TOP 25 MEN : Commodores spoil Volunteers’ big week
Posted on Wednesday, February 27, 2008
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee Volunteers found out being No. 1 can be tougher than beating No. 1.
Shan Foster scored 32 points and No. 18 Vanderbilt knocked off Tennessee 72-69 on Tuesday night — a day after the Vols moved into the top spot in the rankings for the first time in school history.
The Vols (25-3, 11-2 SEC ) beat then-No. 1 Memphis on Saturday night 66-62 on the western edge of Tennessee for their ninth consecutive victory to earn that spot themselves, then had to travel back to the middle part of the state to defend their top ranking for the first time.
Vanderbilt (24-4, 9-4 ) has hosted the No. 1 team nine times in its 56 years at Memorial Gym, and the Commodores improved to 6-3 overall in those games with victories in the past four, including then-No. 1 Florida last year. The Commodores have won all 18 home games this season and 31 of their past 32.
Jermaine Beal added 17 points and Alex Gordon 11 as Vanderbilt won its seventh consecutive game. The Commodores moved into a tie with Kentucky for second in the SEC East, a game behind the Vols with three games to play.
Chris Lofton led Tennessee with 25 points. Tyler Smith, playing with the flu, had 11 points and a career-high 17 rebounds.
These rivals separated by fewer than 200 miles hadn’t played in Nashville with both ranked since 1968. Vandy won that game as well.
This time, the Commodores had a sellout crowd making it even louder than what the Vols faced from a bigger group in Memphis ’ FedExForum. In Memorial, sound rolls off the cinder-block walls and back onto the floor, and one sign summed up the Vols’ fate: “Enjoy Second Place Next Week.”
The combination of the travel and quick turnaround left the Vols exhausted, and it showed in the first half as they hit only eight of 34 shots, too often shooting away from beyond the three-point line where they hit only 5 of 17. They finished 20 of 61.
Wayne Chism, who had 18 points and 18 rebounds when Tennessee beat Vandy in Knoxville 80-60 last month, had four points and four rebounds.
Vanderbilt led 31-28 at halftime after nearly blowing a 14-point lead. The teams swapped the lead four times with three ties before Alan Metcalfe’s three-pointer broke a 43-43 tie with 14: 20 left, and Vandy never trailed again.
Tennessee stayed close enough to keep sending Vandy to the free-throw line and pulled within 72-69 on Chism’s dunk with 7. 5 seconds.
But Ross Neltner got the ball past the Vols’ pressing defense, Foster threw it upcourt to Keegan Bell. The Vols fouled him with 1. 8 seconds left, and he missed both attempts. But a late throw at the basket went deep into the seats after the buzzer. NO. 12 INDIANA 72, OHIO STATE 69
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Armon Bassett scored 23 points and Eric Gordon added 17 to lead Indiana Hoosiers (24-4, 13-2 Big Ten ) past Ohio State (17-11, 8-7 ).
Kosta Koufos scored 21 points for Ohio State, which lost its third consecutive game and fifth in the past seven. NO. 15 CONNECTICUT 79, RUTGERS 61
PISCATAWAY, N. J. — Jeff Adrien scored a career-high 27 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as Connecticut (22-6, 11-4 Big East ) got its 11 th victory in 12 games and handed Rutgers (10-19, 2-14 ) its eighth consecutive loss.
Stanley Robinson had 18 points and 13 rebounds and Craig Austrie scored 18 points for Connecticut.
Freshman Earl Pettis had a season-high 18 points for the Scarlet Knights. MISSOURI STATE 86. NO. 20 DRAKE 83
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Deven Mitchell scored a team-high 20 points and Dale Lamberth added 16 points as Missouri State (15-15, 7-10 Missouri Valley ) beat Drake (24-4, 13-3 ) for the seventh consecutive time at home.
Josh Young led Drake with 18 points and Leonard Houston and Jonathan Cox added 17 each.
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