USA Basketball recently announced its official 12-man roster for the November USA World Cup Qualifying Team, and it includes VFL Scotty Hopson (2008-11).
Hopson—an All-SEC performers and 1,000-point scorer during his career on Rocky Top—boasts NBA experience and was in training camp with the Oklahoma City Thunder prior to this season. Hopson now plays for the Thunder’s NBA G League affiliate, the Oklahoma City Blue.
Joining Hopson on the USA’s November roster are: Joel Berry II, Reggie Hearn, John Jenkins, DeAndre Liggins, Eric Moreland, Chasson Randle, Cameron Reynolds, Richard Solomon, Travis Trice, Julian Washburn and Tyler Zeller.
Former NBA head coach Jeff Van Gundy, who has led the USA to a 7-1 record in FIBA Americas World Cup Qualifying action and directed the USA to a 5-0 record and the gold medal at the 2017 FIBA AmeriCup Championship, again is head coach of the USA Basketball Men’s World Cup Qualifying Team. Former Georgia head coach Mark Fox and former Georgetown coach John Thompson III are serving as USA assistant coaches.
The USA squad trained this weekend at the Houston Rockets’ practice facility and will continue second-round action of FIBA World Cup Qualifying play with a pair of road games, Thursday vs. Argentina in La Rioja, Argentina, and Dec. 2 vs. Uruguay in Montevideo, Uruguay.
With a total of seven 2019 FIBA World Cup qualifying berths going to the top three finishing teams in each of the Americas second-round groups and to the best fourth-place team, Argentina (7-1) and the USA (7-1) sit atop of the second-round Group E standings, followed by Puerto Rico (5-3) and Uruguay (5-3), with Mexico (3-5) and Panama (3-5) in fifth place. In Group F standings, Canada (7-1) and Venezuela (7-1) are tied for first, followed by Brazil (6-2), Dominican Republic (5-3), U.S. Virgin Islands (2-6) and Chile (1-7).
The FIBA World Cup Qualifying games are being used to qualify 31 of the 32 nations that will compete in the 2019 FIBA World Cup. China automatically qualified as the host nation of the 2019 FIBA World Cup. Five teams will qualify from Africa, seven teams from the Americas, seven teams from Asia and 12 teams from Europe.
The current two-time defending World Cup champion USA men have participated in 17 FIBA World Cups and have collected 12 medals—five gold medals (1954, 1986, 1994, 2010 and 2014), three silver medals (1950, 1959 and 1982) and four bronze medals (1974, 1990, 1998 and 2006). USA teams own an overall record of 123-27.
Results from the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 will qualify seven teams for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Additionally, Olympic host, Japan, automatically qualified, and the final four nations will qualify through four FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments that will be held in 2020 in advance of the Olympics.
BIMINI, Bahamas – No. 11/11 Tennessee came from 12 points down in the fourth quarter to send the game to overtime and seize a hard-fought victory over UAB, 73-69, on Saturday in the Junkanoo Division title game at the 2018 Women’s Junkanoo Jam.
Sophomore forward Rennia Davis, who was named the tournament MVP, led the Lady Vols (5-0) with 18 points, including three huge second-half three-pointers at Gateway Christian Academy Gymnasium. Sophomore point guard Evina Westbrook tossed in 16 points, followed by sophomore center Kasiyahna Kushkituah, who registered her first career double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds.
Senior Meme Jackson, who had 14 points in Thursday’s win over Clemson, had eight points and eight boards vs. UAB and joined Davis on the all-tournament team.
UAB, which led by 10 points entering the fourth period, fell to 4-1 with its first setback of the season. The Blazers were paced by junior forwards Katelynn Thomas and Rachael Childress, who tallied 19 points each. Junior guard Miyah Barnes chipped in 13, while senior guard Deanna Kuzmanic had 10.
The upset-minded Blazers upped their lead to 12 early in the fourth frame at 58-46 and had a 60-48 advantage with 8:08 to go. Davis, however, stared that deficit in the face and made some big plays, draining three-consecutive long-range threes that cut the gap to six, 63-57, with 5:20 to go. After a Kuzmanic layup with 5:07 remaining made it 65-57 Blazers, UT didn’t allow UAB another point in regulation.
A three by Westbrook started a game-closing 8-0 run, followed by a layup from Kushkituah, a free throw from Westbrook and a layup from Westbrook with 52 seconds to go that knotted it up at 65-all. After UAB’s Kuzmanic missed a pair of free throws that would have put her team up two with 28 seconds left, the Lady Vols had the final possession and two shots at the basket before settling for overtime.
In the extra frame, UAB struck first with Barnes hitting a jumper to put UAB up, 67-65, with 3:39 to go. UT responded with a three-point play by Kushkituah to move ahead, 68-67. A Westbrook driving layup with 2:54 to go and a free throw by the sophomore with 16 seconds left gave the Lady Vols a slight 71-67 cushion. Davis and Westbrook each hit one of two free throws inside the final 11 seconds to offset a Barnes jumper with six ticks left to close out the game.
The Lady Vols outscored UAB 19-9 in the fourth quarter and 8-4 in OT to claim a dramatic, come-from-behind victory. UT limited the Blazers to 3-of-13 shooting (23.1%) in the final stanza while hitting seven of 15 (46.7%). In overtime, both teams were two of eight from the field, but UT outscored UAB at the free throw line, 4-0, and out-rebounded the Blazers, seven to four.
The first quarter started off with everything going UAB’s way, as the Blazers led 17-6 with 3:10 to go in the period. Tennessee stormed back, though, stringing together a Jackson corner three and a Davis layup after a steal by Jazmine Massengill to make it 17-11 with 1:56 left in the period. Following three Blazer free throws, Kushkituah scored inside on a feed from Zaay Green to cut the gap to seven, 20-13, at the end of the first quarter.
Tennessee punched back in the second stanza, after UAB’s Angela Vendrell hit a shot with 9:45 to go. UT reeled off six straight points, with Zaay Green, Kushkituah and Cheridene Green tallying baskets to make it 23-19 Blazers. Following exchanges in buckets, UT surged to an 8-0 run, with back-to-back inside scores from Kushkituah and Davis pushing the Lady Vols into the lead for the first time, 27-26, with 3:50 to go.
UAB responded with a 12-2 run of its own, finishing the half on a 9-0 spree to go into the locker room on top, 38-29. Thomas and Childress did most of the damage for the Blazers, scoring 11 and 10 points, respectively, during the opening 20 minutes. UAB ended the half eight of 11 from the free throw line, while UT hit three in only seven trips.
The Lady Vols were led by Jackson’s eight points, while Davis and Kushkituah had six each. UT forced seven UAB turnovers but suffered 11 miscues of its own and shot only 36 percent (12-of-33) in the opening half. Tennessee also was whistled for 11 fouls to UAB’s six, with Zaay Green and Davis going into intermission with three apiece.
Tennessee cut the gap to five early in the third quarter but seemingly could get no closer. The Lady Vols later found themselves down by 12 at two junctures of the third frame and battled back to within eight on a jumpers from Mimi Collins and Zaay Green before UAB ended the period up 56-46 after outscoring the Big Orange for the third straight period.
LADY VOL NOTES
Up Next: Tennessee will travel to Stillwater, Okla., to face Oklahoma State in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge at 4 p.m. ET next Saturday. The game will be carried on FS1, UT’s first linear TV broadcast of the season.
Second-Half Sophomores: Davis, Westbrook and Kushkituah combined for 33 of UT’s 44 second -alf points after scoring just 14 in the first half. Additionally, Davis hit three fourth-quarter threes, while Kushkituah pulled down 11 boards in the second half.
Kasi’s Career Day: Kushkituah logged her first career double-double, scoring a career-high-tying 13 points while pulling down a career-high 13 boards vs. the Blazers.
Warlick’s Junkanoo Jam Success: This is Head Coach Holly Warlick‘s second Junkanoo Jam Championship, having also won the Lucaya Division in 2013. The win moves her record to 4-0 at the Junkanoo Jam tournament while advancing her record in international games to 10-0.
UT in OT: The overtime win over UAB moves Tennessee’s all-time record in OT to 32-20 and improves Warlick’s OT record as a head coach to 5-4. UT also went to overtime during last year’s holiday tournament, defeating No. 20 Marquette, 101-99, in its opening game at the Cancun Challenge.
It didn’t take long for Tennessee coach Jeremy Pruitt to break down the Vols’ humiliating 38-13 loss to Vanderbilt Saturday night in Nashville.
The synopsis: Vanderbilt broke tackles and UT didn’t. Vandy got off blocks and UT didn’t. Vandy made catches and UT didn’t.
“They played better than us today,’’ Pruitt said.
Much better.
Vandy whipped the Vols in all aspects and in doing so, became bowl eligible for the second time in five years under coach Derek Mason.
The Vols dropped to 5-7, lost three in a row to Vandy for the first time since the 1920s and fell for the fifth time in seven years to a program that has no business beating UT five out of seven tries.
How bad was the beat-down? Vandy had 29 first downs to 12, outgained the Vols 467 yards to 242, controlled the clock for 43 minutes and sliced up UT’s secondary like it was in a 7-on-7 flag football game.
Vandy’s Kyle Shurmur, who looks like Drew Brees against the Vols, completed a school record 88.6 percent of his passes, going 31 of 35 for 367 yards and three touchdowns. He now has over 1,200 passing yards and 12 touchdowns against UT. If he played against the Vols in every game, he might be headed to the Heisman Trophy ceremonies in two weeks.
Tennessee has now lost six games this season by at least 25 points and lost by an average of 28.3 points in those games. UT lost just three games last year by 25 or more points in going 4-8 overall and 0-8 in the SEC.
What Vandy did to Tennessee underscored several concerns for the team: The Vols lack speed, size, strength, depth and discipline.
No wonder they had a losing record.
You might also add a lack of desire after Vanderbilt clearly displayed more want to.
I’m having a hard time believing Vanderbilt has more talent than Tennessee, but it sure looked that way.
While you could argue UT is headed in the right direction under Pruitt, the last two games – including a 50-17 loss to Missouri – would not be case in point.
Asked to assess the season, Pruitt didn’t hold back.
“I’m pretty disappointed,’’ Pruitt said. “I’m not used to losing. And I’m not used to guys not executing. I’ve got to do a better job of coaching.’’
It’s hard to explain how Tennessee could look so good in upsetting Auburn and Kentucky and play so poorly against Missouri and Vanderbilt.
One thing Pruitt said UT must do is look in the mirror.
“We’ve got to do some quality control in-house and see what we can do better,’’ Pruitt said.
Tennessee defensive lineman Shy Tuttle had a succinct reason why the Vols were blown out.
“They executed and we didn’t,’’ Tuttle said.
Tuttle said he believes the Vols are headed in the right direction, but he also hinted at a concern within the ranks – a concern perhaps about some players not giving their all.
“He (Pruitt) will get guys that want to play,’’ Tuttle said. “And if they don’t want to play, get out of here.’’
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Volunteers dropped their final game of the regular season to Vanderbilt, 38-13, Saturday at Vanderbilt Stadium.
After trading punts to start the game, the Commodores (6-6, 3-5 SEC) took a 17-0 lead heading into the half. Tennessee (5-7, 2-6 SEC) fought back to pull within 10 points in the third thanks to sophomore running back Ty Chandler, but Vanderbilt outscored the Vols 21-6 in the final quarter.
“This is my first year here and we did really good the first couple weeks of the season,” head coach Jeremy Pruitt said. “Today we didn’t execute very well defensively. You have to give Vanderbilt credit and we have to tackle the guys. We have to play football.”
Vandy quarterback Kyle Shurmur threw for 367 yards (31-of-35) and three touchdowns while Khari Blasingame rushed for 70 yards and a touchdown.
UT redshirt sophomore quarterback Jarrett Guarantano completed 13-of-29 passes for 139 yards, one touchdown and an interception. On the ground, Chandler rushed for 88 yards and one touchdown on seven carries while junior wide receiver Marquez Callaway recorded 36 receiving yards and a score.
Chandler gave Tennessee a boost in the third quarter, opening the gates with a 75-yard rushing touchdown. It was his seventh TD overall this season and fourth on the ground. The Nashville native became the first Vol since 2006 to record two runs of 75 yards or more in a season with the play.
VU scored first in the rivalry matchup as Shurmur connected with Jared Pinkney on a 17-yard pass to the left side of the end zone in the Dores’ second drive of the game. The 11-play, 84-yard series ate up 7:04 on the clock.
Shurmur marched the Commodores down the field again to start the second quarter, putting together a 10-play, 66-yard drive that was capped by a two-yard Kalija Lipscomb rushing touchdown.
Tennessee went on a nine-play sequence that included a pass of 10 yards to sophomore wide receiver Josh Palmer after the score but was ultimately forced to punt after falling short of a first down by three yards at the VU47.
Heading into halftime, UT limited Vanderbilt to just a field goal. The Dores had advanced 44 yards on nine plays before an eight-yard sack by redshirt junior linebacker Darrell Taylor stopped them in their tracks. Ryley Guay’s 43-yard attempt was good, giving Vandy a 17-0 lead before the break.
On the first play of the third quarter, Chandler put the Vols on the board with a 75-yard rushing touchdown. The sophomore running back took the hand-off and found his way to the outside, traveling 75 yards down the right sideline into the end zone in 12 seconds. Sophomore kicker Brent Cimaglia then made the PAT to trim Vandy’s lead, 17-7.
UT held Vanderbilt scoreless on the ensuing drive despite the Commodores tallying three plays inside the Vols’ 10-yard line and a field goal attempt. Guay’s 20-yard kick bounced off the right upright and gave Tennessee the ball at its own 20.
The Vols were unable to capitalize and took the 17-7 score into the fourth.
Shurmur opened the final quarter with a passing touchdown for VU, completing a 26-yard pass to Amir Abdur-Rahman before Blasingame ran the ball in for a one-yard touchdown two drives later.
Tennessee answered with a score of its own, using just 31 seconds to move 75 yards down the field. Guarantano connected with redshirt junior wide receiver Jauan Jennings for 43 yards and a roughing the passer penalty put the ball on the VU17. Guarantano then found Callaway for 17 yards to make it a 31-13 ballgame. UT attempted a two-point conversion, but Jennings was stopped short of the goal line.
Vanderbilt scored the last touchdown of the game with 2:33 remaining. The Commodores advanced 49 yards on 10 plays and scored on a two-yard pass from Shurmur to Cody Markel for the 38-13 final.
Defensively,senior defensive back Micah Abernathy and junior linebacker Daniel Bituli led the Vols with nine tackles apiece. Junior defensive back Nigel Warrior added eight.
BIMINI, Bahamas – No. 11/11 Tennessee came from 12 points down in the fourth quarter to send the game to overtime and seize a hard-fought victory over UAB, 73-69, on Saturday in the Junkanoo Division title game at the 2018 Women’s Junkanoo Jam.
Sophomore forward Rennia Davis, who was named the tournament MVP, led the Lady Vols (5-0) with 18 points, including three huge second-half three-pointers at Gateway Christian Academy Gymnasium. Sophomore point guard Evina Westbrook tossed in 16 points, followed by sophomore center Kasiyahna Kushkituah, who registered her first career double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds.
Senior Meme Jackson, who had 14 points in Thursday’s win over Clemson, had eight points and eight boards vs. UAB and joined Davis on the all-tournament team.
UAB, which led by 10 points entering the fourth period, fell to 4-1 with its first setback of the season. The Blazers were paced by junior forwards Katelynn Thomas and Rachael Childress, who tallied 19 points each. Junior guard Miyah Barnes chipped in 13, while senior guard Deanna Kuzmanic had 10.
The upset-minded Blazers upped their lead to 12 early in the fourth frame at 58-46 and had a 60-48 advantage with 8:08 to go. Davis, however, stared that deficit in the face and made some big plays, draining three-consecutive long-range threes that cut the gap to six, 63-57, with 5:20 to go. After a Kuzmanic layup with 5:07 remaining made it 65-57 Blazers, UT didn’t allow UAB another point in regulation.
A three by Westbrook started a game-closing 8-0 run, followed by a layup from Kushkituah, a free throw from Westbrook and a layup from Westbrook with 52 seconds to go that knotted it up at 65-all. After UAB’s Kuzmanic missed a pair of free throws that would have put her team up two with 28 seconds left, the Lady Vols had the final possession and two shots at the basket before settling for overtime.
In the extra frame, UAB struck first with Barnes hitting a jumper to put UAB up, 67-65, with 3:39 to go. UT responded with a three-point play by Kushkituah to move ahead, 68-67. A Westbrook driving layup with 2:54 to go and a free throw by the sophomore with 16 seconds left gave the Lady Vols a slight 71-67 cushion. Davis and Westbrook each hit one of two free throws inside the final 11 seconds to offset a Barnes jumper with six ticks left to close out the game.
The Lady Vols outscored UAB 19-9 in the fourth quarter and 8-4 in OT to claim a dramatic, come-from-behind victory. UT limited the Blazers to 3-of-13 shooting (23.1%) in the final stanza while hitting seven of 15 (46.7%). In overtime, both teams were two of eight from the field, but UT outscored UAB at the free throw line, 4-0, and out-rebounded the Blazers, seven to four.
The first quarter started off with everything going UAB’s way, as the Blazers led 17-6 with 3:10 to go in the period. Tennessee stormed back, though, stringing together a Jackson corner three and a Davis layup after a steal by Jazmine Massengill to make it 17-11 with 1:56 left in the period. Following three Blazer free throws, Kushkituah scored inside on a feed from Zaay Green to cut the gap to seven, 20-13, at the end of the first quarter.
Tennessee punched back in the second stanza, after UAB’s Angela Vendrell hit a shot with 9:45 to go. UT reeled off six straight points, with Zaay Green, Kushkituah and Cheridene Green tallying baskets to make it 23-19 Blazers. Following exchanges in buckets, UT surged to an 8-0 run, with back-to-back inside scores from Kushkituah and Davis pushing the Lady Vols into the lead for the first time, 27-26, with 3:50 to go.
UAB responded with a 12-2 run of its own, finishing the half on a 9-0 spree to go into the locker room on top, 38-29. Thomas and Childress did most of the damage for the Blazers, scoring 11 and 10 points, respectively, during the opening 20 minutes. UAB ended the half eight of 11 from the free throw line, while UT hit three in only seven trips.
The Lady Vols were led by Jackson’s eight points, while Davis and Kushkituah had six each. UT forced seven UAB turnovers but suffered 11 miscues of its own and shot only 36 percent (12-of-33) in the opening half. Tennessee also was whistled for 11 fouls to UAB’s six, with Zaay Green and Davis going into intermission with three apiece.
Tennessee cut the gap to five early in the third quarter but seemingly could get no closer. The Lady Vols later found themselves down by 12 at two junctures of the third frame and battled back to within eight on a jumpers from Mimi Collins and Zaay Green before UAB ended the period up 56-46 after outscoring the Big Orange for the third straight period.
LADY VOL NOTES
Up Next: Tennessee will travel to Stillwater, Okla., to face Oklahoma State in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge at 4 p.m. ET next Saturday. The game will be carried on FS1, UT’s first linear TV broadcast of the season.
Second-Half Sophomores: Davis, Westbrook and Kushkituah combined for 33 of UT’s 44 second -alf points after scoring just 14 in the first half. Additionally, Davis hit three fourth-quarter threes, while Kushkituah pulled down 11 boards in the second half.
Kasi’s Career Day: Kushkituah logged her first career double-double, scoring a career-high-tying 13 points while pulling down a career-high 13 boards vs. the Blazers.
Warlick’s Junkanoo Jam Success: This is Head Coach Holly Warlick‘s second Junkanoo Jam Championship, having also won the Lucaya Division in 2013. The win moves her record to 4-0 at the Junkanoo Jam tournament while advancing her record in international games to 10-0.
UT in OT: The overtime win over UAB moves Tennessee’s all-time record in OT to 32-20 and improves Warlick’s OT record as a head coach to 5-4. UT also went to overtime during last year’s holiday tournament, defeating No. 20 Marquette, 101-99, in its opening game at the Cancun Challenge.
NEW YORK — In a battle of top-five teams, No. 5 Tennessee dropped a heartbreaker to second-ranked Kansas in overtime, 87-81, in the NIT Season Tip-Off championship game at the Barclays Center.
The Big Orange fought the whole game, but an 18-12 advantage in overtime pushed the Jayhawks to the win. Admiral Schofield, who scored nine in overtime, finished with a team-high 21 points to go along with six rebounds.
Grant Williams, who fouled out with 1:24 left in regulation, added 18 points, eight rebounds, a career-high-tying six assists and two steals. Kansas’ Dedric Lawson won Most Outstanding Player of the tournament after leading the Jayhawks 24 points, 13 rebounds and five assists in the championship.
Tennessee point guard Jordan Bone chipped in 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting along with six rebounds and five assists. Lamonte Turner and Kyle Alexanderwere the other Vols to score in double-digits, with 10 points each.
Williams and Bone both were named to the All-Tournament Team.
The Vols (4-1) had a slow start on the offensive end of the floor during the first half, missing their first six shots and 15 of their first 20. On the other end of the floor, Kansas (5-0) began the game by knocking down six of its first nine attempts. Despite the disparity, UT never trailed by more than five during the frame.
At the 7:45 mark in the first half, Bone knocked down a jumper to snap a six-minute scoring drought for Tennessee and make it a 19-16 KU advantage. That would spark the Big Orange offense for the remainder of the period, shooting 8-of-13 from the floor. A Turner 3-pointer gave UT its first lead of the game with 3:51 left.
Bone, who had seven points and five rebounds in the frame, knocked down a three right before intermission to give Tennessee a 33-31 lead.
The second half was just as hectic as the first. The Vols led for the majority of the period but never pulled ahead by more than nine. After a 10-0 run by the Jayhawks to take a five-point lead, UT countered with an 8-0 flurry. The last five minutes would go back-and-forth between both teams.
With the game tied at 69-69 with 1:24 left, both teams’ defense stepped up and held the other without a basket, forcing overtime. Kansas had two looks at the basket during the final 30 seconds but missed both attempts, including one as time expired.
KU opened overtime on a 5-0 run. An offensive rebound by Schofield got the Vols on the board to end the run, but it wasn’t enough to halt Kansas’ offense. The Jayhawks hit four of their final six shots to put the game away.
Tennessee returns home to face Eastern Kentucky on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. ET. The game will be televised on SEC Network.
