Pearl Jams Vols Into First Elite Eight

ST. LOUIS -- Bruce Pearl went, well, Pearl Jam on his Tennessee Volunteers at halftime here Friday night. Pearl was loud, he was direct, he was agitated. Then, Pearl mixed in a breath -- and was even louder and his face turned a bright red.

Or was it orange?

"Coach Pearl yelled at us so much I think everyone came in at halftime and woke up," UT center Brian Williams smiled. "He was yelling at us to stop the ball down the middle."

Actually, an animated Pearl yelled about many different things, but his verbal salvo worked. The sixth-seeded Vols were solid when it counted and upended No. 2 Ohio State, 76-73, in the Midwest Regional to advance to the Elite Eight for the first time in school history.

"I challenged their toughness," Pearl admitted, blowing a fuse when he saw that the Buckeyes shot 55 percent from the field in the first half to build a three-point advantage.

"I thought they were intimidated early in that game, and we were not the more physical team in the first half. And so I thought they responded a little bit better."

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A little bit? Their ears were ringing.

"I've never heard coach like that at halftime," Scotty Hopson said.

"His speech was outrageous, there was a lot of yelling going on. We came out to take it to them in every aspect of the game."

The Vols pulled out a back-and-forth, tug-of-war over the Buckeyes and star player Evan Turner, who scored 21 of his 31 points in the second half. Evan Almighty, a candidate for national player of the year, was as good as advertised.

But the Vols, together, were better. They pounded the boards. They played sound defense. They relied on their bench.

Still, Turner had two chances to tie the game in the closing seconds but missed from deep in the left corner, then hustled and got the ball back near the foul line. Turner dribbled beyond the arc, but J.P. Prince blocked Turner's desperation 3-pointer from near the top of the key at the buzzer.

Share "You gotta contest the shot," said Prince, exhausted from defensive performance..

"I knew he was going to flail, that's going to happen anytime at the end of the game. But I had a clean block. I just [used] my length and had to make the play."

Of course, make that plural -- plays -- in the second half following Pearl Jam.

"Pretty much right from jump-street in the second half, our defense, our depth and our seniors really made a huge difference," Pearl said.

"Guys that wanted to take this Tennessee basketball program to a place it's never been."