Tennessee looks like national title contender in win vs. No. 1 Gonzaga

After a huge win over Gonzaga on a neutral court Sunday in Phoenix, Tennessee showed they are a real national title contender.

What would the battle have looked like if Goliath also had a slingshot? Sunday at the Jerry Colangelo Classic, the No. 1-ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs knew they would be facing a formidable challenge in No. 7 Tennessee. Their strengths were the same as the Volunteers’. The game was to be a slugfest. When two teams with so much frontcourt talent clash, basketball becomes boxing and it favors players like Admiral Schofield.

Schofield’s 30 points led an impressive victory many will remember in March as one of Tennessee’s best. His pick-and-pop three-pointer with 24 seconds left gave the Volunteers a lead they would not relinquish and vaulted Tennessee into contention for No. 1 team in the nation.

Especially after losing 87-81 to Kansas in overtime three weeks ago, this win could mark a real turning point for a Tennessee program that lost in the second round of the NCAA tournament last spring.

“All I could think about was I don’t want this to be a repeat of the Kansas game,” Schofield said postgame, “being close to a top-notch team and not closing.”

“We knew (the game) would have a March kind of feel to it,” added Tennessee coach Rick Barnes. “We know that when you play against a No. 1 team you’re going to have to play for 40 minutes and I think we probably did that closer today than we have at any point in time this year.”

After scoring 19 points in the first 5:30 of the game, the Volunteers had to fight just to stay close in the second half. A 3 from Zach Norvell Jr. put Gonzaga up eight midway through the period before Tennessee responded.

Junior Jordan Bowden, removed from the starting lineup this past week, nailed back-to-back bombs of his own to keep the Vols within striking distance. Momentum might as well have been a hot potato Sunday in Phoenix — a moment later, Schofield pulled up from the left wing in transition for another 3, tying the game.

If it’s not clear from his first name, Schofield is the heartbeat and leader of this Tennessee squad. His hot shooting brought the entire team back to life, including the blitzing defense that characterized the team during last year’s surprise regular season run.

That defense smothered the Bulldogs during the final minutes of the half when Gonzaga star and likely lottery pick Rui Hachimura was unable to answer big Tennessee shots. The Vols’ other star, Grant Williams, fouled out with 2:30 left, leaving Schofield to close things out.

“When I went down I had no doubt in my mind we were going to come win this game,” Williams said.

His team proved him right. Hachimura turned the ball over then missed a pull-up jumper from midrange on subsequent possessions before getting to the line for two free throws to tie the game up once more. Yet Schofield responded with two 3s during that time — part of a 6-10 effort overall from deep — including the open look off the pop which sealed the victory.

On that backbreaking final play, Hachimura and point guard Josh Perkins tangoed together toward Tennessee guard Jordan Bone, leaving Schofield open. Hachimura’s recovery was too late, leaving Schofield space to calmly shoot the ball that would tie the game.

“We just had a defensive miscommunication there,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said postgame. “I tried to remind the guys coming out but we probably should have gone over it two or three more times.”

Schofield, Barnes and Williams were careful to reserve their words. The season is long, and they learned last year how quickly an uplifting success story can end.

“We’re not going to act like it’s not a big deal,” Schofield said of the win. “But for us, it’s not. We’re not playing for championships in December, we’re playing for championships in March.”

It’s tough, however, not to play up the Volunteers’ growth after such a performance. The team was 26-9 last year after impressive years from Schofield, Williams and senior Lamonte Turner. This year, all of the big contributors return besides Turner, but the team’s chemistry makes it a real threat in the SEC after so many teams in the conference lost stars in the draft.

The team that fell victim to Loyola’s Cinderella run in the tournament last season has a year of winning to build from. The “fat boys,” as Barnes said Schofield and Williams were when they were recruited, are grown. Both players acknowledged the team will have a target on its back the second time around, but they will be better too.

Beating the No. 1 team in the country, something Barnes has never done shows the kind of growth expected from Tennessee this season. If they can keep momentum and continue to improve, the Volunteers could be a contender for the national title next spring.

“This may have been a big statement,” Williams acknowledged, “but we have more to prove. We’re not done yet.”