The clock read 6:15. A sea of fans clad in red and navy blue roared in reaction to an alley-oop from Rui Hachimura to Brandon Clarke that gave No. 1 Gonzaga its largest lead of the game at 64-55.
The Bulldogs were the top-ranked team for a reason, boasting one of the most efficient (.530 FG%/No. 1) and high-scoring (96.4 ppg/No. 2) offenses in the country. On the flipside, the Volunteers owned the No. 4 field-goal percentage defense in the nation, holding opponents to just under 36 percent shooting on the year.
This was a clash between two of college basketball’s best teams. It felt like a game contested in the second or third weekend of March Madness, not on a Sunday in December.
After the seventh-ranked Vols cut Gonzaga’s lead to three, Clarke’s basket capped off a 6-0 run as the Bulldogs extended what may have seemed like an insurmountable lead. Although UT only needed three shots to even the score, the Zags’ offense was shooting 50 percent from the floor at the time and showed no signs of letting up. Tennessee’s defense was bending; was it on the verge of breaking?
Throughout the entire period, the Big Orange had struggled to consistently knock down shots, connecting on only two of its 13 attempts during one stretch. The feeling of “now or never” was beginning to set in as the time ticked off the clock.
Insert Admiral Schofield. The senior from Zion, Ill., started the game shooting 3-of-13 for seven points. When the Vols needed someone to step up, he answered the call and put the team on his back in final minutes.
The All-SEC wing erupted for 25 points in the second half behind five 3-pointers. At one point in the middle of the frame, he rattled off 12 consecutive points for UT, but that was just the beginning. With the game on the line, Schofield outscored Gonzaga’s high-caliber offense, 11-5, over the course of the final 3:17.
The performance certainly didn’t come without drama. With 1:20 left in the game, Schofield went mobile and dribbled once between his legs to size up the shot. He launched from behind the NBA 3-point line. After what felt like an eternity in the air, the ball banked off the glass for a clutch three. The fans clad in orange and white in Talking Stick Resort Arena erupted. It was the first time the Vols had led since the opening bucket to begin the second half.
A pair of free throws tied the game at 73-73 with 45 seconds left. There was no question who was getting the ball for the final shot. Schofield set a screen and moved to the top of the key. Point guard Jordan Bone drew two defenders and kicked it back to Schofield, who caught the pass and immediately took aim from behind the NBA 3-point line once again as Hachimura tried desperately to recover.
Bottom! Or “Money,” if you prefer.
With ice in his veins, Schofield delivered the final blow. 76-73, Tennessee.
He finished with a career-high 30 points. Tennessee’s hardwood titan knocked down three of his career-high six 3-pointers in the final 3:17 to power the Vols past the top-ranked Bulldogs. The performance earned him the prestigious recognition of Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week by the United State Basketball Writers Association. He was also named the national player of the week by NBC Sports and College Sports Madness along with SEC Co-Player of the Week and TSWA Player of the Week honors.
Rightfully so, Schofield garnered nationwide headlines, but all nine Vols who played were crucial to the outcome.
Reigning SEC Player of the Year Grant Williams posted his third double-double of the season with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Neither his points nor his rebounds were what stood out after it was all said and done. You could argue it was his career-high seven assists—or possibly his self-sacrificing, basket-saving defensive effort that earned him his fifth foul.
As Gonzaga was speeding toward a fast break opportunity, Hachimura brought the ball up the court all the way to the free-throw line. Tennessee’s defense collapsed on him to take away a shot, leaving Clarke wide open under the basket. Bodies went airborne followed by a whistle. Williams had just fouled out with 2:30 remaining. The play signified the importance of each possession. With the game in crunch time, every possession mattered more and more.
The Vols rose to the occasion. After the Bulldogs’ Corey Kispert sent a layup high off the glass to make it a five-point game with 4:16 remaining, the Tennessee defense didn’t surrender another field goal for the rest of the game. With two looks to try and force overtime in the final 24 seconds, Gonzaga collided with a UT defense that made its final stand and shut the Bulldogs down.
Knoxville native Jordan Bowden, who injured his foot in practice just two days earlier, was pivotal in the final seconds. He was the Vol tasked with guarding Zach Norvell Jr., the 2018 West Coast Conference Newcomer of the Year and Zags’ second-leading scorer. The first-team All-WCC guard had already scored 13 points in the second half, including a pair of threes.
After Schofield’s final shot, Gonzaga turned to its most potent 3-point threat. Norvell got the ball on the left wing, but Bowden was in position and ready to deny any chance of a clean look. Norvell pulled, but Bowden’s tight defense was enough to affect the shot. On the next possession, Hachimura came down the court and instantly looked for Norvell, but once again, Bowden was in position to deny the pass. That denial—drilled during every practice for Tennessee—forced Hachimura to take an off-balance, last-chance attempt that was far off the mark.
Bowden’s offense also was crucial in the win. He hit three momentum-shifting 3-pointers in the second half when UT’s offense was in danger of going stagnant. Bone, meanwhile, facilitated the offense to perfection as the Vols connected on eight of their final 10 shots and had 22 assists on 29 baskets. Bone, who finished with nine assists, found five teammates for open shots in the final six minutes.
Tennessee was +16 when senior big man Kyle Alexander was on the floor. Yves Pons, who played a career-high 25 minutes, was tasked with guarding some the country’s top offensive playmakers in only his third career start. With the Zags’ offense rolling in the first half, John Fulkerson, Jalen Johnson and Derrick Walker all came off the bench and provided productive minutes Not only did they keep UT in the game, they gave the Big Orange a lead going into halftime.
The resilient effort by Tennessee earned the program its fifth all-time win against the nation’s top-ranked team. The Vols reigned victorious in a championship-caliber game against a perennial power—something that had eluded them the past two years.
And head coach and future Hall of Famer Rick Barnes checked yet another box on the to-do list for his Tennessee Basketball Master Plan.
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