This one hurts.
In a game that spoke volumes about the pecking order of college basketball in the Volunteer State, the football school beat the basketball school and made it look easy. On the eve of his SEC-mandated suspension for lying to the NCAA, Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl received the kind of send-off that would make the most respected of coaches get a bit teary. His Vols drained nine of their first 13 three-point attempts, led by double figures merely eight minutes into the game, and scored the most points against a Memphis team since January 30, 1991. (East Tennessee needed overtime to put up 105 that night.)
Wesley Witherspoon was a no-show for the second straight game (1 for 7 from the field, 2 rebounds). Tarik Black had three fouls with eight minutes to play in the first half, and the Tigers allowed their second-straight opponent to shoot 50 percent from the field (and 12 of 21 from beyond the arc). It will be a long climb back to the Top 25 for Memphis with Conference USA play starting this Saturday (East Carolina at FedExForum).
Senior Will Coleman led the Tigers with 17 points and 9 rebounds.
