arena. Technically Tennessee is the No. 16 team in the country, but not these Vols. Who are they kidding? The No. 16 Vols are the team that last played on New Year's Eve and controlled a road game against rival Memphis almost beginning to end. The Vols who stunned KU are down four players who were arrested New Year's Day and haven't played or practiced since.

The Vols who upset No. 1 KU got 45 minutes from walk-ons and 14 points from sophomore forward Renaldo Woolridge, who'd only twice played 14 minutes before all those players got suspended. They excelled in a sagging man-to-man scheme and a straight zone that seduced Kansas into shooting 7 of 27 from 3-point range -- even though the zone concepts were introduced only a few days ago.

"We obviously had some very special shots and some very special plays," Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl said. "The stars have got to be aligned a little bit in order to beat the No. 1 team in the country when you're so shorthanded."

UT point guard Bobby Maze said the team "had a lot of confidence" despite the attrition and had some excellent practices during the week.

As the Vols practiced Saturday in advance of KU's arrival, though, their preparation resembled more a game day shootaround. Pearl didn't believe he could risk a freak injury that might result from a tougher workout. "I lose one or two guys, and we're done," Pearl said afterward. "We went live yesterday, and we held our breath."

And he barely had enough guys for 5-on-5, anyway. Woolridge and Kenny Hall went from deep reserves to high-rotation regulars. Walk-on Skylar McBee already was getting time as a shooting specialist, but Josh Bone and Steven Pearl -- Bruce's son -- became integral parts of the operation against KU.

Pearl got three rebounds and passed for an assist. Bone hit a huge second-half 3-pointer. And McBee, whom everyone in the program trusts to take an open jumper -- although McBee sometimes needs to be convinced -- hit a game-clinching three with the shot clock lapsing to make it 74-68 with 36 seconds left.

"It's very difficult for teams to come in and know they've got to go up against six scholarship players and three walk-ons and not think there's a big advantage there," Pearl said.

Maybe that was on the Jayhawks' mind. They'd bluffed their way through a home game at mid-week against a terrific Cornell team and pulled out a victory late. KU coach Bill Self abhors the idea there could be such a thing as a "good loss," but this one could be useful in convincing the Kansas players that receiving the No. 1 ranking didn't mean they'd arrived.

"If winning camouflaged us getting better, then it's better to have it happen now," Self said. "All the loss does is magnify what you don't do well. Now maybe we can get better because we've been exposed."

When Tennessee lost All-SEC forward Tyler Smith, guard Melvin Goins, wing Cameron Tatum and big man Brian Williams because of the arrests, it was a challenging time for the players who remained. It also was a challenge. Players such as Woolridge knew they would be getting the chance to play.

"I talked to my father and my mom, and they said it was unfortunate. I believe it's unfortunate," Woolridge said. "But it's an opportunity. We were able to capitalize on it. Whatever the future holds, we'll be ready for it. Until then, we'll just have to stick together like a family."

Smith will not be returning to the Vols. He was dismissed from the program Friday. It's possible, though, the team will get back some combination of the other three in the near future.

So the Vols may not be trying to generate another miracle every time they take the court in the SEC. Which is a good thing. Because they'd never top this one.

Mike DeCourcy covers college basketball for Sporting News. E-mail him at decourcy@sportingnews.com.

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