University of Tennessee Athletics
VOLS FACE NO. 2 NORTH CAROLINA THIS AFTERNOON
November 24, 2006 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 24, 2006
Playing in the spotlight of Madison Square Garden may have affected the youngsters of No. 2 North Carolina and No. 22 Tennessee, which must settle for playing for third place on Friday at the NIT Season Tip-Off.
Instead of meeting in the tournament final as many had expected, considering these were the only AP Top 25 teams in the field, the Tar Heels and Volunteers were upset in Wednesday's semifinals and relegated to playing in the consolation game. It was the first loss of the season for both squads.
North Carolina (3-1) did not look good defensively in its first real test of the season, falling 82-74 to Gonzaga.
After racing to a 10-0 lead, the Tar Heels had few answers for an efficient Gonzaga squad that shot 51.6 percent from the field, including 53.3 percent (8-for-15) from 3-point range. They held their first three opponents - Sacred Heart, Winthrop and Gardner-Webb - to an average of 65.7 points and 36.5 percent shooting.
North Carolina struggled to get the ball inside to preseason All-American Tyler Hansbrough, who had nine points and took only five shots. The sophomore forward averaged 22.3 points during the team's 3-0 start.
"We did a very poor job of giving him the basketball," Tar Heels coach Roy Williams said. "He probably did the least effective job he's maybe ever done as far as moving without the basketball."
Maybe the only bright spot for North Carolina was Brandan Wright, who had 21 points and 13 rebounds. Fellow freshmen Wayne Ellington, Ty Lawson, Alex Stepheson and Deon Thompson combined for just 22 points and nine rebounds. Ellington was held to five points on 2-of-11 shooting after averaging 14.0 points in his first three games.
Wright has been an immediate contributor, averaging 16.0 points and 7.3 rebounds while shooting 55.6 percent from the field. However, the 6-foot-9 forward missed half of his 14 free throws Wednesday and is shooting 48.3 percent (14-for-29) from the foul line.
"He's going to be a very good player," Williams said. "We've got to learn it's going to be a long season."
Tennessee (4-1) could go through some similar growing pains, with a heralded freshman class of its own in Wayne Chism, Duke Crews, Ramar Smith and Josh Tabb. That quartet combined for just 17 points on 6-of-24 shooting in Wednesday's 56-44 defeat to Butler.
Coach Bruce Pearl's team made 3-of-28 shots (10.7 percent) in the second half and committed 22 turnovers for the game.
"We've done that all year," Pearl said. "We were sloppy and just didn't execute."
Chris Lofton certainly didn't. The junior guard, who averaged a team-high 17.2 points last season as the Volunteers went 22-8 and got a No. 2 seed for the NCAA tournament, fouled out with six points on 3-of-9 shooting and had five turnovers without an assist or steal. Lofton averaged 18.0 points and 2.8 steals in Tennessee's four wins.
JaJuan Smith was the team's only double-figure scorer Wednesday with 16 points.
"We were swimming uphill offensively," Pearl said. "We really struggled and had a lot of good looks, we just didn't finish. You have to give Butler credit."
The Volunteers are averaging 21.2 turnovers, having committed 70 in their three NIT games. Ramar Smith has committed a team-high 18 and JaJuan Smith has 16.
North Carolina leads the all-time series 7-1 and has won the last two games between the teams, most recently a 94-81 victory in the 2004 Maui Invitational semifinals despite Lofton's 22 points.
Tennessee's only win over the Tar Heels came in 1949.
