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Post  Carolina Kat Mon Feb 15, 2010 2:42 am

Strange: Orange blazer can't finish the job

By Mike Strange, Knoxville News-Sentinel

Posted February 14, 2010 at 12:47 a.m.

LEXINGTON, Ky.
- It's been a rough season, and a tough week in particular, for the orange blazer.

Bruce Pearl's special-occasion rivalry jacket is 0-for-3.

A 73-62 loss to No. 3 Kentucky on Saturday night at Rupp Arena capped Tennessee's most daunting week of the season.

It was a week that began by getting routed at Vanderbilt - a season sweep for the Commodores.

Pearl worked and sweated up a storm Saturday night, trying to will his overmatched Vols to another giant-killing stunner of Kansan proportions. But it was not to be.

For 31 minutes, Tennessee took the fight to the star-studded Wildcats, keeping a Rupp Arena crowd of 24,402 from leaving early - and an ESPN audience from flipping the channel.

"We competed,'' said Pearl. "I was pleased with the team's effort.

"I'm just disappointed with the last 10 minutes. We didn't finish the job.''

They had finished the job against No. 1 Kansas on Jan. 10. But that was in the friendly environs of Thompson-Boling Arena.

There's nothing friendly about Rupp. Nor is there about a Kentucky roster dotted with soon-to-be lottery NBA picks.

John Calipari, Pearl's old rival from Memphis, had nothing but praise for Tennessee, citing both Pearl's strategy and his team's determination.

Tennessee's 3-2 zone defense was effective in keeping the game low-scoring.

"To be honest,'' Calipari said, "we didn't work on it at all. We knew they had it in their arsenal but I hadn't seen it on any tapes I watched.

"The other thing, they played hard. This is a hard environment and they came in here and played as well as anybody.''

Tennessee's point guards played well, better than expected. Bobby Maze and Melvin Goins combined for 29 points.

With about 11 minutes to play I scribbled a note that Goins was outplaying freshman phenom John Wall. And it was true at the time.

In a flash, however, Wall made my observation obsolete and irrelevant.

It started after a media timeout. Calipari apparently drew up a play that called for Wall to give up the ball, then slip along the baseline behind Tennessee's zone and take a lob for a dunk.

Pearl saw it unfolding, but none of his players did. Bam!

That was the first of six consecutive Wall points as Kentucky transformed a 49-48 deficit into a 54-52 lead.

Momentum was inexorably turned.

Then the other freshman phenom guard took over.

Eric Bledsoe streaked for a transition layup for a 60-52 Kentucky lead, capping a 10-0 Wildcat surge.

When the Vols answered with a couple of baskets, Bledsoe ran the baseline to one corner and buried a 3-pointer. Next trip, he ran the baseline to the opposite corner and drilled another 3-pointer.

Then he tacked on free throws for a personal 10-0 run.

Wall or Bledsoe, in fact, scored 23 of Kentucky's final 25 points.

Take away Bledsoe's bookend treys and who knows how much closer the finish might have been.

Speaking of taking away, the Vols had five baskets erased by whistles.

Three of them were charges, one each by Chism, Goins and J.P. Prince. Chism also had a 3-pointer and a layup wiped out by whistles that didn't involve the shot.

"Taking the charges were critical,'' Calipari said.

With the Vols slipping to 6-4 in SEC play, every remaining conference game is critical.

Pearl's orange blazer comes out once more in 2010. Kentucky visits Thompson-Boling on Feb. 27.

Time will tell if it hasn't any magic left in it. And as Saturday night proved, 30 minutes of magic won't be enough. Against Kentucky, you have to go the distance.

Carolina Kat
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